The Chinese zodiac has five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These are based on the Five Elements Theory, or Wu Xinga philosophy, which is used to define the interdependence and relationship between all things. The focus of this lesson is on finding balance and accepting the process. As one energy grows stronger, another weakens. There is no hierarchy and all elements are interrelated. This philosophy underpins not only the Chinese zodiac system, but also feng shui, holistic medicine, acupuncture, divination (such as the I Ching), and martial arts.
In This Article...
In the Chinese zodiac, how are the elements assigned?
A sixty-year cycle is created by the five elements mixed with the 12 zodiac signs: for example, an Earth Dog appears once every 60 years.
The fixed element of a person’s zodiac sign, as well as the element of the 12-year cycle in which they were born, are considered to influence their personality. For example, a Metal Dog (born in 1970) has a personality that is influenced by both the Metal (12-year-cycle element) and the Earth (12-year-cycle element) (fixed element).
Is there a Chinese zodiac with elements?
The Chinese zodiac animal that corresponds to your birth year is merely one aspect of your Chinese zodiac profile; the Five Elements concept is another. This is derived from the Chinese idea of Wu Xing, or Five Element Theory, and does not refer to chemical elements, but rather to different sorts of influencing energies that interact with one another. Metal, water, wood, fire, and earth are the Five Elements of the Chinese zodiac, whereas the four elements of Western astrology are earth, air, fire, and water.
What is the function of astrological elements?
For their associated zodiacs, the elements are referred to be the life-giving source. Each of the 12 zodiac signs corresponds to one of the four elements, resulting in three zodiacs for each element. Individual tendencies are formed on the foundation of the elements.
What effect do the elements have on the zodiac signs?
“In astrology, the elements are employed to explain each zodiac sign’s personality, requirements, and desires. Each sign is assigned to one of the four elements, which helps to determine their inner and outside energetic character. Three zodiac signs fall into each of the four main elements: fire, earth, water, and air.
How do you figure out what your element is?
Here’s how to figure out which of the five elements corresponds to the year you were born.
- Metal: Years of birth that conclude in 0 or 1.
- Water: Years of birth that end in 2 or 3.
- Wood: Years of birth ending in 4 or 5.
- Fire: Years of birth ending in 6 or 7.
- Earth: Years of birth ending in 8 or 9
How can you strike a balance between the five elements in your body?
When we look about, we can see the five natural elements that surround us: Earth, water, fire, air, and space. Our bodies include the same five components. Every person’s percentage of each ingredient is different. Our bodies are thrown off by the varied proportions. Yoga can assist us in balancing these aspects in our bodies. Whether we realize it or not, the asanas and pranayam act on these aspects in our bodies. Based on their nature and qualities, all elements are related to one another. Some aspects are devoted to one another, supporting and nurturing one another. Earth and water, for example, are compatible, as are earth and fire. Some elements, such as fire and water, are incompatible. Inflammation is caused by too much fire in the body, whereas too much water dampens fire and causes indigestion.
Human body and Five elements:
- Earth form is represented by solid structures such as bones, flesh, skin, tissue, and hair.
- Saliva, urine, sperm, blood, and perspiration are all made up of water.
- Hunger, thirst, and sleep are all caused by fire.
- Expansion, contraction, and suppression of breathing are all handled by air.
- Physical attraction and dread are dealt with by space.
When these elements are out of harmony in our bodies, we suffer from illness and pain. Yoga asanas, pranayama, and kriyas help to cleanse these components and restore balance and health.
Power of Prana (Air element)
Our life energy is our breath, which is made up of the air element, also known as prana. As a result, the air element is the most effective at removing poisons from our bodies. When we do yoga, we concentrate on our breathing. The reason for this is that the passage of breath throughout our bodies purifies us. Teaching good breathing techniques during asanas and using pranayama into our regular routine help us feel lighter and more powerful.
The natural order of the elements in our body is as follows:
The foundation (below the navel) -Earth and water are two of the most important elements on the planet. Fire in the middle (torso) Air and space in the upper body (chest and throat).
When prana circulates through our bodies, consciousness and energy activate specific portions, bringing the elements into equilibrium. These five elements are also linked to the chakras, which help to maintain balance and harmony in our bodies.
How these five elements govern our moods and characteristics:
EARTH: grounding, soothing, keeps ego in control, and the energy of bones, muscles, and tissues, as well as hot disorders like infections.
WATER: regulates your blood, other bodily fluids, and cold ailments such joint discomfort, as well as providing the ability to adapt, flow, behave selflessly, and avoid unhealthy attachments.
FIRE: Instills courage and confidence, as well as metabolic energy, drive, and creativity; nevertheless, an excess can manifest as fury or hatred.
AIRWIND: A conduit for straightforward communication and self expression, it influences your ability to act from a place of compassion and love, and when it is out of balance, it can lead to envy.
ETHERSPACE: A container for all other elements, as well as a source of intuition and wisdom from the universe, ETHERSPACE is linked to expansion.
Conclusion
These components are influenced by our food and the weather. This is where the science of ayurveda comes in handy. Eating the correct foods for the season helps to balance our doshas. In the summer, it is excellent to consume foods that have cooling effects, such as curds. Similarly, in the winter, it is beneficial to eat hot, spicy foods to raise our body’s fire and keep us warm. The crucial term here is “right quantity,” not “extremes.” Covering five components and doshas in one article is difficult.
Keep an eye out for the next article, which will go through the three doshas in detail: vata, pitta, and kapha.
Is my Chinese astrological sign yin or yang?
Because it takes the fewest years (least common multiple) to travel from Yang Wood Rat to its next iteration, which always starts with Yang Wood Rat and finishes with Yin Water Pig, this combination forms the 60-year cycle. Because the 12th zodiac animal cycle is divisible by two, each zodiac sign can only appear as yin or yang: the Dragon is always yang, the Snake is always yin, and so on. In 1984, the current cycle began (as shown in “Table of the sixty-year calendar” below).
An easy rule to remember when traversing the lunisolar calendar is that years that finish in an even number are yang, and years that end in an odd number are yin. The following is how the cycle works:
- It’s Yang Metal if the year ends in zero.
- It’s Yin Metal if the year ends with 1.
- It is Yang Water if the year ends in a two.
- It’s Yin Water if the year finishes in three.
- It is Yang Wood if the year finishes with the number four.
- It’s Yin Wood if the year finishes in a 5.
- It is Yang Fire if the year ends in 6.
- It’s Yin Fire if the year finishes in 7.
- It is Yang Earth if the year ends in the number eight.
- It is Yin Earth if the year finishes with 9.
The switch-over date is the Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in the Gregorian calendar, because the (traditional) Chinese zodiac follows the (lunisolar) Chinese calendar. As a result, someone born in January or early February may have the previous year’s sign. If a person was born in January 1970, for example, his or her element would still be Yin Earth, rather than Yang Metal. Similarly, despite the fact that 1990 was designated as the Year of the Horse, anyone born between January 1 and January 26, 1990 was actually born in the Year of the Snake (the previous year’s sign), as the Year of the Horse did not begin until January 27, 1990. As a result, if a person was born in January or early February, many online sign calculators (and Chinese restaurant place mats) may give them the wrong sign.
Along with many other ceremonies, Chinese New Year marks the beginning of a new zodiac.
By birthday, what element am I?
There are 12 astrological signs in Western tropical astrology. Each of the four elements has three Zodiac signs connected with it, which are always exactly 120 degrees apart along the ecliptic and are said to be in trine with one another. The four classical elements (also called as triplicities) are still used extensively by most current astrologers, and they are still considered a crucial part of astrological chart interpretation.
Starting with Aries, which is a Fire sign, the next sign in order is Taurus, which is Earth, followed by Gemini, which is Air, and finally Cancer, which is Water. This cycle repeats twice more before concluding with Pisces, the twelfth and final astrological sign. According to Marcus Manilius, the elemental rulerships for the twelve astrological signs of the zodiac are as follows:
- Aries 1; Leo 5; Sagittarius 9 hot, dry, and ferocious
- Heavy, chilly, and dry2Taurus; 6Virgo; 10Capricorn
- 3 Gemini; 7 Libra; 11 Aquarius bright, hot, and damp
- Water is for Cancer, 8 for Scorpio, and 12 for Pisces. It is cool, moist, and gentle.
Based on your zodiac sign, what element do you belong to?
Three zodiac signs make up each astrological element: fire signs Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius; earth signs Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn; air signs Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius; and water signs Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.
What is it about water that attracts fire signs?
She argues that water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) are traditionally associated with earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn) because water nurtures the earth. Because air feeds fire, air signs (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius) and fire signs (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius) go together. “Signs in the same element (earth, water, air, or fire) also make the most harmonic angles to each other, known as ‘trines,’ which are 120 degrees apart,” she continues.
