The Four Elements and Spontaneous Dance

by Petr Lisý

Ecstatic dance is one of the most ancient, universal, and cross-cultural pathways to wholeness. It has been an important archetypal motive as well, one that plays important role in world mythology. Being closer to the feminine pole rather than masculine and allowing to reach mystical states of consciousness by the non-rational means, dance can rightfully be described as a Dionysian activity.

In a similar manner, we could say that the notion of the elements is one of the most archaic and universal intellectual constructs, one that we find consistently in different cultures of various historical ages all around the world. In its most usual version, the elemental pattern is connected with the archetypal quaternity, which is also the case of Western astrology. The notion of the four elements represents a major basic notion of most pre-modern systems of esoteric knowledge. This is true not only for the tradition of Western hermeticism of Greek-Egyptian origins, but also e.g. for some native tribes of North America and Tantric teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. In the last case, as well as in some branches of Western esotericism, it takes the form of 4 plus 1, the fifth element being the quintessence or common ground of the four basic ones (in contrast to the Chinese system, consisting of the five elements of rather equal value). Because it certainly represents an attempt to identify some patterns of order in the chaos of experience and gain more intellectual understanding, we can say that the notion of the four elements is an Apollonian idea, although very archaic one.

The symbolism of the four elements is the common ground that Western astrology shares with many other disciplines and fields of knowledge. Of all the basic levels of astrological symbolism (planets, signs, aspects, houses), the elements are most accessible to the people lacking any specific astrological knowledge. The most important reviving notion of the elements in the modern era represents the typology of Carl Gustav Jung, whose four psychological functions – sensing, feeling, thinking, and intuition – are linked to the notions of the elements of antiquity, formulated e.g. by Empedocles in philosophy and Hippocrates in medicine. And the affinity of Jung’s psychological theory of the types and the notion of elements in astrology happens to be rather well-known thing, most eloquently expressed in the following sentences in his Psychological Types (1921).

From earliest times attempts have been made to classify individuals according to types, and so to bring order into the chaos. The oldest attempts known to us were made by oriental astrologers who devised the so-called trigons of the four elements - air, water, earth, and fire. … Closely connected with this ancient cosmological scheme is the physiological typology of antiquity, the division into four temperaments corresponding to the four humours. … As is well known, this typology lasted at least seventeen hundred years. As for the astrological type theory, to the astonishment of the enlightened it still remains intact today, and is even enjoying a new vogue.
(C.G. Jung, CW 6, par. 933)

Work with the Elements as a Method of Purification and Integration

Before describing the movement practice of the spontaneous dance, I would like to briefly outline my understanding of the general purpose and value of such methods. When applied onto human beings, the conception of the elements is inherently associated with the notion of their actual imbalance, depicted as the “primordial chaos” in the beginning of the alchemical opus, as well as with the desired idea of their optimal balance or harmony. In astrology, the fact of the initial imbalance of the elements is indicated by their non-equal distribution in the birth charts of individual people.

Such state of affairs implies the need for ways or practices of balancing our elements and finding the state of their integration. We can find an example of such method in the context of Tibetan Buddhism, where the practitioners apply the meditation connected with the mantra of the “Purification of the Five Elements”. Milan Nakonečný, famous Czech psychologist and expert in the field of magic, describes another such example from the field of Western hermeticism in his book Magie v historii, teorii a praxi (Magic in History, Theory and Practice, 2009, p. 425-428). In the chapter on psychurgy or magical training, he describes the method of the “elemental training”, a practice designed to reach the balanced state of the elements, which is, among others, an important condition needed for the practice of magic.

I have been practicing methods of the spontaneous dance for more than fifteen years by now. In my perception, they seem to serve the same purpose of harmonizing the elements within ourselves, when applied with full attention and certain devotion. In its essence, they combine the Apollonian, represented by the space and time frame and the conscious space-holding and verbal instructions of the teacher, and the Dionysian, represented by the music and the spontaneous dance and movement itself. Nevertheless, when looked at through the lens of archetypal astrology, the Dionysian principle prevails, because dance and music belong to the realm of Neptune, which - of all the planets – shows the closest affinity to the mythical figure of Dionysus. (Especially Liz Greene pointed out the analogy between the two in many books of hers. Richard Tarnas, on the other hand, associates Dionysus with the archetype of Pluto, which also makes some sense. In fact, the mythical Dionysus represents spectrum of meanings that is too broad to be identified with one astrological principle. Yet, I believe that the Neptunian features of Dionysus – wine, ecstasy, the victim motive, his feminine flavor - are more frequent and dominant than the Plutonian features.)

The Wave of the Five Rhythms

From the structural perspective, the sessions of the spontaneous dance usually last two or three hours, take place in a pleasant room with enough space and the dancefloor where people can dance barefoot, being supported by the sound of recorded music. The central figure of such session is the teacher who carefully selects the subsequent tracks of music and navigates the whole group process with occasional verbal instructions spoken into a microphone. There are no formal steps or prescribed movements, all that is required is authentic movement that our body needs to perform. All kinds of cathartic movements and expressions are allowed, obviously except for harming others and oneself. People dance mostly by themselves, but also in pairs or groups, sometimes following the directions of the teacher on this. No talking is allowed during the sessions; people can express themselves and communicate with each other by all kinds of channels apart from words. During the local weekly evening sessions in Prague, the usual number of participants varies between ten and forty, while the weekend workshops with the most renowned international teachers typically host up to one hundred people (in some parts of the world even several hundreds).

I should clarify that the “spontaneous dance” is a descriptive term that I use for a group of approaches that slightly differ from each other but share the general features that I have just outlined. There are many such approaches nowadays, but I feel justified to write only about the ones that I have personally practiced at least for some time, these being the Five Rhythms, Movement Medicine, and Open Floor. In my following attempt to sketch the use of the elements within the context of the spontaneous dance, I am going to take the example of the method of the Five Rhythms, developed by the influential American dance teacher, artist and musician Gabrielle Roth (1941-2012), who called herself an “urban shaman”. It was her who developed and established the basic principles of the spontaneous dance and, for that reason, it is her conception that deserves to be presented in this article. I also had the opportunity to translate Roth’s book Sweat Your Prayers into the Czech language.

Roth discovered a specific set of subsequent universal or archetypal energies, forming a complete cycle of human activity which she called the Wave. Her most influential insight came from her experience of giving birth, but she believed that the Wave is inherent to many, if not all, processes of the world. But her unique way of teaching people to experience it was that of the dance, where the archetypal Wave consisted of the Five Rhythms, which she called Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness. I am not aware whether Roth herself ever directly associated her Rhythms with the elements in her books, but to me the links between them are quite obvious, even though we could not say that both conceptions are fully transferable. In the following brief overview, I am going to present some essential descriptions of the Rhythms, together with my ideas on their correspondence with the individual elements. (Here we have the combination of the four classical elements plus one as the quintessence or the Space of the Tibetan tradition.)

Flowing - Earth

The rhythm (or mode) of flowing is accompanied by rather slower bur rhythmical music which supports our embodiment, giving attention to our feet, trying to find our grounding in letting our feet follow the periodic pulse of the music.

Stretching, undulating, feeling the weight of each movement in space, you're inventing your own tai chi. … And gradually your own style, your unique way of being, will emerge, and the movements, and the breathing, and the flow of the music will blend into a dynamic unity so that you will feel you are the rhythm, you are flowing.
(G. Roth, Maps to Ecstasy, p. 37)

From the viewpoint of the astrology, we can easily see that Flowing has much in common with the element of the Earth. Roth also ascribes a feminine quality to this rhythm by associating it with the female archetypal figures that she calls Mother, Mistress, and Madonna.

Staccato – Fire

When Flowing turns into Staccato, the music remains rhythmical but becomes faster, often copying the beat of our heart. The movement of the dancers becomes more dynamic, sharp, and outgoing.

Then, inhaling with each movement and letting out the breath explosively, making whatever sounds come out, your movements become fast-paced, thrusting, pounding each movement isolated, with a beginning and an end. You're moving in lines and angles, no longer in circles, and your moves are percussive, short; they've got edges, and your breath releases in bursts of sound.
(G. Roth, Maps to Ecstasy, p. 37-38)

The rhythm of Staccato is obviously connected with the astrological Fire. In Roth’s view, it is connected with the male principle and its archetypes called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With her emphasis on the structural aspect of Staccato, we could say that her vision of Fire is slightly Saturnian.

Chaos – Water

When changing from Staccato to Chaos, the music becomes even faster, leading the dancers into the cathartic dynamics, shaking, dissolving structures and letting go.

Chaos is rooted in flowing and staccato rhythms but revs them up beyond control. Jerks, spins, releases, taking every movement over the edge, yet totally grounded in your feet. You're carried away, surrendering to the surging of the music. Letting the brain and the controlling mind go, and letting the body loose, no blocks, no inhibitions, no doubts, just pure animal gyrations.
(G. Roth, Maps to Ecstasy, p. 38)

There is a clear connection between Roth’s Chaos and astrological Water, but it is rather specific face of the element – the wild water, the stormy ocean, the ecstatic, orgiastic side of Neptune, Perhaps with some Plutonian undertones.

Lyrical – Air

If we managed to let go in the depths of the Chaos, we can get lighter with the more subtle, playful, and social energy in the rhythm of the Lyrical.

There is a lightness of being in your feet, a sense of being airborne in your dance. Your body sweeps in graceful loops like a bird in the wind, bouncing, darting, dipping, diving.
(G. Roth, Maps to Ecstasy, p. 33)

Here, with the qualities of lightness and flying, the link to the astrological Air is rather obvious.

Stillness – Space

If we genuinely pass through the Wave of the four rhythms, a sweet reward awaits us in the end in the form of Stillness. It is the state of the quintessence of the four elements, magical subtle space of the harmony and freedom that reaches beyond words and concepts.

Finally, stillness enters your dance, calling you into spaces between the beats, between your bones, between your moves. Your body shifts through many shapes, sometimes holding them, feeling their vibration, sometimes letting them go. Your attention is drawn to your inner dance, where everything is alive, awake, aware. You have disappeared into the dance, and the dance has disappeared in you. Picture yourself sitting doing nothing, just being.
(G. Roth, Maps to Ecstasy, p. 33)

I decided to use the Tibetan name of the fifth element – Space – because its classical description, speaking about a pristine, sky-blue luminous emptiness, happens to correspond to those precious moments of my own experience. Having passed through the wave of dance and music with honesty and authenticity, I have many times ended up in this state that is hard to describe, a subtle non-ordinary state of consciousness, of calm and silent ecstasy beyond words and everyday mind, of temporal balance of the elements. Its experiential qualities also correspond to the Tibetan view according to which the Space is the more subtle underlying element, out of which the four coarser elements manifest.

Working with the Shadows and Obstacles

I should make clear that taking part in a lesson of the Five Rhythms or other forms of the spontaneous dance does not automatically guarantee reaching the state of the balance of the elements. First of all, your dance needs to be authentic and conscious; it is not sufficient just to be there and dance only superficially and within your comfort zone. Paradoxically, this is easier for the people with no previous experience with any kind of dance classes, than for those who come from the field of formal dancing. You need to forget about how your movement possibly looks like from the outside and simply let your body do what it needs. So, it usually takes some time of periodic practice before your system adjusts to the method and starts experiencing its deeper benefits.

Another difficulty on the way represents our Shadow element, experienced typically as our struggling with one of the Rhythms that we do not know how to dance to. We may even find it annoying, boring, dislike its music, etc. It is necessary for us to gradually find our way of dancing and moving authentically through this Rhythm, otherwise our practice stagnates and remains incomplete. It is only through our genuine passing through the whole Wave of the Rhythms that the blessed and blissful state of Stillness can be reached. But, like in a meditation practice, reaching the state of the balance of the elements cannot be taken for granted, even if we honestly fulfilled all the necessary conditions. Sometimes we get there, and sometimes we don’t, and the result is beyond our control.

There are more Shadow issues on the way. Some people like to dance on their own but have difficulties when it comes to finding a partner and moving in contact. Others prefer dancing in pairs and groups but have problems with dancing alone. Some people dislike following the directions of the teacher. All these issues can be used as a path of conscious self-development. The only real obstacle lies in inability or unwillingness to open oneself and deal with the inherent freedom of the absence of the formal, prescribed movements.

Conclusion

As I tried to show in this article, the methods of the spontaneous dance can be understood as practices of purification, balancing, and integration of the elements, analogous to some preliminary meditation trainings belonging to certain spiritual traditions. Spontaneous dance and Western astrology share the common ground of the four basic elements. While practice of astrology can surely be described as rather Apollonian activity, the spontaneous dance methods belong to the realm of the Dionysian. Based on my personal experience, I can say that both fields have a potential of mutual enrichment. While astrology offers a unique way of understanding the structure of our psyche, the spontaneous dance represents a great tool of experiencing the psyche on the level of emotions, body, and movement, and may even serve as a path of self-development and integration. I managed to integrate both fields successfully as a guest-lecturer within a unit of Art-therapy training in Czech Republic. I had a classical presentation of the astrological archetypes during the day, using words and visual material, while in the evening I led a lesson of the spontaneous dance inspired by the four elements. Since we need to develop understanding of astrological principles on other levels than that of the rational mind, I would like to conclude here with the statement that the spontaneous dance possesses some potential to serve such purpose.

Bibliography:
Darling Khan, Ya’Acov & Susannah. Movement Medicine. London: Hay House, 2009.
Greene, Liz. The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption. York Beach:
Samuel Weiser, 1996.
Jung, Carl Gustav. Psychological Types. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971.
Nakonečný, Milan. Magie v historii, teorii a praxi. Praha: Vodnář, 2009.
Roth, Gabrielle. Maps to Ecstasy. Novato (CA): Nataraj Publishing/New World Library, 1998.
Roth, Gabrielle. Sweat Your Prayers. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1998.
Tarnas, Richard. Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View. New York:
Viking Penguin, 2006.

Image sources:
Dancers: Image by pixel2013 from Pixabay
Chaos dance: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
4 dancers: Image by stux from Pixabay
Sea/stillness: Image by Dimitri Houtteman from Pixabay

Published in: www.infinityastrologicalmagazine.com, Jul/Aug 2019.

Author:
Petr Lisý is a Czech astrologer, psychotherapist, translator and independent researcher in the field of consciousness studies. He holds an M.A. in Adult Education from the Charles University in Prague (1997-2003) and the diploma in Biosynthesis Somatic and Depth Psychology Oriented Psychotherapy (2008-2012). His further education includes a two-year course in Psychological Astrology led by the Czech expert Rudolf Starý and the online Psyche & Cosmos Advanced Program with Stan Grof & Rick Tarnas (2018). The archetypal view on reality has become his intellectual passion, and he has been a professional astrologer for many years. Petr translated into the Czech language e.g. books by Stanislav Grof, Gabrielle Roth, and H. H. Dalai Lama. He also co-organized the International Transpersonal Conference 2017 in Prague, where he lectured on the spiritual emergency from the viewpoint of archetypal astrology. In 2017, he published in Czech the book Archetypal Astrology: The Development of Psychological Astrology from C.G. Jung to S. Grof and is currently working on its English edition.
Contact: lisy.astrolog@gmail.com 
Website (in English): www.archetypova-astrologie.cz

  

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