5 elements (elements) of the Chinese horoscope and their main characteristics

Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth... Five primary elements. Which one suits you? What does this give you? The system of interaction between the 5 primary elements is very interesting, educational, and understanding it can even bring tangible benefits in life.

There is a Western European system/concept of the five elements (air, water, earth, fire, ether) and a Chinese one, coming from Taoism. In this post we’ll talk about the Chinese one, which is called Wu-hsing.

The concept of Wu Xing has been widely used and is used in traditional Chinese medicine, in fortune-telling practices, in martial arts (there is even a fighting style completely built on this system - Xingyiquan), in numerology, in Feng Shui, etc.

Wu-Xing. Theory and concept of the five elements

The concept of the five primary elements is not so well known, but no less deep and interesting.

According to Chinese cosmogony, the world is based on the mutual generation and mutual overcoming of five primary elements (principles, elements): earth, metal (sky), water, fire and wood.

1. The nature of water is to be wet and flow downwards.
2. The nature of fire is to burn and rise.
3. The nature of wood is to bend and straighten.
4. The nature of metal is to obey external influences and change.
5. The nature of the earth is manifested in the fact that it receives crops, produces crops and is present in everything.

Graphically, the Wu-shin concept looks like this:

Fire type person

A “fiery” person is usually the leader and soul of the company. He loves to laugh and make people laugh, hates routine and boredom and loves adventure, ideas flow out of him.

Appearance: Tall, heart-shaped face, slightly smaller hands and feet than a normal build.

Strengths: Thanks to his energy and passion, the fire person is capable of being a true leader. He is able to “ignite” others with an idea, gather a team and inspire it to move towards a common goal.

Problems: when the element is imbalanced, it needs constant emotional stimulation, becomes talkative and intrusive. Cannot concentrate, calm down and make an informed decision.

The excitability inherent in a person of the “fire” type often leads to insomnia and nervous disorders.

Vulnerable Organ: The weak point of this type of person is the heart. To keep it healthy, you need to protect yourself from nervous overload and find time for peace.

Main emotion: joy. It is important to remember that joy should be moderate. Excessive fun and constant pleasure deprive a person of energy and devastate him.

Products: such people benefit from grains, vegetables, dark greens, beans, and moderately bitter foods. It is better to reduce your intake of chocolate, salt, red meat (especially liver), stimulants and hot spices.

What is useful for maintaining balance:

✓ It is useful for you, more than anyone else, to practice restraint and moderate silence. “The word is silver, but silence is golden” - follow this proverb, and your inner fire will be kept within limits.

✓ Avoid very hot weather. In extreme heat, try to stay in the shade and eat cooling fruits (such as watermelon). Overheating is bad for everyone, but especially for you.

✓ Drink more water - this will somewhat reduce the strength of fire in your body. However, avoid very cold water as this can lead to imbalance.

✓ Love privacy. Be sure to find time to be alone, take a walk, sit on the river bank, and think. Rest from society and self-absorption are vital for you.

✓ It's important to avoid distraction, so try to plan ahead and prioritize.

✓ If your heart is healthy, then you will feel good. I wrote a separate article about how to strengthen the heart.

Interaction of 5 elements in Wu Xing

There are two processes here (actually there are more, but these are the main ones):

1. The circle of generation (or nutrition) goes clockwise: Fire generates earth, earth generates metal, metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire and the circle closes.

2. The circle of destruction follows the star: Fire destroys metal, metal destroys wood, wood destroys earth, earth destroys water, water destroys fire, and everything closes again.

It turns out that each element has 2 close ones. One who nourishes him and the second whom he nourishes. There is one “hostile” one - which destroys it. And there is one addict who is destroyed by himself.

This is important to understand in order to continue using the table.

The light beginning 阳 yang and the dark beginning 阴 yin

It would be more correct to say that yin and yang are two sides of a single process. Their meanings go back to the image of the dark and light sides of the mountain. The modern simplified characters yin 阴 and yang 阳 clearly indicate this meaning. The modern hieroglyph yin 阴 (full hieroglyph - 陰) consists of the graphemes "hill" and "moon", yang 阳 (full hieroglyph - 陽) - "hill" and "sun". Yin is endowed with such qualities as dark, feminine, passive, yang – light, masculine, active.

Everything that happens in the world is the result of the interaction of yin and yang. They transform into each other, and each beginning contains its opposite. In addition, within each opposite one can also distinguish yin and yang. According to the “Xi Chi Zhuan” (“Commentary on the Attached Words,” one of the commentaries to the “I Ching” - “Book of Changes”), “either yin or yang is the Tao.”

Yin Yang

The sky is above (honorable), the Earth below (despised) - [according to this, the hexagrams] Qian and Kun [1] are established.

The low and the high are arranged according to levels; [according to this] the noble and the noble are distributed according to ranks.

Movement and rest have a constant [change] - [according to this] hard and soft alternate. Squares are generalized by gender, things are divided into sets [2] - [according to this] happiness and unhappiness are born. Images are created in Heaven, forms are created on Earth - [according to this] metamorphoses and changes appear.

Thus, the hard and soft are adjacent to each other, the eight trigrams are connected to each other. They are excited by [heavenly] thunder and [earthly] shaking, and they are moistened by wind and rain.

The Sun and Moon alternately move, and now cold and now heat comes.

Tao [hexagrams] Qian performs the masculine,

Tao [hexagrams] Kun administers the feminine.

Qian knows the great beginning, Kun creates perfect things.

Qian knows through change

Kun through the text can [3]... (“Xi qi zhuan”, Zhang 1)

[1] Qian (Creativity) and Kun (Execution) are the first two hexagrams of the I Ching (Book of Changes). The Qian hexagram consists of 6 solid lines and symbolizes yang, Kun - of 6 broken lines, meaning yin. There are trigrams with similar names. [2] In the system of Chinese cosmology, the surface of the Sky and the surface of the Earth are divided according to the number of cardinal directions (the center is also considered a cardinal direction) into nine fields, or squares (fan). Squares serve as a generalization of the things located in them according to generic characteristics. [3] The intellectual ability of the Qian hexagram and the physical ability of the Kun hexagram are compared.

♦ On the topic: Riddles and secrets of the “Canon of Changes” (“I Ching”)

Although yin and yang were considered equal sides of the universe, nevertheless, different philosophical traditions interpreted them differently. Thus, in Taoism, yin was more valued. Tao was endowed with many attributes inherent in yin: it is like water, fluid, hidden, intimate, soft and pliable. In Confucianism, which was oriented towards society, the emphasis was on yang, which was considered as the leading principle, the personification of the “grace of Heaven”; yin was considered a driven principle that must obey yang.

Yin and yang are the basic binary oppositions. In reality, there are many more of them. I will list some of them:

Which element matches you?

Now it is also important to find out which element in this concept you are (there are no intersections with the zodiac tradition, but there are coincidences, for example, I am “Fire” in all of them). Finding out who you are is very easy! You need to look at the last digit of your year of birth:

• 0 and 1 – you are “Metal”.
• 2 and 3 – you are “Water”.
• 4 and 5 – you are a “Tree”.
• 6 and 7 – you are “Fire”.
• 8 and 9 – you are “Earth”.

You can also remember your animal from the 12 animals of the eastern horoscope and get a complete bunch. For example, I was born in 1977. This is the year of the Snake. The element “Fire” corresponds to me. So I am the “Fire Snake”.

But let's get back to the elements. So, I am "Fire". I have three "allies". I am nourished and given energy by people, things, products and phenomena of the elements “Wood” and “Fire” itself. I myself feed the “Earth”. What destroys me is what is associated with the element “Water”. And finally, my relationship with the element “Metal” is this: it cannot particularly influence me, but I can destroy it when interacting.

Now it is important to understand how different things and phenomena relate to elements and are thus interconnected. This is easy to find out from the table below:

Water Element

Water in the east is the element of night and winter. He is subordinate to Mercury. The Water Man is calm, cool and strong. He is characterized by composure and restraint. People of this type have very subtle intuition - they are able to sense trouble long before it approaches and change the course of events.

Astrologers say that Water makes a person withdrawn and silent, which is why people of this type do not have many true friends. They are not ready to reveal their inner world to the first person they meet. But the friends of Water people are incredibly lucky - they can peacefully resolve any conflict and provide support in difficult times. The ideal sphere for realizing the abilities of Water people is business and art. In their own business, their trump cards will be restraint, intuition and the ability to build a competent strategy. In art, subtle organization and inner experiences are indispensable. Water is the main element in the lives of people born in the year of the Rat, the year of the Ox and the year of the Rabbit.

Recommended reading: What does eye color mean?

Analyzing and applying element table data

Again, for example, let’s look at it in relation to me. The two elements “Wood” and “Fire” give me energy. So, this is what is good for me (does not contradict nature and gives strength/energy):

• spring and summer;
• emotions and materiality;
• red, blue, green colors;
• sit facing east or south;
• practice morning and afternoon;
• take care of the eyes, liver, gall bladder;
• get annoyed and laugh;
• eat lamb, poultry, wheat, oats, carrots;

etc.

The element “Water” destroys me and it means it is better to avoid or especially control the processes associated with this element. In this case, pay special attention to the kidneys, bladder, and blood vessels. There is a higher likelihood of developing diseases.

Of course, in all this there is no need to reach the point of fanaticism and, say, shy away from people and phenomena of a destructive sign. Just keep in mind that there are such patterns and take them into account somewhere. Moreover, it is believed that an element that has learned to control its “destroyer” and interact with it receives special power.

More interesting observations. Why do liver diseases affect the appearance of the eyes? It’s simple – it’s one element “Wood”. Why can pain in the heart be significantly reduced or even eliminated by massaging the thumb and ring finger? Because these are the elements - “Wood” and “Fire”, etc. You can find many interesting patterns.

Metal Element

Metal is an element of evening and autumn. He obeys Venus. Under certain circumstances, this element can be destructive, but more often it brings activity, determination, perseverance in achieving goals, and perseverance.

A Metal person is a born fighter for justice; he will best prove himself in the profession of lawyer, barrister, become a successful politician and public figure, and head of an enterprise. By the way, for the sake of a brilliant career, people of this type are ready to give up happiness in their personal lives and family well-being. This is because the person of the Metal element loves loneliness. He constantly controls himself and does not leave the right to true feelings, considering them a sign of weakness. He has inner strength, but he has absolutely no protection from external harms. Metal is the element of people born in the year of the Dog and Pig.

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