Fire

Visibility, and the fuel it consumes. Fire belongs to summer and the south. It rises, it is seen, and it cannot be stored — everything about it is a function of the moment rather than of reserves.

Through the generating and overcoming cycles. Visibility, and the fuel it consumes. Fire generates what feeds it and overcomes what it acts on — the relationship matters more than the element in isolation. Unlike the other four, Fire has no storage state — there is no such thing as fire held in reserve, which is why traditional texts treat it as the most fragile of the five.

Traditional readings associate Fire with clarity, reputation, and warmth that draws people in. Its virtue is propriety; its failure is burnout, because Fire has no way to hold anything back for later. It is grouped under Fire (火) in the five-element system.