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submitted 3 weeks ago by FenrirIII@lemmy.world to c/avatar@lemmy.world
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[-] Apytele@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 weeks ago

When I studied alchemy I was so confused as to why avatar used the western 4 element version instead of the 5 element Wuxing then I realized the Japanese / Shinto also often use a 4 element version because apparently a lot of it goes back to a mutual origin in Buddhism. (Well sort of 4, they both also often include a 5th spiritual aether element and also it turns out the wuxing is often just used to describe transitions vs the 8 trigrams are more analagous to the elements but also they don't fit neatly into the 4 aaaand... it turns out spiritually is complicated and highly culturally contextually, who knew?)

this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2026
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