Lana and Jason went to the Parisian tomb of a 17th-century countess, Margaret Isobel Thoreaux (later abbreviated to just 'Isobel'), so Lana could make a rubbing of an engraving on the tomb for her art class.

While Lana was making her rubbing, she was blasted with a beam of light that branded a strange symbol onto her back and later enabled her to be possessed by the Countess.  Puzzled, Lana went to see a specialist (who turned out, of course, to be evil) about the possibility of getting it removed, but Lana was informed that though she "was not the first person to walk through that door with tattoo remorse," she was "the first one to do it without ink...  Whatever this pigment is, it's almost as though the symbol were branded underneath [her] skin.  Someone wanted to leave a mark [she] wouldn't easily forget" ("Facade").  The symbol was the same as that on the shield of Isobel, Warrior Princess.

Lana purchased Isobel's spellbook on eBay (yes, everything CAN be bought through that wonderful site!).  The cover of the book has the same design as that of the keyhole and surrounding glyphs on the walls of the Kawatche Caves.

Five pages inside the book were shown during "Spell."  The first page shown appears to show a deal between a witch and a the Devil (that's my guess, anyways).  The second says something in Latin and shows three witches brewing something in a cauldron as a large dragon flies overhead.  [Side note: If anyone can translate Latin, please email me-- Maybe we can figure out what the spellbook says if higher-resolution screencaps I have in my files provide a clear enough view!]  The third page shows a pair of eyes that look Egyptian in style over a pyramid with a circle inside, and there is Latin on each side of the pyramid and inside the circle.  The fourth page shows, presumably, the spell Isobel cast right before she was burned at the stake-- the one that allowed her and her minions Madeline and Brianna to return from the grave and possess the bodies of Lana, Chloe, and Lois respectively.  This page also shows the "water" or "transference" symbol and the trio of witches with their hands raised in the air, and there is a large bloodstain where Isobel spit on the page to seal the possession spell to her book.  The fifth and final page shown in "Spell" is similar to the cover of the book-- a shield-shaped symbol with flames coming out of it, but inside the shield are the symbols for the Elements.  More Latin is below.  A collage of all the pages:

I tried to make my Hall of Cryptographers look a bit like the last page, hee!

Lionel Luthor obtained the Water Element, learned of its magical properties of transference, and attempted to use it to switch bodies with his son ("Transference").  That way, Lex would be trapped in Lionel's dying body-- in prison-- while Lionel would walk the earth rich, free, and healthy.  However, when Lionel touched the Element and hid it in his hand as he prepared to body-swap with Lex, the shrieking noise alerted Clark, and he rushed to the prison.  A shot of the Water Element in Lionel's hand as seen through Clark's X-ray vision:

Lionel ended up switching bodies with Clark, and Clark met Lionel's cellmate, who turned out to be the brains of Lionel's scheme.  This cellmate, Edgar, explained how Lionel obtained the Element and its amazing properties.  Edgar also helped explain what the purpose of the Elements in general was.

The statue inside which the Water Element was hidden (see the Fire and Air statues as well as a picture of guardians from each resting place):

Edgar's wall of research into the Elements and where to find them:

After Clark and Lionel switched back into their own bodies, Edgar recovered the Element and gave it to Bridgette Crosby, Dr. Swann's assistant, in exchange for his freedom... A deal that ended up costing Dr. Crosby her life.

Note the Element is in a container, not being touched by human hands, so Clark is not alerted to its location.  This is similar to when Lex's doctor safely held the Fire Element.

Here is the shot that seems to disprove my theory that human hands cannot touch any of the Elements without a shrieking noise warning Clark:

This is a picture of Jason Teague holding the Water Element after killing Dr. Crosby to take possession of it.  Why Jason was able to touch the Water Element with bare hands confuses me.  No one else ever touched any of the Elements without producing a warning signal.  At any rate, Lionel poisoned Genevieve in "Ageless," demanding the Stone in exchange for the antidote.  Lionel remained in control of this Element until the season finale, and the following pictures show how touching the Water Element had repercussions on the Luthors in "Commencement."  The first shot shows Lionel being blasted by a beam of energy from the Water Element; this happened when Clark put the Air Element into its place in the Altar.

Seeing his father fall, Lex went over to Lionel and saw something glowing in the breast pocket of his jacket.  When Lex reached for it, another beam of energy blasted him clear across the room.

A shot of the Element on the floor of the Luthor mansion just after Lex got zapped:

Lex recovered the Element and put it inside a vault along with objects found at the dig sites where the Elements were discovered... Guardian statues decorated with Kryptonite.

Only with Chloe's life-saving help was Clark able to grab the Water Element and whisk it off to the Altar to unite the Elements.

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