The Five Elements (Wu Xing)
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| Five Elements Chart |
The Five Elements Theory
Metal generates water; water nourishes wood; wood feeds fire; fire creates earth/ash; earth bears metal.
Overcoming Interaction (also destruction)
Fire melts metal; metal chops wood; wood break up earth; earth absorbs water; water quenches fire.
Characteristics of the Five Elements
Wood – Benevolence
Fire – Propriety
Metal – Righteousness
Water – Wisdom
Earth – Fidelity/Honesty
Chinese Five Elements Chart
Chinese zodiac elements
| Elements | Metal | Wood | Water | Fire | Earth |
| Zodiac Signs (Yang) | Monkey | Tiger | Rat | Horse | Dragon / Dog |
| Zodiac Signs (Yin) | Rooster | Rabbit | Pig | Snake | Ox / Sheep |
5 Elements Feng Shui
| Elements | Metal | Wood | Water | Fire | Earth |
| Colors | White | Green | Black | Red | Brown |
| Seasons | Autumn | Spring | Winter | Summer | Intermediate |
| Weathers | Dry | Wind | Cold | Hot | Wet |
| Directions | West | East | North | South | Central |
| Planets | Venus | Jupiter | Mercury | Mars | Saturn |
| Heavenly Stems | Geng Xin | Jia Yi | Ren Gui | Bing Ding | Wu Ji |
| Year Ends with | 0, 1 | 4, 5 | 2, 3 | 6, 7 | 8, 9 |
| Hours | 15-19 | 3-7 | 21-01 | 9-13 | 1-3,7-9,13-15,19-21 |
| Number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Heavenly Creatures | White Tiger | Green Dragon | Black Tortoise | Vermilion Bird | Yellow Dragon |
5 Elements Chinese Medicine
| Elements | Metal | Wood | Water | Fire | Earth |
| Organs(Yin) | Lung | Liver | Kidney | Heart | Spleen |
| Organs(Yang) | Large Intestine | Gall Bladder | Urinary Bladder | Small Intestine | Stomach |
| Sensory Organs | Nose | Eyes | Wars | Tongue | Mouth |
| Tastes | Spicy | Sour | Salty | Bitter | Sweet |
Application of Five Elements Theory
Naming of New-Borns
In ancient China, newborn babies usually got their name from the 'eight characters of birth time' consisting of year, month, day and hour which is represented by two characters each, one character from the Heavenly Stems and one from the Earthly Branches. The four pairs of the birth time reveal the elements in one's life. Then the parents will give the baby a name containing the element, as compensation, which doesn't exit in the baby's eight characters. The tradition is still followed by some people nowadays.
Five Elements Chinese Medicine
According to Five Elements Chinese medicine theory, among the five internal organs, the heart has the Fire element, the lung Metal, the liver Wood, the spleen Earth, and the kidney Water.
The Five Elements theory is mainly used to analyze and study the interrelations and physiological functions of these body parts, and to explain their mutual influences under pathological conditions.
Since ancient times, Chinese sages have skillfully applied the theory to medicine field, learning and explaining physiological phenomena with the dialectical relation of the Five Elements, trying their best to adapt to internal natural laws and to master the operating mechanism of the human body to prevent and treat diseases.
Five Elements Acupuncture
What are the 5 elements of acupuncture? Five Elements acupuncture is a very ancient and miraculous acupuncture method, which can not only treat various body diseases, but also adjust people's mind and emotion, etc.
According to the five elements theory, each emotion corresponds to one organ. Happiness-heart; Anger-liver; Worry-spleen; Panic-kidney; Sadness-lung. Bad emotions can damage these organs. Acupuncture can make people feel relax, thus achieving the effect of curing diseases.
People with abnormal organs often have corresponding abnormal emotions. For example, if a person often wants to lose his temper uncontrollably, he must consider whether there is something wrong with his liver. He can treat the disease by acupuncture at the liver point.
See Personality Analysis by Chinese Zodiac Signs + Five Elements: