 The
Five Elements
Other than being Yin or Yang, everything in the world can further be classified into 5 different substances (Wood,
Fire, Earth, Metal and Water) and have their corresponding characteristics. This is where the theory of five
elements comes into play.
The five
elements are the five
substances that naturally
exist in our world, they are
interrelated and form cycles
among themselves. The
ancient Chinese used them to
represent the different
locations and natures in a
home, and to assess their
characteristics. The
concept of the Five Elements
has been used in many
traditional Chinese fields,
such as astrology,
traditional Chinese
medicine, music, military
strategy and martial arts.
It is also called the Five
Movements or Five Phases.
The Five
Movements are: centre
(earth), right (metal), left
(wood), forward (fire) and
backward (water). The Five
Phases are: sink (metal),
wet (water), grow (wood),
hold (earth) and heat
(fire). In Feng Shui,
they are related to
directions and the Trigrams
in Bagua.
The 5
elements are interrelated
and their relationships can
be described using the
Nurturing cycle and
Controlling cycle.
Nurturing Cycle
Fire makes
Earth (the ashes nutrients
for the soil)
Earth produces Metal (metal
mines are underneath soil)
Metal enriches Water
(minerals enrich the water
contents)
Water feeds Wood (water is
one of the essential
elements to perform
photosynthesis in plants)
Wood fuels Fire (wood will
make the fire stronger)
Controlling Cycle
Fire melts
Metal (metal will melt or
will be vapourized in the
fire)
Metal pierces Wood (saws and
axes are made from metal)
Wood burdens Earth (the
plants take out (absorb)
nutrients from the soil)
Earth absorbs Water (soil
will absorb or drain water)
Water extinguishes Fire (the
most obvious one)
Since one
element nurtures the other,
it will be weakened by that
element too. There is
another cycle - Weakening
Cycle
Weakening Cycle
Fire burns
Wood (Wood fuels fire but
fire burns wood)
Wood consumes Water (Water
feeds plants but plants
consume water)
Water rusts Metal (metal
enriches water but water
rusts metal)
Metal hardens Earth (earth
(mines) produces metal but
metal hardens soil – too
much metal contaminates the
soil )
Earth diminishes Fire (Fire
gives ashes to soil as
nutrients, but the soil
diminishes fire)
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