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Kay, so- I've read up on Alchemy and the philosophy of the Jungian Archetype and I sat and figured this out in my head a while ago. For those that live under a rock, the Greek Elements are:
Earth, Air, Fire, Water (Abbreviated to first initial so I can be lazy and save on typing later.) These are not literal, but a set of descriptions of causes, actions and traits in space/time. Even now, we describe certain people as "Fiery" or "Airheads" and everyone knows what that means.
Read more Hippie stuff relating to the Elements here.

We have the 4 (Five?) elements, the 4 mixes of three out of four, and one mix of all in equal parts. This'd give us 9.. hmm...

So, which is which and which is a mix and why? Here's what I think:

All Elements, Equal= This would be the Black Legion, showing their ability to take in any Chaos God Follower and thier true devotion to Chaos Undivided. Loyalist side, this is the UltraSmurfs and their abilities to have no weaknesses and have un-helmeted characters have +5 Armor of Plot protection.

Earth: Death Guard- E. is tenacious, staunch and unyielding, just like Morty and his smellyboys. This tenacity and ability to hold out is the hallmark of Imperial Fists. Heck, being masters of castle building, they literally tend Earthworks to hold against sieges!

Air: Air is quick, whimsical, and "flighty". It's assoiciated with lighter colors, so the White Scars fit all of this. The Thousand Sons are literally "dust in the wind" now, or have grown bird feathers granted from their patron Birdy god of magic.

Fire: Do I even have to point out why this is the Salamanders? no? Good! The fiery rage and berserkers of the World Eaters exemplify Fire. Heck, Fire can be a literal eater of Worlds if it spreads far enough!

Water: The personality of "Water" people can be moody, unsocial, as well as obsession-prone. So, Dark Angels and Emperor's Children. The DA homeworld was called Caliban, same as the waterworld in Dune (and even though it's a reference to Prospero's servant in Shakespere's "tempest"- he was on an island, so the association still stands). As for why Slannesh embodies Water.. once more: Fluids. 'Nuff said.

E, A, &W: When we get into the 3 elements mixes, we can ask what the legion lacks, and then figure out the rest from there. Lacking Fire are the Ravenguard and Nightlords. A raven is a carrion bird, embodying both air and earth and the legion seems to be plagued with Emo, moody goth kids. Ditto for Nightlords. While the Earth element may not be discernable at first, the NL's use of grisly trophies and decaying bits again reinforces an entropic nature. Both legions also lack Fire, being more suited to covert and stealthy actions rather than "BFTBG! Runn screaming at the enemy!"

E,W &F: So, what do you get when you combine Earth, Water and Fire? Well, picture a hot motel ingot of metal getting forged into a sword, then plunged into oil to temper it. (Oil, Water- it's a liquid!) and so, the Iron Hands are this combo's legion. They have the "Temper" of using their combat doctrines with excessive firepower. Strangely enough, this combo is also descriptive of the Word Bearers and not the Iron Warriors. So- hear me out- though Air is associated with Tzeentch and Big Bird loves him some books, keep in mind the Word Bearer symbol is a book- on fire. Ultimately, though- Air is about freedom and non-conformity. WB's are all about their zeal and "religion", which is anathema to free-thinkers.

E, A, &F: This combo lacks Water, so the legions would not be prone to dark moods and would be more unimaginative than others. Both the Space Wolves and Iron Warriors hit these prerequisites. Space Vikings come from the ice planet, so Water & Air- and they attack quick and with rage- Fire. While their horns and war cry would mark them as more Earth, I think the Iron Warriors lack Water- because it rusts Iron. That, and Perturabo was extremely autistic and lacked compassion. His Primarch power was the knowledge of creating weaponry and the best way to wage war. This would put him more in Tzeentch's favor, ergo- Air. Also note the lack of imagination of both legions: Space Norwegians mention Canis Lupii in every other unit and the Ferrite Fighters can't mention Iron or smithing for 5 seconds!


A, W, &F: Lacking in Earth, a personality would lack staunchness, humility, and control. Note that even without the wings on the blood drop, the Blood Angels would have an Air association, as the ancient medicine schools thought blood was associated with air. Person can't breathe very well? Well- they obviously have too much Air, gotta bleed them. get me the leeches! Blood is a liquid, so water is in there too- and fire because of the intensity of rage. Water is also prone to a certain manic-depressive mindset, so A BA could be fine one minute, then succumb to the black rage the next. Loyalty and dependability is also a strong asset of Earth, and the Alpha legion lack in these VERY much. They have the stealth and quickness of Air, the superb tactical and secret-hoarding of Water, and intensity of Fire.

Whew! Well, as stated- this is just head canon. If you'd put the legions in another place, comment below why you would and show you notes!