Five Elements representing the Characters - HS and EB
The Chinese characters of the HS and EB will be tough to remember.
Do what I did, remember the elements representing them.
Heavenly Stems (HS):
- 甲 = jia = first = Yang Wood <-- start point
- 乙 = yi = second = Yin Wood
- 丙 = bing = third = Yang Fire
- 丁 = ding = fourth = Yin Fire
- 戊 = wu = fifth = Yang Earth
- 己 = ji = sixth = Yin Earth
- 庚 = geng = seventh = Yang Metal
- 辛 = xin = eighth = Yin Metal
- 壬 = ren = ninth = Yang Water
- 癸 = gui = tenth = Yin Water
How do you remember HS & its corresponding elements? Did you notice the similarity with the Cycle of Birth? Starting with Wood, giving birth to Fire, Earth, Metal then Water. Yang and Yin elements alternate (even are Yin, odd Yang).
Another way of remembering will be using the fingers. We have five fingers, each finger comes with at least 2 parts. One finger will represent one element (e.g. Wood), the tip of the finger (Yang), the bottom (Ying).
Earthly Branches (EB):
- 子 = zi = rat = Yin Water
- 丑 = chou = ox = Yin Earth
- 寅 = yin = tiger = Yang Wood <-- start point
- 卯 = mao = rabbit = Yin Wood
- 辰 = chen = dragon = Yang Earth
- 巳 = si = snake = Yang Fire
- 午 = wu = horse = Yin Fire
- 未 = wei = goat = Yin Earth
- 申= shen = monkey = Yang Metal
- 酉 = you = rooster = Yin Metal
- 戌 = xu = dog = Yang Earth
- 亥 = hai = pig = Yang Water
What about remembering EB & its element? This is trickier. Pivot point is tiger. Yang Wood is the first month in the Chinese Hsia Calendar. It corresponds with HS first "Yang Wood - 甲". Rabbit is the second month and so forth, being ox as the last (twelve) month. Using tiger as the start point, 2 same elements will end with an Earth element. e.g. Tiger and Rabbit (both Wood) will have the next element Earth, likewise for Snake and Horse (both Fire) having Goat as Earth. Through Cycle of Birth, Wood gives birth to Fire, Fire to Earth (omit this when remembering HS elements), Metal and then Water. Using the four fingers (with 3 segments), we can remember this easily.
Note the elements that are related with each finger (except for lower segment - all represented by Earth. Remember Odd is Yang, Even is Yin? Earth of first finger is Yang Earth.
PS: My way of remembering elements is different from Standard Fengshui / Fortune Teller way. Be it whichever way you can remember, learn them - it is the basis of Bazi analysis.
