Five elements & qi
Five elements, better called five phases: wood, fire, earth, metal and water, turning into each other.
Learn the two cycles
The cycle that feeds
Wood feeds fire, fire leaves earth, earth yields metal, metal gathers water, water grows wood.
The cycle that checks
Wood parts earth, earth dams water, water douses fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood.
Use it as a map
Each phase carries a season, direction and color. Wood is spring, east and green. Fire is summer, south and red.
Nothing stays one thing for long.
Five-element ideas are a traditional way of thinking. They do not replace a doctor, a lawyer or a financial adviser.
Good to know
What are the five elements in Chinese philosophy?
The five elements are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Chinese thought treats them less as substances than as phases of change, and each one feeds and restrains others in a fixed order.
What is qi?
Qi is the Chinese word for breath, vapor and the moving force in living things. The old character is often read as steam rising over rice. It is a traditional concept, not something science measures.
How do I find my Chinese element?
Look at the last digit of your birth year: 0-1 metal, 2-3 water, 4-5 wood, 6-7 fire, 8-9 earth. Born before that year's Lunar New Year? Use the year before. A full bazi chart looks at all five.
