Elemental Dignities

How neighbouring cards strengthen or weaken each other by element — fire and air agree; fire and water clash.

Elemental dignities are a way of reading cards in relation to their neighbours by element. Fire (Wands) and air (Swords) are friendly and amplify each other; water (Cups) and earth (Pentacles) likewise. Fire and water, or air and earth, are opposed and weaken or complicate each other; same-element pairs intensify.

It's an older, more technical layer of reading, and entirely optional. But even a loose sense of it adds nuance: two agreeable elements side by side reinforce a message, while clashing elements flag tension or a meaning that won't sit still.

Related terms

• Fire
• Water
• Air
• Earth
• Suit

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