THE EARTH ELEMENT TYPE
The Earth Element represents the time of year of late Summer, the time of harvest. The planning and decision making of the Wood phase and then the intense activity of Fire now lead to harvesting the results the Earth season. The days are getting shorter, the air heavier, there are the first morning dews, the heat of the Sun is fading and becoming a little more yellow in the sky. The Earth element is closely aligned to the physical earth at our feet, the soil that provides our nutrients, that offers foundation and gives us our grounding and connection.
As it is a time of harvest, Earth is about provisioning for the future, nurturing and providing nourishment for the months ahead. Earth element types are concerned with the feeding in the here and now but also squirrelling things away for later. They are the homemakers, the nesters.
As such the Earth element is most closely associated with the role of the Mother – they are the ones most likely to have the most children or to dote over their pets. Even if they do not have children of their own, they love being in the environment where they can support and nurture the development of children. Although the element is associated with the mother figure, that does not mean that Earth types are exclusively female – Earth males can take-on some of the stereotyped mother roles in the family unit and almost all Earth types have a significant relationship with their own mother.
To the Earth type, family is all important. They love being the centre point of all family activity and will often be the ones arranging and hosting family activities and get-togethers. To an extreme, their focus on the family can sometimes be at the exclusion of others: “Family first” is the motto of the Earth type.
Earth types can be relied upon for being supportive, sociable, sympathetic and agreeable. Whilst they do not have the loudness or the need for centre stage of Fire types, they love being part of social gatherings or being in groups and make everyone feel welcome in those situations. They are the ones that make strangers feel welcome and included. They love being the person others turn to for help and advice. They will go out of their way to make everyone feel at home. Sometimes this is at the expense of their own needs.
But they can also be the ones that over-think and worry about things. This often manifests as fretting a little too much, perhaps blurring the boundary between helping and meddling. For an Earth type there is a thin dividing line between mothering and smothering! They also have this contradiction that whilst they love to offer support and help to others they can struggle to receive help themselves. They are great at giving sympathy but can often oscillate between struggling to receive sympathy from others and yet also be the one that craves sympathy at the first sign of things not going their way.
Being supportive, sympathetic, considerate and attentive are the signs of an Earth element at their best. When their energies become a little too strong this spills over into over-protectiveness, prying, being over-worried and over-bearing. When their energies become deficient (due to anger, frustration, for example) these same traits can verge on being uncaring, emotionally unengaged, absent-minded and distracted.
The sensation of taste is very important to an Earth type. They will encode it in their language – “taste of success”, “give me a flavour of what happened”, “it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth”, “that’s sweet”. Eating is more than nutrition for them, it is as much about the flavours and textures; eating is an experience not just a bodily need. But it can go wrong for Earth types too and they are the ones that often have cravings, the strongest sense of “comfort eating” and struggle with weight gain. They can have a very “off/on” relationship with food.
The heaviness of a morning dew can manifest physiologically for Earth types too – heavy limbs, swollen or puffy legs, fatigue, lethargy particularly after eating are all signs of this element type.
Keys To Understanding Earth:
– wants to be involved and needed
– likes to be in charge but not in the limelight
– agreeable and accommodating: wants to be all things to all people
– seeks harmony and togetherness
– insists upon loyalty, security, and predictability
Typical Problems:
– worry, obsession, and self-doubt
– meddling and overprotective
– lethargy, unruly appetites, water retention, muscle tenderness
– unrealistic expectations and disappointment
– obesity, yo-yo dieting, food cravings, comfort eating
– easily bruises, hernias, prolapses
– pale lips and tongue
– nausea, vomiting
– sinus congestion, respiratory phlegm, oily skin
– yeast infections