Several ancient cultures including Greece, Tibet, and India, used five simple substances to explain all matter on Earth: earth, water, air, fire, and space. The Indian Ayurvedic belief system suggests that all creation, including the human body, is made of these five elements and that when we die, the human body returns to these five elements in nature. Western astrology uses the four classical elements in connection with astrological charts and horoscopes.

Emily is intrigued by how we as individuals often feel connected to, or driven by, one element in particular. In astrology, the twelve zodiac signs are divided into four elements. Fire (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius), Earth (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn), Water (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces), and Air (Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.) There are commonalities between the signs in each element and they tend to balance each other out. For example, grounded Earth signs are a good match for Fire signs, often led by the heart.