Elementdraftschool: ayurveda· Frawley — Astrology of the Seers
Water (Ap / Jala)
अप्ap
also: jala, apas, water
ele-apDefinition
The water mahabhuta — the principle of cohesion, fluidity and liquidity. In Frawley's scheme it is the elemental basis of the Kapha humor ('the biological Water humor'), governing form, substance, weight, cohesion, stability and lubrication; Earth is folded under Water here.
Traditional
Prāṇa relevance
Water as Kapha gives the body form, substance and lubrication, seated in the stomach and lungs (book p.211). Its prana role is structural/cohesive (the watery-nutritive pole opposite Fire) — the Soma/lunar nourishment side, complementing the Agni/digestion side. Not yet linked to subtle prana.
Cross-book attributes (5) — fill / concur / diverge
Body LocationFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
the blood, lymph and other fluids are WateryGuna RankingFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
tamasic but less so than Earth — 'Water, Fire and Air, in that order, display decreasing tamas and increasing rajas'; with Earth, Water is among the two elements easiest to control/shape/stabilize, hence promotes sattva when harmoniously arrayedSpace ManifestationFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
Water in space = the liquid state of all matter; in a dwelling felt through flow, fluidity, dampness, 'juiciness'. Get-to-know-Water: a waterfall, 'moon-bathing' under the full moon, meditating on a river current. 'Water makes your life juicy or gummy depending upon whether your body and mind are filled with well-digested food or with toxins.'Svarodaya ShapeFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
crescent moon, concave side up (Svarodaya breath-shape)Water In Garden SvobodaFilledper txt-svoboda-vastu
⚑ Water in the GARDEN: flowing water is good, especially in the NE, particularly when it flows west→east or south→north; pools are welcome in the NE provided they are not so large as to upstage the house. Water BEHIND the house can destabilize the energy of the whole property (worsened if the pool is in the SW, if the land falls away toward the SW, or if there are no trees/walls/barriers behind the pool). 'Stagnant water anywhere fosters stagnant prāṇa.'Connections (11)
composed-of · 4
- Frawley explicitly: 'the biological Fire humor, Pitta, also contains water or oil as its base' (book p.217). So pitta = fire + water/oil — why he reads Scorpio (a water sign) as Pitta in nature.
- Frawley equates Kapha with Water: 'the biological Water humor is called Kapha, what sticks' (book p.211); and folds Earth under the Water humor (book p.215).
- Second half of 'pitta from Fire and Water' (PDF p.065) — the Water/ap constituent (the 'water or oil base' Frawley also names). Water is the 'joint' element shared by pitta and kapha.
- Svoboda: 'kapha [arises] from Water and Earth' (PDF p.065). This edge records the Water/ap constituent — the dominant element of the Heavy Pattern.
corresponds-to · 7
- Water element = Kapha humor (Frawley, book p.211, p.215).
- Frawley's element table makes the Moon the planet of water ('represents water and indicates the water element in general'); becomes airy when weak, fiery when combust (mutable).
- Frawley: 'Venus represents water and indicates more specifically the water element, as Mars does fire'; secondary air ('a light and somewhat mobile planet').
- Cancer is a Water sign in the four-element triplicity (Water = Cancer/Scorpio/Pisces) (book p.112, p.113-114).
- The Svadhishthana (sex/sacral center) corresponds to water (ap/jala) — the standard tantric mahabhuta of the second chakra. Supplied as the standard series, not from Frawley's chapter, which warns its element-rulership diverges (book p.234).
- Svoboda's compass element-scheme places Water in the northeast: 'Water in the northeast'; the Watery NE quadrant; NE 'associated with the Water Element'.
- NE confluence: 'Northeast is the direction of the Water Element' (PDF p.191); NE light has the flavour of Soma/'Nectar'. The Water-corner equation; one leg of the five-way NE confluence.
Sources
- txt-frawley-astrology-seersThe Three Humors (book p.211)Modern✓ verifiedthe Water humor (Kapha) 'what sticks'; governs form, substance, weight, cohesion, stability, lubrication; seated in stomach and lungs
- txt-frawley-astrology-seersbook p.215Modern✓ verifiedWater is one of the three humor-elements; Ayurveda folds Earth under Water
- txt-frawley-astrology-seersbook p.217Modern✓ verifiedPitta 'also contains water or oil as its base' (water is a constituent of the Fire humor)
Notes from other books
- txt-svoboda-vastuSvoboda: Water is a constituent of BOTH pitta (Fire+Water) AND kapha (Water+Earth) (PDF p.065) — the 'joint' element shared by the two non-vata doshas. Ojas is named 'the body's superlative and most intelligent form of the Water Element' (PDF p.081) — a subtle/refined Water, see pra- entities below.
- txt-svoboda-vastuNew field beyond the ch.3 'Elemental Space' patch (which gave Water its bodily/spatial face). Here Water is treated as a GARDEN landscape element with NE-favourable / SW-and-behind-the-house-detrimental placement and a directional flow rule (W→E, S→N). The stagnant-water→stagnant-prāṇa claim is the on-thesis datum; it mints a connection (below). The NE-water preference CONCURS with the BS-era NE-water association and with Svoboda's own ch.6 directions material — flagged as corroboration, not asserted as a merge.
Other attributes
- Tanmatra
- rasa (taste) — standard Samkhya scheme [TRADITIONAL — claimed-classical: Samkhya; not stated in this chapter]
- Sense Organ
- tongue / taste (rasana) [TRADITIONAL — Samkhya; not stated here]
- Qualities
- cool, heavy, moist, sticky, stable (Frawley: 'what sticks'); guru-laghu set deferred
- Humor Link
- basis of dos-kapha (the Water humor); Frawley, book p.211, p.215. NOTE Frawley also makes water a CONSTITUENT of Pitta: 'Pitta also contains water or oil as its base' (book p.217)