The Complementary Opposites: Fire and Air

In the last blog post, we concluded the series of texts talking about the four elements. If you haven't seen it yet, go back a bit, take five minutes, and read each of them. These texts will be important for the topic we are going to discuss from now on: Opposites and Complements.

We finished the series discussing each Element, and today we're going to see how they relate, starting with the Yang polarity: Fire and Air.

So, today I'm here to talk to you about Light and Shadow.

Yes, it sounds a little confusing! But relax, I'll explain.

To do this, let's recap...

We talked about polarities, specifically the Yang polarity, which is the energy that pours out into the world. Fire and Air are the elements that make up this polarity.

What we haven't discussed is that these two elements are also opposite and complementary.

If we observe nature, we can see that fire (or heat) warms the air molecules and causes them to move. Thus, wind is air in motion, and what causes this movement is differences in temperature and pressure (fire).

In contrast, air is necessary for fire because fire only burns when there is oxygen; it is what feeds the fire. Furthermore, it is the wind that carries or spreads the fire (a sad example we see in Brazil is the wildfires and the wind's impact on them).

With this observation of nature, you can perceive the complementarity of these elements. Therefore, when we bring this observation into the field of astrology, we also understand these energies as complementary.

And to talk a bit about light and shadow, about Fire and Air, I'm going to use the first axis as an example: Aries and Libra.

Aries represents Fire, the energy of the Self, "my things," "what I want"—an energy of assertion, independence, autonomy, and doing things for myself.

On the other side, you have Libra, representing the Air element, which already perceives the importance of the "other" in its life, realizing how crucial partnerships are.

Here you can clearly see the dichotomy between the "I" and the "We."

One energy is much more ego-driven—self-centered and self-referenced—and the other energy recognizes the collective and that something exists beyond oneself.

A Fire that says: "I can do what I want."

And an Air that replies: "Whoa! You can do what you want, as long as you respect the other person's boundary."

And these energies are complementary because if you have an excess of Fire, you will be a very self-focused, self-referenced person, who can turn into a "tractor" that runs over the opinions of others, failing to perceive other possibilities.

Whereas with an excess of Air, you might end up immersed in a cycle of "thinking, thinking, thinking" and, often, not acting. And often, you might even develop a dependence or a very strong influence from the people around you. Instead of having your own convictions, you become highly susceptible to the environment.

And bringing this into the context of light and shadow, I mention this because looking at the astrological mandala, when the sun is on one side, you will have the shadow on the other. The Shadow is not meant in the sense of something bad, but in the sense of something that is hidden, something I don't see—it is a potential I am not conscious of. And this is part of our work on consciousness and development: reaching those energies that are more in the shadow and seeking a balance between them.

To conclude, the Opposite and Complementary energies need a balance so that we can have a more harmonious journey through this world, and it is our job to be attentive to the signs to realize when one is overpowering the other.

Tell me, after everything I've told you, can you perceive if you have a predominance of any of these elements? Any imbalance?

And how have you been taking care to ensure balance is present on your journey?

And stay tuned, in the next blog post, I will talk about the other two opposite and complementary elements: Earth and Water.

I'll be waiting for you!

With love,

Kim Bins