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Chinese Zodiac Five Elements

Introduction

Chinese Zodiac five elements, 'Wu Xing' in Chinese (pinyin: wuxíng) refers to the five elements - Jin (metal), Mu (wood), Shui (water), Huo (fire), and Tu (earth). It is also named the Five Movements, Five Phrases, Five Steps or Five States of Change.

The theory of the five elements thinks that the world is composed of these five elements and changes with their generation or controlling relationships. It not only affects the human’s destiny but also makes the universe and its creatures cycle constantly. In China, the theory is a very important part of traditional Chinese culture and mostly used in philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine as well as fortune-telling.

Generating and Controlling Cycle

The five elements go in a specific order and one creates or controls the next.

The Generating Cycle (sheng)
(Inter-promoting, begetting, engendering, mothering or enhancing cycle)
Generating: Wood makes Fire burn; Fire creates Earth; Earth bears Metal; Off of Metal runs the Water; Water makes Wood grow.

The Controlling Cycle (kè)
(Destructing, overcoming or inter-restraining or weakening cycle)
Fire melts Metal; Metal chops down Wood; Wood breaks the Earth; Earth soaks up Water and blocks its flow; Water controls Fire.

Characteristics/Personality of Five Elements

Words to describe the people of Five Elements:
Wood – Exceptionally gifted, Idealists, Planner, Owl
Water – Sympathetic, Perfectionist, Coordinator, Chameleon
Fire – Courageous, Passionate, Good at research, King, Koala
Earth – Kindness, Tolerant, Honest, Leader, Peacock
Metal – Determined, Persistent, Workaholic, Manager, Tiger

12 Chinese Zodiac Animals and Five Elements

Each of 12 Chinese zodiac animal signs is associated with one of the five elements. Check the following table to find out the fixed element for each sign:
Five Elements Zodiac Animal Signs
Metal Monkey, Rooster
Wood Tiger, Rabbit
Water Rat,Pig
Fire Snake, Horse
Earth Ox, Dragon, Sheep, Dog

Also, each animal sign is further divided into the five elements, depending on the year that the sign occurs. Following shows you the corresponding element for each animal in different years. By clicking one of the following links, you could get the personality and destiny for the people with the corresponding element and sign. Each of the sign has a name in Chinese astrology, e.g. Metal Rat is 'Rat on the Roof' and Fire Tiger is 'Tiger Passing through the Forest'. Get to know your name by clicking Names for Chinese Zodiac Signs. 

Chinese Zodiac Five Elements Chart

Each element associates with some properties or aspects of nature. The following chart shows you their associations.
Elements Metal Wood Water Fire Earth
Zodiac signs (yang) Monkey Tiger Rat Horse Dragon/Dog
Zodiac signs (yin) Rooster Rabbit Pig Snake Ox/Sheep
Hours 3pm-7pm 3am-7am 9pm-1am 9am-1pm 1am-3am,7am-9am,1pm-3pm,7pm-9pm
Seasons Autumn Spring Winter Summer Intermediate
Climate Dryness Wind Cold Heat Dampness
Colors White Green Black Red Brown
Numbers 4, 9 3, 8 1, 6 2, 7 5, 0
Directions West East North South Central
Organs (Yin) Lungs Liver Kidneys Heart Spleen
Organs (Yang) Large Intestine Gall Bladder Urinary Bladder Small Intestine Stomach
Body Part Skin, Body Hair Tendons, Ligaments Bones, Bone Marrow, Teeth, Hair Blood Vessels Muscles
Sense Organs Nose Eyes Ears Tongue Mouth
Diseases Dry Wind Cold Hot Wet
Tastes Spicy Sour Salty Bitter Sweet
Smell Rotten Rancid Putrid Scorched Fragrant
Sounds Crying Shouting Groaning Laughing Singing
Emotion Greif Anger Fear Joy Worry
Mental Quality Intuition Sensitivity Spontaneity Creativity Clarity
Energy Contracting Generative Conserving Expansive Stabilizing
Planets Venus Jupiter Mercury Mars Saturn
Heavenly Creatures White Tiger Green Dragon Black Tortoise Vermilion Bird Yellow Dragon
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

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