- Karana – Earth metaphor
- Thithi – Water metaphor
- Vara – Fire metaphor
- Nakshatra – Air metaphor
- Yoga – Space metaphor
Farmers until the advent of fertilizer based agriculture consulted the Karana tables of the Panchang to gain a timing advantages from nature. Karana’s association with the Earth metaphor is apt because of the agronomy association. Thithi being a division of the lunar cycle, affects water bodies on the planet. Oceanic high and low tides can be predicted using the Thithi tables. Celebrations were timed to coincide with the Thithi table to help the human mind drop its habitual barriers and merge with the festivities. Water is an apt metaphor for mental tension becoming diffused. The seven days of the week or Vara are named after seven significant luminaries in the sky who in the form of their relative positions provide statistical probability of changes to one’s life situations. Fire is a metaphor for transformation.
One can become charged up towards action by becoming aware of the innumerable permutations possible among the maha-bhutas in each moment.