The five elements, and how they feed and restrain each other
The five elements (五行, wǔ xíng) are wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Every stem and branch in a BaZi chart belongs to one of them, and the mix of the five, and how strong each is, is where a reading starts. “Phases” would be a closer translation: they are kinds of energy that rise and fall, not substances.
The two cycles
The producing cycle (相生): wood feeds fire, fire makes earth, earth bears metal, metal carries water, water feeds wood.
The controlling cycle (相克): wood breaks earth, earth dams water, water puts out fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood.
Neither cycle is good or bad in itself. A chart with too much fire needs water to restrain it and earth to drain it; a chart with weak wood needs water to feed it. BaZi is about balance.
Which characters belong to which element
- Wood: stems 甲 and 乙; branches 寅 and 卯
- Fire: 丙 and 丁; 巳 and 午
- Earth: 戊 and 己; 辰, 戌, 丑 and 未
- Metal: 庚 and 辛; 申 and 酉
- Water: 壬 and 癸; 亥 and 子
“Which element am I missing?”
It’s the most common BaZi question. Counting the eight characters is the simplest answer, but it leaves things out:
- Hidden stems count. Branches hold stems inside them: 寅 holds 甲, 丙 and 戊. A chart with no visible fire may still hold some.
- Count is not strength. The month pillar is your season and weighs the most. Someone born in summer has strong fire whatever the count says.
- Missing doesn’t mean “add more”. First judge whether the day master is strong or weak, then which elements help it. Those are your favourable elements (喜用神). Adding more of the same to a strong day master makes the chart less balanced, not more.
The riffos chart shows how many of your eight characters belong to each element, and weighs the hidden stems and the season to judge your day master’s strength and favourable elements. The strength model is still being checked against known charts.
The elements in daily life
By tradition each element has its colours, direction and season, often used for clothes, which way to face and daily routines:
| Element | Colours | Direction | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | Green | East | Spring |
| Fire | Red, purple | South | Summer |
| Earth | Yellow, brown | Centre | The end of each season |
| Metal | White, gold, silver | West | Autumn |
| Water | Black, blue | North | Winter |
Traditional Chinese medicine also links the elements to the body: wood to the liver, fire to the heart, earth to the spleen, metal to the lungs, water to the kidneys. Take this as a note on tendencies and habits, not a diagnosis. If you feel unwell, see a doctor.
Read next
- Which element is your day master? See Day master.
- Between you and the rest of your chart, the elements’ relations become the ten gods.