Wheel of Elements

Spin fire, water, earth or air, a fantasy element such as shadow or lava, or any of the 118 chemical elements.

Wheel of Elements

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VoidSandIceSoundSpiritSunBerylliumFluorineAluminiumVanadiumGalliumRhodiumIndiumTinTelluriumEuropiumPlatinumBismuthFermiumNobeliumRutherfordi…CoperniciumFleroviumTennessine

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Tellurium

Symbol Te, atomic number 52. Group 16. Named from Latin tellus, ground or earth.

My list: 24 of 150 elements on the wheel

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    The wheel shows 24 of 150 elements. Every spin picks from all 150.

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        All 150 elements

        Greek four plus aether 5

        • Aether Aristotle's fifth element, the quintessence: the unchanging stuff of the stars, set apart from the four earthly elements.
        • Air Hot and wet in Aristotle's scheme, and Plato gave it the octahedron. The Japanese godai calls it wind.
        • Earth Cold and dry in Aristotle's scheme, and Plato gave it the cube. In wuxing it bears metal and contains water.
        • Fire Hot and dry in Aristotle's scheme, and Plato gave it the tetrahedron. In wuxing, wood feeds it and it melts metal. The stock rival of water and ice.
        • Water Cold and wet in Aristotle's scheme, and Plato gave it the icosahedron. In wuxing it nourishes wood and dampens fire.

        Wuxing, the five phases 2

        • Metal A phase of Chinese wuxing: autumn, the west, white. Earth bears it, fire melts it, it collects water and it chops wood.
        • Wood A phase of Chinese wuxing: spring and the east. Water nourishes it, it feeds fire, it grips earth, and metal chops it.
        Show all 150 elements (143 more)

        Blends of two 6

        • Lava Fire plus earth. Slow, heavy and hard to stop, not quick. It cools to black rock, which gives the design a second look.
        • Mist Water plus air. Hides a whole army and soaks nobody. Pair it with a quiet character.
        • Mud Water plus earth. Traps feet, fills moats and dries into walls. Rarely chosen, which is the reason to choose it.
        • Sand Earth plus air. Dunes, glass in the making, and an hourglass motif for free.
        • Smoke Fire plus air. Blinds and chokes without burning: the element of a thief or a scout.
        • Steam Fire plus water. Scalds, hides and drives machines, so it suits an engineer as well as a mage.

        Alkali metals 6

        • Caesium Symbol Cs, atomic number 55. An alkali metal. Named from Latin caesius, sky-blue. Spelled cesium in the US.
        • Francium Symbol Fr, atomic number 87. An alkali metal. Named after France, the home country of its discoverer Marguerite Perey.
        • Lithium Symbol Li, atomic number 3. An alkali metal. Named from Greek lithos, stone.
        • Potassium Symbol K, atomic number 19. An alkali metal. Named from potash, literally pot ash. The symbol comes from Neo-Latin kalium.
        • Rubidium Symbol Rb, atomic number 37. An alkali metal. Named from Latin rubidus, deep red.
        • Sodium Symbol Na, atomic number 11. An alkali metal. Its first isolator, Humphry Davy, coined the name from soda. The symbol comes from Neo-Latin natrium.

        Alkaline earth metals 6

        • Barium Symbol Ba, atomic number 56. An alkaline earth metal. Named from Greek barys, heavy.
        • Beryllium Symbol Be, atomic number 4. An alkaline earth metal. Named after the mineral beryl.
        • Calcium Symbol Ca, atomic number 20. An alkaline earth metal. Named from Latin calx, lime.
        • Magnesium Symbol Mg, atomic number 12. An alkaline earth metal. Named after the Magnesia region of Thessaly, Greece.
        • Radium Symbol Ra, atomic number 88. An alkaline earth metal. Coined in French by Marie Curie, who found it, from Latin radius, ray.
        • Strontium Symbol Sr, atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal. Named after Strontian, the Scottish village where it was found.

        Halogens 6

        • Astatine Symbol At, atomic number 85. A halogen. Named from Greek astatos, unstable: no isotope is stable.
        • Bromine Symbol Br, atomic number 35. A halogen. Liquid at room temperature. Named from Greek bromos, stench.
        • Chlorine Symbol Cl, atomic number 17. A halogen. A gas at room temperature. Named from Greek chloros, greenish yellow.
        • Fluorine Symbol F, atomic number 9. A halogen. A gas at room temperature. Named from Latin fluo, to flow.
        • Iodine Symbol I, atomic number 53. A halogen. From French iode, from the Greek for violet.
        • Tennessine Symbol Ts, atomic number 117. Synthetic, in group 17 under the halogens. Named after the US state of Tennessee.

        Seven metals of alchemy 7

        • Copper Symbol Cu, atomic number 29. A transition metal. From Latin cuprum, after Cyprus. Alchemists paired it with Venus.
        • Gold Symbol Au, atomic number 79. A transition metal. An English word from the same ancient root as yellow. The symbol comes from Latin aurum. Alchemists paired it with the Sun.
        • Iron Symbol Fe, atomic number 26. A transition metal. An English word from a Proto-Celtic one. The symbol comes from Latin ferrum. Alchemists paired it with Mars.
        • Lead Symbol Pb, atomic number 82. Group 14. An English word from a Proto-Celtic root meaning flow. The symbol comes from Latin plumbum. Alchemists paired it with Saturn.
        • Mercury Symbol Hg, atomic number 80. A transition metal. Liquid at room temperature. Named after the Roman god Mercury. The symbol comes from hydrargyrum, water-silver. The alchemists' quicksilver, paired with the planet Mercury.
        • Silver Symbol Ag, atomic number 47. A transition metal. An English word of Germanic origin. The symbol comes from Latin argentum. Alchemists paired it with the Moon.
        • Tin Symbol Sn, atomic number 50. Group 14. An English word of Germanic origin. The symbol comes from Latin stannum. Alchemists paired it with Jupiter.

        Noble gases 7

        • Argon Symbol Ar, atomic number 18. A noble gas. Named from Greek argos, idle, because it is inert.
        • Helium Symbol He, atomic number 2. A noble gas. Named from Greek helios, the sun.
        • Krypton Symbol Kr, atomic number 36. A noble gas. Named from Greek kryptos, hidden.
        • Neon Symbol Ne, atomic number 10. A noble gas. Named from Greek neon, new.
        • Oganesson Symbol Og, atomic number 118. Synthetic, in group 18 under the noble gases. Named after the Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian.
        • Radon Symbol Rn, atomic number 86. A noble gas. The name shortens radium emanation.
        • Xenon Symbol Xe, atomic number 54. A noble gas. Named from Greek xenos, strange or foreign.

        Lanthanides 15

        • Cerium Symbol Ce, atomic number 58. A lanthanide. Named after Ceres, now a dwarf planet, which was counted as a planet at the time.
        • Dysprosium Symbol Dy, atomic number 66. A lanthanide. Named from Greek dysprositos, hard to get.
        • Erbium Symbol Er, atomic number 68. A lanthanide. Named after Ytterby, Sweden, like yttrium, terbium and ytterbium.
        • Europium Symbol Eu, atomic number 63. A lanthanide. Named after Europe.
        • Gadolinium Symbol Gd, atomic number 64. A lanthanide. Named after the mineral gadolinite, itself named after the Finnish chemist Johan Gadolin.
        • Holmium Symbol Ho, atomic number 67. A lanthanide. Named from Neo-Latin Holmia, Stockholm.
        • Lanthanum Symbol La, atomic number 57. A lanthanide. Named from Greek lanthanein, to lie hidden.
        • Lutetium Symbol Lu, atomic number 71. A lanthanide. Named from Latin Lutetia, Paris. It sits in group 3, so it is tagged as a transition metal too.
        • Neodymium Symbol Nd, atomic number 60. A lanthanide. Named from the Greek for new twin.
        • Praseodymium Symbol Pr, atomic number 59. A lanthanide. Named from the Greek for green twin.
        • Promethium Symbol Pm, atomic number 61. A lanthanide. Named after Prometheus, a Titan of Greek myth.
        • Samarium Symbol Sm, atomic number 62. A lanthanide. Named after the mineral samarskite, itself named after a Russian mine official, V. Samarsky-Bykhovets.
        • Terbium Symbol Tb, atomic number 65. A lanthanide. Found at Ytterby, Sweden, and named after it.
        • Thulium Symbol Tm, atomic number 69. A lanthanide. Named after Thule, the ancient name for a northern land nobody has placed for certain.
        • Ytterbium Symbol Yb, atomic number 70. A lanthanide. One of four elements named after the village of Ytterby, Sweden.

        Actinides 15

        • Actinium Symbol Ac, atomic number 89. An actinide. Named from Greek aktis, ray.
        • Americium Symbol Am, atomic number 95. A synthetic actinide. Named after the Americas, where it was first made, to match europium above it.
        • Berkelium Symbol Bk, atomic number 97. A synthetic actinide. First made in Berkeley, California, and named after it.
        • Californium Symbol Cf, atomic number 98. A synthetic actinide. Named after California, where it was first made.
        • Curium Symbol Cm, atomic number 96. A synthetic actinide. Named after the physicists and chemists Pierre and Marie Curie.
        • Einsteinium Symbol Es, atomic number 99. A synthetic actinide. Named after the physicist Albert Einstein.
        • Fermium Symbol Fm, atomic number 100. A synthetic actinide. Named after the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi.
        • Lawrencium Symbol Lr, atomic number 103. A synthetic actinide. Named after the American physicist Ernest Lawrence. It sits in group 3, so it is tagged as a transition metal too.
        • Mendelevium Symbol Md, atomic number 101. A synthetic actinide. Named after Dmitri Mendeleev, the Russian chemist behind the periodic table.
        • Neptunium Symbol Np, atomic number 93. An actinide. Named after the planet Neptune.
        • Nobelium Symbol No, atomic number 102. A synthetic actinide. Named after Alfred Nobel, the Swedish chemist and engineer.
        • Plutonium Symbol Pu, atomic number 94. An actinide. Named after Pluto, which was counted as a planet at the time.
        • Protactinium Symbol Pa, atomic number 91. An actinide. Proto plus actinium, because it decays into actinium.
        • Thorium Symbol Th, atomic number 90. An actinide. Named after the Norse thunder god Thor.
        • Uranium Symbol U, atomic number 92. An actinide. Named after the planet Uranus.

        Named after myths and the sky 10

        • Cadmium Symbol Cd, atomic number 48. A transition metal. Named from cadmia, calamine, after King Cadmus, the mythic founder of Thebes.
        • Cobalt Symbol Co, atomic number 27. A transition metal. Named from German Kobold, a goblin.
        • Iridium Symbol Ir, atomic number 77. A transition metal. Named after Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow.
        • Nickel Symbol Ni, atomic number 28. A transition metal. Named after Nickel, an impish sprite of German miners' lore.
        • Niobium Symbol Nb, atomic number 41. A transition metal. Named after King Tantalus's daughter in Greek myth, Niobe. Tantalum sits directly below it in the table.
        • Palladium Symbol Pd, atomic number 46. A transition metal. Named after the asteroid Pallas, which was counted as a planet at the time.
        • Selenium Symbol Se, atomic number 34. Group 16. Named from Greek selene, the moon.
        • Tantalum Symbol Ta, atomic number 73. A transition metal. Named after Niobe's father in Greek myth, King Tantalus.
        • Titanium Symbol Ti, atomic number 22. A transition metal. Named after the Titans, children of Gaia and Ouranos in Greek myth.
        • Vanadium Symbol V, atomic number 23. A transition metal. Named after Vanadis, a name for the Norse goddess Freyja.

        Elements 1 to 20 9

        • Aluminium Symbol Al, atomic number 13. Group 13. Named from alumina, from Latin alumen, a bitter salt. Spelled aluminum in the US.
        • Boron Symbol B, atomic number 5. Group 13. Named after the mineral borax.
        • Carbon Symbol C, atomic number 6. Group 14. Named from Latin carbo, coal.
        • Hydrogen Symbol H, atomic number 1. Group 1, but not a metal. A gas at room temperature. Named from Greek roots meaning water-forming. The lightest element.
        • Nitrogen Symbol N, atomic number 7. Group 15. A gas at room temperature. Named from Greek roots meaning niter-forming.
        • Oxygen Symbol O, atomic number 8. Group 16. A gas at room temperature. Named from Greek roots meaning acid-forming.
        • Phosphorus Symbol P, atomic number 15. Group 15. Named from Greek phosphoros, light-bearing.
        • Silicon Symbol Si, atomic number 14. Group 14. Named from Latin silex, flint.
        • Sulfur Symbol S, atomic number 16. Group 16. The name is Latin. One of the three primes of Paracelsus, his principle of combustibility.

        Fantasy setting elements 19

        • Ash What fire leaves behind. Suits a character who arrives after the battle: gray palette, embers under the surface.
        • Crystal Earth grown in order: facets, prisms, resonance. Hard and brittle at the same time.
        • Dream Sleep, illusion and memory. Strong only when the target is tired or not paying attention.
        • Glass Sand after fire. Transparent, sharp when broken, and it bends light.
        • Gravity Heavier, lighter, sideways. It works on everything at once, including the user.
        • Ice Water with the heat taken out. Pale blues, hard edges, fogging breath. It melts near fire in most settings, so give it a rival.
        • Light Heals, blinds and reveals. The standard opposite of shadow, and not always the kind one.
        • Lightning Fast, loud and over in an instant. Decide the limit early: one strike a day, or only under open sky?
        • Moon Tides, phases and night. Power that waxes and wanes with the phases gives the story a built-in clock.
        • Nature Plants, roots and growth. Slow in a fight and unbeatable over a season.
        • Poison Works slowly and needs a delivery: fang, thorn, cup or cloud. Give the character an antidote they guard.
        • Shadow Needs a light source to exist, which is a ready-made weakness. Stealth, not evil, unless you say so.
        • Sound Echo, song and silence. Useless in a vacuum and deafening in a cave.
        • Spirit Souls, ghosts and the life in things. The usual fifth element when a setting wants one beside the classical four.
        • Star Distant light, navigation and wishes. Reads as fate or guidance more than firepower.
        • Storm Wind, rain and thunder at once. Strong at sea and on open ground, weak indoors.
        • Sun Daylight, heat and growth. Strongest at noon and gone at night: the mirror image of a moon character.
        • Time Pauses, rewinds and glimpses ahead. Always set a price, or every plot problem disappears.
        • Void The fifth of the Japanese godai, also read as sky or heaven, beside earth, water, fire and wind. In fantasy it becomes empty space that swallows things.

        Groups 13 to 16 and hydrogen 13

        • Antimony Symbol Sb, atomic number 51. Group 15. From Latin antimonium, a word of unclear origin. The symbol comes from Latin stibium.
        • Arsenic Symbol As, atomic number 33. Group 15. The name goes back through French to Greek arsenikon, yellow arsenic.
        • Bismuth Symbol Bi, atomic number 83. Group 15. From German Wismut, which goes back to a Greek word for white lead.
        • Flerovium Symbol Fl, atomic number 114. Group 14, synthetic. Named after the Flerov Laboratory in Dubna, Russia, itself named after the physicist Georgy Flyorov.
        • Gallium Symbol Ga, atomic number 31. Group 13. Named from Latin Gallia, France.
        • Germanium Symbol Ge, atomic number 32. Group 14. Named from Latin Germania, Germany.
        • Indium Symbol In, atomic number 49. Group 13. Named from Latin indicum, indigo, the blue seen in its spectral lines.
        • Livermorium Symbol Lv, atomic number 116. Group 16, synthetic. Named after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California.
        • Moscovium Symbol Mc, atomic number 115. Group 15, synthetic. Named after Moscow, Russia.
        • Nihonium Symbol Nh, atomic number 113. Group 13, synthetic. Named from Nihon, the Japanese word for Japan, where it was first made.
        • Polonium Symbol Po, atomic number 84. Group 16. Named from Latin Polonia, Poland, the home country of its discoverer Marie Curie.
        • Tellurium Symbol Te, atomic number 52. Group 16. Named from Latin tellus, ground or earth.
        • Thallium Symbol Tl, atomic number 81. Group 13. Named from Greek thallos, a green shoot.

        Elements 1 to 36 4

        • Chromium Symbol Cr, atomic number 24. A transition metal. Named from Greek chroma, color.
        • Manganese Symbol Mn, atomic number 25. A transition metal. The name is a corruption of magnesia negra, so it shares a root with magnesium.
        • Scandium Symbol Sc, atomic number 21. A transition metal. Named from Latin Scandia, Scandinavia.
        • Zinc Symbol Zn, atomic number 30. A transition metal. Most likely named from German Zinke, a prong or tooth.

        Transition metals 20

        • Bohrium Symbol Bh, atomic number 107. A synthetic transition metal. Named after the Danish physicist Niels Bohr.
        • Copernicium Symbol Cn, atomic number 112. A synthetic transition metal. Named after the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
        • Darmstadtium Symbol Ds, atomic number 110. A synthetic transition metal. First made in Darmstadt, Germany, and named after it.
        • Dubnium Symbol Db, atomic number 105. A synthetic transition metal. Discovered in Dubna, Russia, and named after it.
        • Hafnium Symbol Hf, atomic number 72. A transition metal. Named from Neo-Latin Hafnia, Copenhagen.
        • Hassium Symbol Hs, atomic number 108. A synthetic transition metal. Named from Neo-Latin Hassia, the German state of Hesse.
        • Meitnerium Symbol Mt, atomic number 109. A synthetic transition metal. Named after the Austrian physicist Lise Meitner.
        • Molybdenum Symbol Mo, atomic number 42. A transition metal. Named from Greek molybdos, lead, because its ore was confused with a lead ore.
        • Osmium Symbol Os, atomic number 76. A transition metal. Named from Greek osme, smell.
        • Platinum Symbol Pt, atomic number 78. A transition metal. Named from Spanish platina, little silver.
        • Rhenium Symbol Re, atomic number 75. A transition metal. Named from Latin Rhenus, the Rhine.
        • Rhodium Symbol Rh, atomic number 45. A transition metal. Named from Greek rhodoeis, rose-colored.
        • Roentgenium Symbol Rg, atomic number 111. A synthetic transition metal. Named after the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen.
        • Ruthenium Symbol Ru, atomic number 44. A transition metal. Named from Neo-Latin Ruthenia, Russia.
        • Rutherfordium Symbol Rf, atomic number 104. A synthetic transition metal. Named after Ernest Rutherford, the physicist from New Zealand.
        • Seaborgium Symbol Sg, atomic number 106. A synthetic transition metal. Named after the American chemist Glenn Seaborg.
        • Technetium Symbol Tc, atomic number 43. A transition metal. Named from Greek tekhnetos, artificial.
        • Tungsten Symbol W, atomic number 74. A transition metal. Named from Swedish tung sten, heavy stone. The symbol W comes from Wolfram, 'wolf's foam' in Middle High German.
        • Yttrium Symbol Y, atomic number 39. A transition metal. Found at Ytterby, Sweden, and named after it. Terbium, erbium and ytterbium carry the same village's name.
        • Zirconium Symbol Zr, atomic number 40. A transition metal. Named after the mineral zircon, from Persian zargun, gold-hued.

        How this list was compiled: Chemical elements: all 118 names, symbols, atomic numbers, group numbers, blocks, room-temperature phases, natural or synthetic origin and name origins from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chemical_elements, checked 2026-09-18. The category groups follow the group numbers in that table: alkali metals are group 1 without hydrogen, alkaline earth metals group 2, halogens group 17, noble gases group 18, lanthanides 57 to 71, actinides 89 to 103. Transition metals are groups 3 to 12, the 2011 IUPAC wording quoted at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transition_metal (checked 2026-09-18), which notes that group 12 is sometimes left out; lutetium and lawrencium sit in group 3 in the table, so they carry their series and the transition metal tag. Tennessine and oganesson are tagged by group number only. Greek elements, Aristotle's qualities, Plato's solids, aether and the Japanese godai: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_element, checked 2026-09-18. Wuxing cycles, seasons, directions and colors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxing_(Chinese_philosophy), checked 2026-09-18. Seven planetary metals and the three primes of Paracelsus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemical_symbol, checked 2026-09-18. The 24 fantasy elements, the six blends and every story note are this site's own writing, not taken from any one game, book or show. Licence: own work

        How it works

        This wheel of elements holds 150 entries in three sets. Eight come from old philosophy: the Greek four plus aether, the Chinese five phases and the Japanese void. Twenty-four are fantasy staples such as ice and shadow. The other 118 are the chemical elements. Choose one kind of element, spin the wheel and read the card.

        Read the full guide

        Which set to spin for a character

        Classical and fantasy elements is the elemental wheel: 32 entries, each with a limit or a rival. Aristotle gave each of the Greek four two qualities: fire is hot and dry, water cold and wet. Choose Wuxing and the wheel draws its cycle clockwise: wood feeds fire, fire makes earth, earth bears metal, metal collects water, water nourishes wood. Blends of two pairs the Greek four six ways, from lava to mist.

        Spin the periodic table with no repeats

        For a quiz night, choose Elements 1 to 36 and switch to Elimination. Each winner leaves the wheel, so hydrogen to krypton gives 36 questions. Read the name aloud, let the table answer with the symbol and atomic number, then check the card. It adds the name origin: cobalt from Kobold, a goblin, argon from the Greek for idle.

        • Spin twice on Classical and fantasy elements and keep both, one main, one minor. Fire with a trace of mist is a character. Fire alone is a label.
        • For a name, choose Named after myths and the sky. Eighteen are named after gods, Titans, mortals of Greek myth, planets and mine spirits: thorium, promethium, tantalum, nickel.
        • For turn order, each player spins Wuxing once. Each phase overcomes the next but one clockwise: metal chops wood, water dampens fire. Whoever overcomes the player on their left goes first.

        Questions and answers

        What are the classical elements?

        Fire, earth, air and water. Empedocles proposed them as a set around 450 BC and called them roots. Aristotle added a fifth, aether, for the stars. The Chinese wuxing names wood, fire, earth, metal and water, which scholars now call five phases because they describe change, not substance.

        Are all 118 chemical elements on the wheel?

        Yes, hydrogen (1) to oganesson (118), checked against Wikipedia's list on 18 September 2026. Eight groups follow the table's own, from alkali metals to noble gases. Zinc, cadmium, mercury and copernicium count as transition metals here, though some chemists leave group 12 out.

        Why is there a Seven metals of alchemy group?

        Alchemists paired the seven metals known since antiquity with the seven classical planets: gold with the Sun, silver with the Moon, quicksilver with Mercury, copper with Venus, iron with Mars, tin with Jupiter, lead with Saturn. Only mercury kept the name.

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