The elements
The science, and the suit
The four classical elements and the fifth, each read twice: the real physics and chemistry of it, and the tarot suit and temperament it carries.
Fire
The first element we ever tamed, and the one we still can't fully hold. Fire is a reaction, not a thing, the visible edge of fuel turning into heat and light and ash. In the deck it rules the suit of Wands, the will, the spark that wants to move.
Water
The element of feeling, memory, and what moves underneath. Two hydrogens, one oxygen, and the strangest common thing on Earth. In the cards it pours into the suit of Cups: love, grief, the inner tide.
Air
The breath in the room, the thinking element. Air is mind, speech, and the cut of a clear thought. In tarot it rules the Swords, the suit of truth that can heal or wound.
Earth
The element of the body, the harvest, and the slow patient work of staying. Earth is what you can hold in your hand. In the deck it rules Pentacles, the suit of money, work, food, and the warm animal fact of being alive in a body.
Spirit
The fifth element, the one the old philosophers added when four would not hold the sky. Not a thing you can pour or burn. The space the other four happen inside.