Chinese Five Elements Philosophy and Culture

Five Elements Theory is a Chinese philosophy used to describe interactions and relationships between things. The five elements — wood, fire, earth, metal, and water — are believed to be the fundamental elements of everything in the universe between which interactions occur.
· Chinese: 五行 Wǔ Xing /woo sshing/ 'Five Actions'
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· History of Five Elements Theory
· Associations of the Five Elements
· Interactions Between the Five Elements
· Your Zodiac Sign and Your Elements
· Five Elements Analysis for Zodiac
· How to Make Good Luck
The History of Five Elements Theory
Five Elements Theory first appeared during the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC). It became widespread: mostly used in Chinese medicine, philosophy, fengshui, fortune-telling, and martial arts.
Associations of the Five Elements
Each element has its own characteristics and associations with different aspect of nature, such as direction, season, color, shape, and so on. See the tables below.
Fengshui Associations
Characteristic
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water
Direction
East
South
Center
West
North
Season
Spring
Summer
change of seasons (last month of each season)
Autumn
Winter
Climate
Windy
Hot
Damp
Dry
Cold
Color
Green
Red
Yellow
White
Black
Shape
Rectangular
Angular
Square
Round
Undulating
Astrology Associations
Characteristic
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water
Planets
Jupiter
Mars
Saturn
Venus
Mercury
Heavenly Creatures
Azure Dragon（青龙）
Vermilion Bird (朱雀)
Yellow Dragon (黄龙)
White Tiger (白虎)
Black Tortoise (玄武)
Heavenly Stems
1st (Jia 甲), 2nd (Yi 乙)
3rd (Bing 丙), 4th (Ding丁)
5th (Wu 戊), 6th (Ji 己)
7th (Geng 庚), 8th (Xin 辛)
9th (Ren 壬), 10th (Gui 癸)
Virtue
Benevolence
Propriety
Fidelity/ Honesty
Righteousness
Wisdom
Represents
Creativity, luxuriance, blooming, and flourishing
Enthusiasm and passion
Nurturing, stability, and security
Ambition, determination, progress, and persistence
Aptitude, brightness, agile mind, and mental strength
Chinese Medicine Associations
Characteristic
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water
Taste
Sour
Bitter
Sweet
Spicy
Salty
Sensory Organs
Eyes
Tongue
Mouth
Nose
Ear
Interactions Between the Five Elements
Five Element Theory asserts that the world changes according to the five elements' generating or overcoming relationships. Generating and overcoming are the complementary processes — the yin and yang — of Five Element Theory.
Generating processes promote development, while overcoming processes control development. By promoting and restraining, systems are harmonized and balance is maintained.
Generating Interactions
The generating interactions of the five elements are like the conception, gestation, birth, and nurture relationship between a mother and a baby. Such element pairs are deeply attached, and together imply success and luck.
The five generating interactions are fueling, forming, containing, carrying, and feeding:
· Wood fuels fire.
· Fire forms earth (volcanoes, ash, etc.).
· Earth contains metal.
· Metal carries water (buckets, pipes, etc.).
· Water feeds wood (trees, plants, etc.).
Overcoming Interactions
The overcoming interactions of the five elements are like the acts of hostility between two sides in a war.
The five overcoming interactions are melting, penetrating, separating, absorbing, and quenching:
· Fire melts metal
· Metal penetrates wood (chopping, sawing, drilling, nailing, screwing).
· Wood separates earth (tree roots breaking up soil/rock).
· Earth absorbs water.
· Water quenches fire.
Five Elements Theory and the Chinese Zodiac
Everybody belongs to one of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs and a 12-year cycle according to the year in which they were born. One of the five elements is associated with each of the Chinese zodiac signs and 12-year cycles.
Chinese astrology asserts that personality and luck are determined by both zodiac sign (element) and 12-year cycle element, while life force (or qi) is determined by birth date and time. Use the zodiac calculator to find your Chinese zodiac sign and element.
Chinese Zodiac Caculator
Choose your date of birth and find out about your Chinese zodiac sign.
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Find Your Zodiac Sign
You are a:
· Personality:
· Lucky numbers:
· Lucky colors:
· Lucky flowers:
The Fixed Elements of Each Chinese Zodiac Sign
In Chinese astrology, each of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs is associated with one of the five elements, which is known as the fixed element of the sign:
Fixed Element
Chinese Zodiac Sign
Wood
Tiger, Rabbit
Fire
Snake, Horse
Earth
Ox, Dragon, Goat, Dog
Metal
Monkey, Rooster
Water
Pig, Rat
The allocation is because elements and signs are associated with months of the traditional Chinese solar calendar. Each element has a season, except Earth, which marks seasonal change, and is associate with the end month of each season.
Five Elements Analysis for Zodiac
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Feb 4–
Mar 6–
Apr 5–
May 5–
Jun 5–
Jul 6–
Aug 7–
Sep 8–
Oct 8–
Nov 7–
Dec 7–
Jan 6–
Tiger
Rabbit
Dragon
Snake
Horse
Goat
Monkey
Rooster
Dog
Pig
Rat
Ox
Wood
Wood
Earth
Fire
Fire
Earth
Metal
Metal
Earth
Water
Water
Earth
The 12-Year Cycles of the Five Elements
Each zodiac sign also has an element according to the 12-year cycle of the birth year. Each 12-year cycle starts with a year of the Rat:
Element
12-Year Cycle
12-Year Cycle
Wood
1924–35
1984–95
Fire
1936–47
1996–2007
Earth
1948–59
2008–19
Metal
1960–71
2020–31
Water
1972–83
2032–43
So 2021 is a Metal year by element cycle and by sign (2021 is a Ox year).
The five elements combined with the 12 zodiac signs produce