Platonic Solids

In some settings, the Platonic Solids or "Perfect solids" are representations of magical elements. Contrary to popular belief (and what it says under GURPS Thaumatology's Alternative Elements sectionGURPS Thaumatology p. 47 there are five not four Europian magical elements - one for each of the Platonic Solids.
Platonic Solid	Number of faces	Primary Element	Concepts
Tetrahedron 	Four faces 	Fire 	perpetuates balance and stability
Cube 	Six faces 	Earth 	reconnecting energy to nature
Octahedron 	Eight faces 	Air 	cultivating acceptance and compassion
Dodecahedron 	Twelve faces 	Universe/Aether	mystery and meditation
Icosahedron 	Twenty faces 	Water 	enhances creative thought and expression
In settings where magic is based around the Platonic Solids the four elemental colleges (fire, earth, air, and water) will definitely exist but where the other fall is dependent on the culture though Knowledge College would fall under the Universe/Aether Element.
Some Colleges fall under more than one element and some, like Weather (dust storms being the Earth connection), technically fall under all five.
Chinese philosophy also has five elements but they are different: fire, earth, water, wood, and metal. 
Indian-derived thinking more closely resembles the Platonic elements though with different concepts: fire (transformation); earth (rigidity and permanence); air or wind (mobility and dynamism); and void, also known as space or ether (distance and sound); and water (change).
==References==
Category:Concepts
Category:Magic Concepts
Category:Elementals