It shows the ctype. The ctype shows the previous type. e.g. LAVA(METL) is molten METL ICE(WATR) is frozen WATR CLNE(FIRE) is clone making more FIRE SPRK(INWR) is spark on INWR
And to change it press "~" on your keyboard. Then type set ctype [element] [what you want the ctype to be] e.g. set ctype LAVA FIRE will make LAVA(FIRE)