Nowadays, when we hear that a woman is a Sylph, we understand that she is very thin, slender, graceful and beautiful. The word sílfide comes from "silfo", that Paracelsus defined as elemental spirits of the air. Join us to meet the Silfos and Sílfides and 10 curiosities of the spirits of the air that maybe you did not know
Silfos and Sylphides
1. Paracelsus was a doctor and alchemist German who lived in the sixteenth century. He believed in the four elementary principles: air, earth, water and fire, and that these spontaneously produced some elemental spirits associated with them. He called the spiritual beings related to the air Silfos and Sylphides , those of the fire, salamanders, those of the water were the undines and the earth corresponded to the dwarves or gnomes . Paracelsus took his ideas from previous sources to him, but gave them a completely new treatment.
2. The word Sylph it is believed to be an acronym for two Latin words, "sylvestris" and "nympha" since in his writings Paracelsus sometimes uses the name "sylph" to speak of the forest nymphs. Other authors believe that it could come from the ancient Greek word "σίλφη" (silphē) whose meaning approximates "moth".
3. Paracelsus' description of sylphs is not very similar to the current idea of these beings influenced by later literature. The alchemist believed that sylphs and sylphs were very similar to human beings but "stronger, thicker, taller and stronger". I thought they looked like men because they moved through the air like us and if they came into contact with the fire they burned, with the water they were drowned and with the earth they got stuck.
4. Neither in Greek nor in Roman mythology do we find beings similar to those sylphs and sylphs . The most similar are the nymph s, but in the myths of antiquity there were no aerial nymphs, although there were water, forests, mountains and trees.
5. In the Middle Ages, in some parts of Europe, they believed in the existence of a type of magical being very similar to sylphs and sylphs . They were giant spirits that moved over the clouds beating their huge red wings of fire. They believed that the reddish or orange tint that sometimes stains the sky, was produced by the distant vision of these extraordinary creatures above the clouds.
6. In other areas of the old continent it was thought that if a large number of sylphs and sylphs they met and beat their wings rhythmically, they could cause swirls and even hurricanes.
7. The most famous sylph is Ariel. This spirit of the air is one of the protagonists of Shakespeare's play "The Tempest". It is saved by Prospero and serves as a slave until the end of the work gets freedom.
8. The image we have today of what is a sylph comes from both literature and the famous romantic ballet "La Sylphide" . In it, a nymph comes to the window of a young Scot named James, engaged to a young girl, and falls in love with him. Although the sylphs are invisible, they have the ability to show themselves to anyone they wish. The sylph steals the wedding ring and James chases her through the woods forgetting about her fiancee and falling in love with her. Among the trees he meets a witch, whom the young man had previously denounced, and who wants to take revenge on him. The woman gives him a veil and tells him that if he puts it on top of the sylph, it will lose its wings and stay with him forever. Actually the cloth was poisoned and the sylph loses its wings and with them its immortality and its life. The story ends with James deeply affected by what happened, seeing in the distance as his former fiancée marries his rival. The young man also dies and in the end, the evil, represented by the witch, triumphs.
Because the dancers representing the sylph tend to be extremely thin and slender, this image has passed into popular culture.
9. Literature for centuries has presented the term sylph or sylph as synonymous with fairies from air. Diaphanous beings, eared, tall and slender, endowed with great beauty. They are benefactor spirits for humans and often inspire artists. His favorite distraction seems to be to sculpt the clouds giving them shapes that from the earth are familiar to us.
10. According to folklore, although they are invisible, when they wish sylphs and sylphs They can show themselves and take on human appearance to love and be loved by men and women of flesh and blood. However, the couples of these spiritual beings should refrain from blaspheming and should be highly educated, since otherwise these beings of the air will be disappointed and will quickly abandon them.
Did you know the sylphs and sylphs , the air spirits of Paracelsus? Do you know anything more about them? Share it with us! If you want to know the water spirits described by this alchemist, we invite you to read: The Undines, the elemental beings related to water