Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter VIII — How the Elements Are in the Heavens, in Stars, in Devils, in Angels, and lastly in God Himself · 1 of 2 · tr. Henry Morley; L. W. de Laurence ed.
Chapter VIII, Section 1a
CHAPTER VIII.
How the Elements Are in the Heavens, in Stars, in Devils, in Angels, and lastly in God Himself .
It is the unanimous consent of all Platonists, that as in the original and exemplary World, all things are in all; so also in this corporeal world, all things are in all; so also the Elements are not only in these inferior bodies, but also in the Heavens, in Stars in Devils, in Angels, and lastly in God, the maker and original example of all things.
Now in these inferior bodies the Elements are accompanied with much gross matter; but in the Heavens the Elements are with their natures and virtues, viz., after a celestial and more excellent manner than in sublunary things.
For the firmness of the Celestial Earth is there without the grossness of water; and the agility of the Air without running over its bounds; the heat of Fire without burning, only shining and giving life to all things by its heat.
Amongst the Stars, also, some are fiery, as Mars and Sol; airy, as Jupiter and Venus; watery, as Saturn and Mercury; and earthy, such as inhabit the eighth Orb and the Moon (which, notwithstanding, by many is accounted watery), seeing, as if it were Earth, it attracts to itself the celestial waters, with which, being imbibed, it doth, by reason of its nearness to us, pour out and communicate to us.
There are, also, amongst the Signs, some fiery, some earthy, some airy, some watery; the Elements rule them also in the Heavens, distributing to them these four threefold considerations of every Element, viz., the beginning, middle and end: So Aires possesseth the beginning of fire, Leo the progress and increase, and Sagittarius the end.
Taurus the beginning of the earth, Virgo the progress, Capricorn the end.
Gemini the beginning of the air, Libra the progress, Aquarius the end.
Cancer the beginning of water, Scorpius the middle, and Pisces the end.
Of the mixtions, therefore, of these Planets and Signs, together with the Elements, are all bodies made.
Moreover, Devils also are upon this account distinguished the one from the other, so that some are called fiery, some earthy, some airy, and some watery.
Hence, also, those four Infernal Rivers—fiery Phlegethon, airy Cocytus, watery Styx, earthy Acheron.
Also in the Gospel we read of hell fire, and eternal fire, into which the cursed shall be commanded to go; and in the Revelation we read of a lake of fire, and Isaiah speaks of the damned that the Lord will smite them with corrupt air.
And in Job, they shall skip from the waters of the snow to extremity of heat; and in the same we read, that the Earth is dark, and covered with the darkness of death and miserable darkness.
Moreover, also, these Elements are placed in the Angels in Heaven and the blessed Intelligences.
There is in them a stability of their essence, which is an earthly virtue, in which is the steadfast seat of God; also their mercy and piety is a watery cleansing virtue.
Hence by the Psalmist they are called Waters, where he, speaking of the Heavens, saith, Who rulest the Waters that are higher than the Heavens.
Also in them their subtile breath is Air, and their love is shining Fire.
Hence they are called in Scripture the Wings of the Wind; and in another place the Psalmist speaks of them, Who makest Angels thy Spirits and thy Ministers a flaming fire.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The passage explicitly states that all things are in all, reflecting the cosmic structure where celestial elements mirror sublunary ones.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The shared elemental nature binding stars, signs, devils, angels, and God together provides the metaphysical basis for the astrological and magical correspondences the passage elaborates.
Naturally-existing, non-human intelligences native to a single element — earth, air, fire, or water — rather than the fourfold-composite human nature: Paracelsus's gnomes, sylphs, salamanders, and undines; the Deva Kingdom or fairy kingdom of Western occultism, forming their own parallel kingdom capable of incarnating in or forming relationships with humans. Distinct from artificial_elemental (a manufactured thought-entity deliberately created by a single operator, not a naturally-occurring species) and animism (the general doctrine that nature-places host indwelling spirits, of which this is one specific taxonomic system organised around the four elements rather than locality).
Devils are explicitly classified by element — 'some are called fiery, some earthy, some airy, and some watery' — and the four Infernal Rivers correspond to the four elements, establishing non-human intelligences native to single elements.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The text outlines a descending order from God through Angels, Devils, Stars, and Heavens to inferior bodies.
A non-physical dimension of reality, interpenetrating the physical world, populated by forces, beings, and forms ordinarily imperceptible to physical senses and instruments, that can affect embodied life without being seen — Dion Fortune's 'mind-side of nature,' the astral plane of Western esotericism broadly construed. Distinct from astral_light (a specific transmitting medium or fluid operating within this realm, not the realm itself), pleroma (the divine fullness at the summit of a cosmic hierarchy, not a parallel plane coextensive with ordinary life), and animism (particular indwelling spirits bound to specific natural objects, not the general unseen dimension itself).
The passage describes a non-physical dimension populated by angels, devils, and celestial elements that interpenetrates the physical world, with the same elemental principles operating in both realms.
The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.
The passage traces the elemental principle descending from God through angels, devils, stars, and heavens into inferior bodies, each level expressing the elements in a progressively more gross and material mode.
The rule of the stars and planetary powers over mortal destiny — the astrological governors whose spheres bind souls to birth, error, and death; in Sethian gnosis the 'error of the stars' that the savior exposes, and from which the incorruptible generation alone is free. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of universal affinity) in being a bondage-to-powers claim, and from archons (the rulers as personal beings) in concerning the astral machinery itself.
The passage assigns elemental natures to planets and signs, and states that 'of the mixtions of these Planets and Signs, together with the Elements, are all bodies made,' implying stellar governance over earthly composition.