Spirits

The Mana Spirits, or also known as Elemental Spirits, are magical beings representative of the elements that make up the world of Mana. In Seiken Densetsu they are important allys that allows you to cast magic spells. Choose one of these spirits as your ally to protect the mana seed of your website. Please save the images to your own sever. Thank you!

Wisp is the elemental spirit of Llight. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: Wisp takes its name not from any theory of Paracelsus, but from a natural phenomenon known as the will o' the wisp. Also known as "fool's fire", will o' the wisp occurs when clouds of gas rise from damp surfaces — like a swamp or marsh — and spontaneously catch fire. The effect is ghostly but beautiful. In the American translation of Secret of Mana, Wisp was female and named Lumina. This name derives from the Latin lumen, meaning "light". Though light itself shows up in no historical table of elements, the "battle" between light and shadow is a theme repeated in many religious and secular stories.
 
Gnome is the mana spirit of Earth. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: The Gnome character comes from Germanic folklore, though his association with the earth elemental comes through Paracelsus, who posited that gnomes were the most powerful and most important of the elemental spirits. They appeared as short, old men who spent most of their days deep in the earth mining for treasure. In Paracelsus' original theories, gnomes were the only male elemental spirit; fire, air and water were all characteristically female.
 
Jinn represents the element of Wind. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: The primary difference Squaresoft made in the formation of the Elemental Spirits in this series is the design for the elemental of wind and thunder. In Paracelsus' theories, these spirits were the sylphs, who may be familiar to those who played Final Fantasy IV - they are similar to fairies. In Secret of Mana, however, this element went to Jinn, a genie-like character inspired by Arabian folklore. Specifically, a "jinn" is a word referring to the entire class of spirits that includes genies. In the American translation of Secret of Mana, however, Jinn was called Sylphid. The term means "a diminuitive sylph". This name was dropped in favor of the Japanese one for translations of later games.
 
Shade is the elemental spirit of Darkness. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: Despite his demonic looks, Shade comes from a rather common belief in the spirit world. Referring to ghosts, a shade can be any sort of otherwordly presence. Though darkness itself shows up in no historical table of elements, the "battle" between light and shadow is a theme repeated in many religious and secular stories. In Greek mythology people did not have souls but "shadows" which where the parts that went to the Underworld when the person died.
 
Undine is the mana spirit of Water. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: Undine comes directly from the theories of Paracelsus, who posited that undines were water spirits who enjoyed stormy weather. The name comes from the Latin unda, meaning "wave." According to Paracelsus, however, undines looked more like mermaids and less generally fishy than Undine does. In folklore, undines could only get a soul by falling in love with and marrying a human. This romantic and tragic aspect has made undines a motif in certain works of literature, such as the novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué or subsequent operas by E.T.A. Hoffman and Albert Lortzing, and the fairy tale the "The Little Mermaid" by Hans Christian Andersen.
 
Salamander is the elemental spirit of Fire. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: Though Salamando/Salamander is clearly male in the games, Paracelsus imagined the fire spirit as being female — and as a sort of supernatural extension of the common animal of the same name. Salamanders were seen to be immune to fire and could therefore tread through it without sustaining injury. In the symbolism of medieval heraldry, a salamander — depicted as a burning lizard — meant courage.
 
Luna represents the element of Moon. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: Luna is associated with the moon, the heavens, gold and the manufactured (inorganic) world. Though the Romans had a moon goddess named Luna, this elemental spirit doesn't seem to be based on any mythological figure in particular; however, her celestial powers could be seen to represent the element of Heaven (Kū) in Japanese elementology. In Legend of Mana, Squaresoft changed Luna to Aura and her powers to Gold, which can be seen as a representation of "Metal" in Chinese alchemy, possibly in order to better balance the elemental grid, thus posing her as the antithesis of Dryad, the Elemental of trees. Aura's name seems to come from a feminization of the Latin aurum, meaning "gold."
 
Dryad's element is Wood. The Secret of Mana Wiki describes it as follows: Finally, Dryad emerges from Greek mythology. In ancient Greek culture, dryads were female nymphs who were spiritually connected to oak trees. These figures looked more like beautiful young women than the Dryad from this particular series, however. Whereas Secret of Mana referred to Dryad as the Mana spirit, Legend of Mana makes her the elemental spirit of trees, wood and plants in general. In Chinese alchemy, wood is another of the five primal elements.

The information mentioned here are based on writings of Paracelsus, a physicist and alchemist who had some interesting theories on the occult side of nature.