Ancient people, Hand explains, were more interested in the different modes in which they could experience the essence of something. For example, if something in ancient times was experienced as HOT, SHARP, ACTIVE, and possessing STRIKING INDIVIDUALITY of its own coupled with DYNANISM and a kind of INSTABILITY it would be thought of as being from the element of FIRE. This does not mean that ancient people literally thought of that person, place or thing actually being made of fire. They were describing what the experience feels like to someone when they encounter that person place or thing. 

Many Cultures throughout the world use the four elements in their philosophical and spiritual traditions. Most of them work with an idea that the vital or life force (known by many names such as prana, Qi and others )is broken down into the elements. Some examples of those traditions include Tibetan Cosmology, the Holy Scriptures of India (Bhagavad Gita), Indian Ayurvedic Medicine, Chinese Philosophy and Acupuncture. 

In his book Astrology, Psychology, and the Four Elements, Stephen Arroyo explains that Ancient Greek philosophy equated the four elements with man’s four faculties: moral (fire), aesthetic and soul (water) intellectual (air), and physical (earth). These ideas were imported to medieval and renaissance Europe from the writings of Galen and correlated with the four “humours” which led the way to four distinct human temperaments.