Five Elements (Wuxing 五行)
The five elements (wuxing 五行) are the five phases that structure Chinese astrology: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. Two cycles bind them. The generating cycle (sheng) runs Wood→Fire→Earth→Metal→Water→Wood, each feeding the next: Wood fuels Fire, Fire leaves ash (Earth), Earth bears Metal, Metal condenses Water, Water nourishes Wood. The controlling cycle (ke) skips one step: Wood→Earth→Water→Fire→Metal→Wood, each phase subduing the one it crosses.
Two cycles, two motions
Hold two gestures. The first nourishes, in a circle: Wood kindles Fire, Fire settles into Earth, Earth hardens into Metal, Metal beads into Water, Water greens the Wood again. The second tempers, in a star: Water quenches Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood, Wood drains Earth, Earth dams Water. You carry both motions inside you.
What they color in you
In your Ba Zi, each phase carries its own weight. A frame heavy with Fire makes you ardent and quick to burn out; a dominant Water makes you fluid, deep, sometimes hard to grasp. The craft lies in seeing which phase you lack and which one overflows, then reaching for the element that calms you rather than the one that stokes you.
Sources
- , The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes (1979)