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.

Begin with an End in Mind

That’s one of the 7 habits of highly effective people. An interesting book (recommended read). You set an objective and achieve it.

But an end could be a new beginning.

In Fengshui, the Cycle of Birth and Destruction explains the five elements in the universe and their relations to one another. Elements need to be in balance so that harmony can exist. There is no beginning or end.


(The diagram show the Cycle of Birth as solid arrow & the Cycle of Destruction as dashed arrows)

Wood gives birth to fire, fire destroys things and become earth, earth is where all metal ores are found, metal will form water dew when condense, and plants (wood) needs water to survive. This is the Cycle of Birth. It is liked a mother-child relationship, e.g. for fire to exist, there must be wood to burn.

Likewise, in the Cycle of Destruction. Wood will use nutrients from Earth thus destroying it, earth will absorb water, water will put off fire, fire melts metal and metal will impede the growth of wood.

How will these benefit me? The basis of this knowledge will form the tools to understanding geomancy. Four Pillars of Destiny talks about knowing your own element and making full use of it. Fengshui explains maintaining harmony with the environment to increase luck. Numbers and Roman Letters in geomancy can be related to five elements. The cycle of birth and destruction is like maths, you need to learn the basis of subtraction, addition, multiplication and division before you can understand the complex equations like area, volume and even differentiation, law of physics, etc.

Thers is another cycle. The Cycle of Weakening, reverse the solid arrows and you will get this cycle. Elements in this cycle do not destroy but instead weaken one another. Destruction and weakening is not bad or negative as we need to maintain balance between the elements to achieve harmony in the universe or with our environment.

Imagine: If there is a flood, won’t it be good to have a huge piece land to hang on? If there is a forest fire, rain/water will be the best solution but earth/sand can still be used to put off/weaken fire.

If we can achieve harmony, problems will be resolved and obstacles minimised. This is what I termed as good luck.

Note the colors related to the elements?