Elementals are spirits which embody one of the five elements -- earth, water, air, fire and aether. Elementals, even within an element, may go by a variety of names and many Fairies or Nature Spirits are considered elementals. Elementals have powerful supernatural abilities, and can cause such natural disasters as earthquakes and storms.
Although elementals are invisible to humans, they are depicted in very specific ways. Whereas Angels are typically shown with feathered wings, elementals most often have wings like those of a butterfly.
Followers of animism -- the world's oldest religion -- believe that elementals inhabit all things. Despite the belief in elementals extending into prehistory, they would not appear in writing until the 16th century in the writings of the alchemist Paracelsus. He grouped elementals into four specific groups:
- Gnomes, the Earth Elementals
- Undines, the Water Elementals
- Sylphs, the Air Elementals (or Wind Elementals)
- Salamanders, the Fire Elementals
Possibly the most famed elemental spirit is that of Ariel, who was freed from imprisonment by the marooned Prospero and agreed to perform a series of task in order to be free of him.
Fantasy Worlds[]
Elementals, magical beings made out of one of the four (or five) elements, have become a common trope in fantasy universes. These include...
- Elementals (QfG) -- magical creations of air, fire, earth, water, or pizza that cannot truly be destroyed, only contained. (Quest for Glory)
Real World[]
Belief in elementals is one of the oldest beliefs in the world, predating all major religions and still persisting in some religions to this day. Though such beliefs can be found in most areas of the world, they were particularly prevalent in Europe during the Classical and the early Middle Ages.
William Shakespeare included the elemental spirit of Ariel in his play The Tempest.