Getting away from Earth, Air, Fire, and Water

Just some random noodling on RPG magic systems that don't involve the archetypal four elements. octantis complains correctly that the four elements see an awful lot of use - they're cliche, but we use them anyway because everyone understands them and recognizes what power these elements possess.

But what other systems could we devise if we got away from 'elements are the building blocks of magic'?

First, to make an effective magic system for an RPG - one that can be used by players, you need to be able to attack, defend, buff, debuff, and perform utilitarian functions with it. It should be obvious how you can perform these functions. With the elements, you can create some amount of an element that is magically charged, then manipulate it to attack the enemy or shield yourself. Stretching a point, you can use 'water' to heal yourself, because of the strong association water has with healing, 'fire' to energize yourself, 'earth' to make yourself stronger, or 'air' to make yourself faster.

( So I came up with: 'the Arcane Element', 'Spiritual Invocation', 'Avatars', and 'Wild Magic'... )