The earliest of Greek natural philosophers, Thales, in considering which was the most basic element in the cosmos, from which the cosmos was made, supposed that the cosmos was made of Water.  Later, Heraclitus decided that the most basic element in the cosmos was Fire, and Anaxagoras named Air as the essential constituent of the cosmos.  In the 6th Century BC, Empedocles first suggested that the cosmos was made of four constituent elements, which he named as Fire, Air, Water and Earth, in order from the most rare to the most dense.  

This was the beginning of the Christian understanding of Heaven and Earth, as St. Augustine took from Plato's understanding that Heaven was made of Fire, and that Air and Water separated Heaven from Earth.  It was much later that the concept of Hell was first forwarded, and by this time the concept of the four constituent elements of the cosmos had been forgotten. Fire is still seen as Holy in many religions, and especially so in Christianity, despite the association between Fire and Hell.

The associations we make are in our own minds as individuals, and although as social animals we tend to find agreement in our thinking, we must remember that elemental associations are subject to personal interpretation and should not be considered absolute. Consider what the relationships are between the ideas in your own mind, and use these associations in your magick, not the associations you learn from other people.  If you want to represent a concept in your magick, you must use something that represents that concept to you, not to someone else.

Adapted from http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/2763/witchy/c4.html:

Element	EARTH	WATER	AIR	FIRE
Qualities	Cold & dry, very heavy, passive. Solid. Receptive (yin).	Cold & moist, heavy, passive. Mobile. Receptive (yin).	Hot & moist, light, active. Transparent. Projective (yang).	Hot & dry, very light, active. Luminous. Projective (yang).
Basic nature	Fertile, moist, nurturing, stabilising, grounding	Flowing, cleansing, healing, soothing, loving	Floating, moving, fresh, intelligent, suspending	Purifying, destroying, energetic, sexual, forceful
Rules	The body, growth, nature, sustenance, material gain, money, fertility, birth, death, gravity, silence, rocks, standing stones, crystals, jewels, metals, wealth, abundance, wisdom.	Emotions, love, courage, nurture, sensitivity, psychic ability, healing, sorrow, life-giving and life-destroying, the ocean, the tides, the unconscious mind, the womb.	The mind, all mental, intuitive and psychic work, knowledge, abstract learning, theory, rebirth, beginnings, imagination, belief, wind, breath, poetry, sound.	Energy, spirit, heat, flame, blood, sap, life, will, healing and destroying, purification, bonfires, hearth fires, candle flames, the sun, eruptions, explosions, sexual energy, passion, quick active energy, anger, power, inspiration, desire.
Time of day	Dusk	Midnight	Dawn	Midday
Season	Autumn	Winter	Spring	Summer
Stage of the life cycle	Old age	Between death and birth (conception)	Youth	Sexual maturity
Moon phase	Waning	Old	Waxing	Full
Colours	Green, brown, orange, black, white, the four colours of malkuth	Blue, brownish grey, green, turquoise, sea green, pinkish blue, grey, indigo, black	Yellow, white, crimson, blue-white, blue, silver, grey, pastels	Red, gold, crimson, orange, white, scarlet, fuscia, maroon
Elemental creatures	Gnomes, ruled by King Ghob	Undines, ruled by Queen Necksa	Sylphs, ruled by King Paralda	Salamanders, ruled by King Djin
. . . known by Paracelsus as	Pygmies	Nymphs	Aerei	Sylphs
Elementals attracted by	Salts and powders	Water, washes, solutions	Oils and incenses	Candles, lamps, incense, fire
The principle of	Law (and of course lore)	Love	Life	Light
Goddesses	Ceres, Demeter, Gaea, Mah, Persephone, Nephthys, Bhawana (Prithivi), Rhea, Rheannon.	Aphrodite, Isis, Mariamne, Mari, Tiamat	Aditi, Aradia, Arianhrod, Cardea, Nuit, Urania.	Brigit, Hestia, Pele, Vesta.
Gods	Adonis, Athos, Arawn, Cernunnos, Dionysus, Marduk, Pan, Tammuz.	Dylan, Ea, Llyr, Manannan, Oceanus, Osiris, Neptune, Posiedon	Enlil, Kephera, Mercury, Shu, Thoth, Vayu, Zeus.	Atar, Agni, Frey, Gibil, Hephaestus, Horus, Logi, Vulcan.
Zodiacal signs	Taurus , Virgo ,  Capricorn	Cancer , Scorpio , Pisces	Gemini , Libra, Aquarius	Aries , Leo , Sagitarius
Planets	Earth , Saturn , fixed stars	Moon , Venus	Mercury , Jupiter	Mars , Sun
The sense of	Touch	Taste	Smell	Sight
Of energy flows	Energy contained	Conduction of energy	Convection of energy	Radiance of energy
State of matter	Solid	Liquid	Gas	Energy
Principle of change	Slowing, solidifying	Metamorphosis	Movement	Quickening, disintegration
Magical phrase	Tacere, to keep silent	Audere, to dare	Noscere, to know	Velle, to will
Magic tools	Pentacle, cords, scourge, shield, horn	Cup, cauldron, mirror	Wand, censor, rod or staff	Athame, sword, candle
Other tools and weapons	Shield, horn, trowel, pick, awl, mace, war hammer	Bowl, trident, net	Fan, flag, streamer, spear, bow	Match, axe
Stones and Gems	Rock salt, coal, emerald, peridot, other green stones, onyx, bloodstone, tourmalanted quartz. Heavy, opaque.	Aquamarine, beryl, amethyst, azurite, blue lace agate, pearl, coral, lapis lazuli, moonstone, sodalite. Clear, hard.	Topaz, chalcedony, yellow fluorite, crystals, alexandrite, sapphire, yellow or blue stones, rainbow stones. Polished, transparent.	Fire opal, volcanic rock, ruby, carnelian, rhodochrosite, agates. Shining, glittering.
Metals	Lead, iron	Silver, copper	Mercury, tin	Gold, brass
Places	Mountains, caves, fields, chasms, groves, forests, gardens, kitchens	Oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, waterfalls, beaches, springs and wells, bedroom (for sleep)	Windswept hills, plains, windy beaches, high mountain peaks, high towers, tree tops, bluffs, sky, airplanes, schools, libraries, offices	Deserts, volcanoes, ovens, fireplaces, bedroom (for sex), hot springs
Animals	Cattle, bison, ox, snakes (earth-dwelling), stag, mouse, dog, ant, bear, wolf	Dragon, dolphin, fish, sea serpents, sea mammals, water-dwelling snakes, sea birds, frog, turtle, otter, seal, swan, crab	Birds, eagle, gryphon, owl, hawk, dove	Lion, Fire-breathing dragons, snakes, lizards, bee, centaur, fox, ram
Of the ancient Celtic parts of man	The body	The soul	The ego	The spirit
Types of magic	Fertility magic, tree magic, herb lore, rune magic, cord magic, feng shuei, image magic.	Love, mirror magic, purification, healing, divination, dream magic, spiritualism, creating and working with charged water.	Finding lost or stolen objects, magic of the four winds, visualisations, divination, invocation, numerology, shamanic journeys.	Tantra, healing, candle magic, fire scrying, colour magic.
Ritual forms	Burying, planting, making images in the dirt or sand, walking over miles of countryside while visualising the need, carving runes.	Bathing, tea ceremonies, washing, dilution	Tossing objects into the air, suspending tools in high places, breathing, meditation, singing, chanting, writing, numerology.	Burning images or herbs.
Tarot suit	Pentacles	Cups	Wands	Swords
Tarot trump	World	Hanged man	Fool	Judgement
Court cards	Pages	Queens	Knights	Kings
Planes of existence	The physical plane	The astral plane	The mental plane	The spiritual plane
Mode of perceiving (Jungian)	Sensation	Intuition	Thinking	Feeling
Mode of thinking	Belief	Emotion, free thought	Intellect, higher logic	Will
Mode of influencing	Power	Beauty	Intellect	Charisma
Stage in the ladder of existence	To understand	To know	To live	To be
Active temperaments	Respectability, endurance, consideration, stability, resolution, firmness, sobriety, objectivity, scrupulousness, resistance, thoroughness, punctuality, confidence, responsibility, circumspection.	Devotion, respectability, modesty, compassion, docility, seriousness, fervour, cordiality, calmness, comprehension, confiding, meditation, forgiveness, tenderness.	Diligence, clearness, optimism, cheerfulness, independence, adroitness, lack of grief, kindness, joy, familiarity, communicativeness, capacity for penetrating.	Activity, eagerness, enthusiasm, resolution, courage, productivity, energy, faithfulness.
Passive temperaments	Insipidity, unscrupulousness, dullness, misanthropy, tardiness, unreliability, laconism	Apathy, indifference, shyness, depression, laziness	Contempt, gossiping, slyness, lack of endurance, dishonesty, garrulity, fickleness, selfishness, defensiveness, inattentiveness.	Gluttony, jealousy, passion, irritability, intemperance, destructiveness, stubbornness, greed, vengefulness, anger, resentment, aggression, posessiveness, egotism.
Tetra- grammaton (YHVH)	He (final)	He	Vau	Yod
Hebrew name	Aretz	Miam	Ruach	Esh
Archangel	Uriel/Auriel Aretziel (Uriel of earth) Uriel = "Fire of God"; Auriel = "Light of God"	Gabriel Maimel (Gabriel of water) Gabriel = "Strength of God"	Raphael Ruachel (Raphael of air) Raphael = "Healing of God"	Michael Ashel (Michael of fire) Michael = the war-cry "Who is God?"
Kabbalistic worlds	Assiah (material world)	Briah (creative world)	Yetzirah (formative world)	Atziluth (archetypal / originative world)
Governer	Kerub	Tharsis	Ariel	Seraph
Sephira	Malkuth	Binah	Tiphareth	Chockmah
Kabbalistic path	32 bis (from kether to malkuth)	23	11	31
Enochian word	Nanta	Hcoma	Exarp	Bitom
Enochian divine name	Mor Dial Hctga	Mph Arsl Gaiol	Oro Ibah Aozpi	Oip Teaa Pdoce
Enochian supreme elemental king	Thahaaotahe	Thahebyobiaatan	Tahoeloj	Ohooohatan
Hebrew God name	Adonai ha Eretz (Lord of the Earth)	Elohim Tzabaoth (God (who is male and female, one and many) of Hosts)	Shaddai El Chai (Living Mother God)	Yahweh Tzabaoth (God manifest in Hosts)

Element	SPIRIT	EARTH	WATER	AIR	FIRE
The life cycle	The greater body of all life, beyond individual births and deaths	Old age	Between death and birth, conception	Youth	Sexual maturity
Goddesses	Isis, Shekinah, the secret name of the Goddess	. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .
Gods	Akasha, EAO, YHVH	. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .
The sense of	Hearing	Touch	Taste	Smell	Sight
Of energy flows	Source of all energy	Energy contained	Conduction of energy	Convection of energy	Radiance of energy
Principle of change	Changeless	Slowing, solidifying	Metamorphosis	Movement	Quickening, disintegration
Magic tools	Lamp, bell	Pentacle, cords, scourge	Cup, cauldron, mirror	Wand, censor, rod or staff	Athame, sword, candle
Metals	Meteoritic metal	Lead, iron	Silver, copper	Mercury, tin	Gold, brass
Hindu Tattvas	Akasha (space)	Prithivi	Apas	Vayu	Tejas
Tarot suit	The major Arcana	Pentacles	Cups	Wands	Swords
Penta- grammaton (YHShVH)	Shin	He (final)	He	Vau	Yod
Archangel	Metatron	Uriel	Gabriel	Raphael	Michael
Sephira	Kether	Malkuth	Binah	Tiphareth	Chockmah
Hebrew God name	Eheieh (existence) or AGLA (Ateh Gibor Le-olam Adonai, Thou art mighty for ever, O Lord)	Adonai ha Eretz	Elohim Tzabaoth	Shaddai El Chai	Yahweh Tzabaoth