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

Rat

Metal Rat (1960, 2020)
Wood Rat (1924, 1984)
Water Rat (1912, 1972)
Fire Rat (1936, 1996)
Earth Rat (1948, 2008)


Ox

Metal Ox (1961, 2021)
Wood Ox (1925, 1985)
Water Ox (1973, 2033)
Fire Ox (1937, 1997)
Earth Ox (1949, 2009)


Tiger

Metal Tiger (1950, 2010)
Wood Tiger (1974, 2034)
Water Tiger (1962, 2022)
Fire Tiger (1926, 1986)
Earth Tiger (1938, 1998)


Rabbit

Metal Rabbit (1951 2011)
Wood Rabbit (1975 2035)
Water Rabbit (1963 2023)
Fire Rabbit (1927 1987)
Earth Rabbit (1939 1999)


Dragon

Metal Dragon (1940 2000)
Wood Dragon (1964 2024)
Water Dragon (1952 2012)
Fire Dragon (1976 2036)
Earth Dragon (1928 1988)


Snake

Metal Snake (1941 2001)
Wood Snake (1965 2025)
Water Snake (1953 2013)
Fire Snake (1917 1977)
Earth Snake (1929 1989)


Horse

Metal Horse (1930, 1990)
Wood Horse (1954, 2014)
Water Horse (1942, 2002)
Fire Horse (1966, 2026)
Earth Horse (1978, 2038)


Sheep

Metal Sheep (1931, 1991)
Wood Sheep (1955, 2015)
Water Sheep (1943, 2003)
Fire Sheep (1907, 1967)
Earth Sheep (1919, 1979)


Monkey

Metal Monkey (1920 1980)
Wood Monkey (1944 2004)
Water Monkey (1932 1992)
Fire Monkey (1956 2016)
Earth Monkey (1968 2028)


Rooster

Metal Rooster (1921 1981)
Wood Rooster (1945 2005)
Water Rooster (1933 1993)
Fire Rooster (1957 2017)
Earth Rooster (1969 2029)


Dog

Metal Dog (1970 2030)
Wood Dog (1934 1994)
Water Dog (1922 1982)
Fire Dog (1946 2006)
Earth Dog (1958 2018)


Pig

Metal Pig (1971 2031)
Wood Pig (1935 1995)
Water Pig (1923 1983)
Fire Pig (1947 2007)
Earth Pig (1959 2019)


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

Lastest Questions and Answers

I am yin metal pig day metal pig year 1971 female (0 Reply ) Asked by D***n | 8/16/2022 8:19:23 AM

I am going through a very difficult and finding it hard to cope. Please can you help. I am feeling very lost right now. I have been told wood element...

Five elements of each Chinese zodiacs (1 Reply ) Asked by L*** | 7/10/2022 7:40:06 PM

Can someone explain me why is the Chinese zodiacs sheep and horse in the fire element and I checked in the five elements they're in the earth...

lucky element (1 Reply ) Asked by M***r | 3/13/2022 12:22:39 AM

Hello, we are having a lot of problems with my son, who was born on 10.04.2006, which element is missing or more in this regard, can you please help...

Too weak Bazi (2 Replies ) Asked by A***e | 2/22/2022 10:03:40 PM

hi please tell me how to remedy my bazi analysis Your Self Elements Analysis Wood: 3 | Water: 1 | Earth: 4 | Metal: 0 Fire: 0 Your Five Elements...

Strongest element is lucky element? (2 Replies ) Asked by M***s | 1/16/2022 11:24:26 AM

Hello! I'm very new to Bazi and was reading my chart but I'm a bit confused and have a question about it... because I think that my strong...