This poetic and comprehensive introduction to the elements is the first of two volumes of transcribed lectures astrologer Darby Costello presented for the CPA.Part One: water. We examine the element of water through its expressions in myth, alchemy, philosophy and psychology, and then through the water signs and water houses in the horoscope.

Each planet in a water house is described in terms of its meaning and expression; the three water signs on the Ascendant are examined; and planets transiting through the water houses complete a detailed analysis of all the permutations of water in the birth chart.

The chart of Marcel Proust is presented as a vivid example of the imaginative power and longing for unity reflected by this most mysterious and most primal of elements.

Part Two: fire. We explore the chaotic, inspirational realm of fire, beginning with the ways in which fire is symbolised in myth and philosophy. We then examine Mars, the Sun and Jupiter as planetary rulers of the fire signs. Each fire sign is explored in detail, including planets placed in fire signs and fire houses, the nature of a fire sign on the Ascendant, and the meaning of the outer planets in fire signs in relation to the the generation group to which the individual belongs.

The charts of two very different fire temperaments - William Blake and Heinrich Himmler - are presented. We discuss the meaning of a singleton in fire, what lack of fire in a chart suggests, and the experience of fiery people born into generation groups when the outer planets are placed in earth and water. Audience participation enriches this unique journey throughout both seminars, allowing individual experiences to deepen the reader's understanding.