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BaZi

The Five Elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water

五行 (wu xing) is the engine underneath everything in Chinese astrology. Not substances — behaviours. Every stem, branch, animal and season in the system is one of these five.

The five

Wood 木
Growth, expansion, starting things. Wood is the energy of spring and of a plan that is still becoming.
Fire 火
Visibility, expression, warmth. Fire is summer — the peak, and the thing everyone can see.
Earth 土
Stability, absorption, the centre. Earth is the pivot between seasons: it holds things.
Metal 金
Precision, cutting, structure. Metal is autumn — what remains once the excess is removed.
Water 水
Flow, thought, strategy. Water is winter: inward, and quietly powerful.

How they interact

Two cycles matter. The generating cycle: Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal collects Water, Water nourishes Wood. And the controlling cycle: Wood parts Earth, Earth absorbs Water, Water quenches Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood.

A "missing element" in a chart is not a defect to be fixed with a crystal. It usually points at the quality you have to build deliberately because it does not come naturally — often the most interesting thing in the chart.

Elements and the zodiac

Every animal carries a fixed element: Rat and Pig are Water; Tiger and Rabbit are Wood; Snake and Horse are Fire; Monkey and Rooster are Metal; Ox, Dragon, Goat and Dog are Earth. That is the animal's element — the element of a specific year comes from its heavenly stem, which is why not all Dragons are the same.

See your element balance

The calculator counts all five across your four pillars and flags what is strong and what is missing.

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Traditional systems, written for self-reflection. Not a substitute for professional advice.