Year-stem element
The heavenly stem supplies the element in a name such as Yin Fire Rooster.
See how the ten stems workWu Xing · 五行
The Five Chinese Zodiac Elements
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water are five moving phases. A calculator result can show them in several coordinates, so the label only becomes useful when you know which position it belongs to.
One system, five positions
Choose an element
Each page explains the element's two heavenly stems, its place in both Five Phases cycles, the animals that carry it as a fixed branch element, and every animal–element year type.
- Wood木mùWood feeds Fire and regulates Earth in the two Five Phases cycles. It appears in zodiac year names through the Jia and Yi heavenly stems.Generates Fire · controls EarthOpen the Wood guide →
- Fire火huǒFire follows Wood in the generating cycle. It feeds Earth, regulates Metal, and appears in zodiac year names through the Bing and Ding heavenly stems.Generates Earth · controls MetalOpen the Fire guide →
- Earth土tǔEarth receives from Fire in the generating cycle. It feeds Metal, regulates Water, and appears in zodiac year names through the Wu and Ji heavenly stems.Generates Metal · controls WaterOpen the Earth guide →
- Metal金jīnMetal follows Earth in the generating cycle. It feeds Water, regulates Wood, and appears in zodiac year names through the Geng and Xin heavenly stems.Generates Water · controls WoodOpen the Metal guide →
- Water水shuǐWater feeds Wood and regulates Fire in the two Five Phases cycles. It appears in zodiac year names through the Ren and Gui heavenly stems.Generates Wood · controls FireOpen the Water guide →
Read the coordinate before the colour
Why one result can show several elements
A birth result is not choosing between competing verdicts. It is showing different positions in the calendrical system.
Animal fixed element
Every earthly branch keeps one element even while the year stem changes.
Compare the twelve animal branchesDay master
The first character of the date's day pillar is another heavenly stem.
Understand the day pillarNa Yin association
A separate named classification belongs to each two-year stem–branch pair.
Why Na Yin is kept separateTwo directions through the same five phases
Generating and controlling
Generating cycle · 相生
Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal → Water → Wood
Each phase feeds the next; the sequence returns to its beginning.Controlling cycle · 相克
Wood → Earth → Water → Fire → Metal → Wood
Each phase regulates another; this is a second relation, not a score.