Five elements · 五行 Wǔ Xíng
The Five Elements in Feng Shui and BaZi
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water are five phases of energy that describe how things grow, peak, settle, contract and rest. Every heavenly stem and earthly branch belongs to one of them, and so does every Destiny Kua reading.
Solid green: generating cycle. Dashed red: controlling cycle.
Two cycles
Generating: Wood feeds Fire → Fire makes Earth (ash) → Earth bears Metal → Metal carries Water (condensation) → Water nourishes Wood.
Controlling: Wood parts Earth → Earth dams Water → Water puts out Fire → Fire melts Metal → Metal cuts Wood.
Balance matters more than any single element. A room or a chart that leans heavily on one element usually benefits from the element that it feeds, or from the one that feeds it.
Which element are you?
People often quote the element of their birth year (for example, "Fire Horse"). In BaZi, the more personal element is your Day Master, the stem of your birth day. The calculator shows both.