Basics of 5 Elements

5 elements controlling, producing and weakening cycle is the foundation to understanding more about yourself and your reaction / interaction towards your dream, partner / spouse, family, career, social circle, network, friends, etc. By mastering this, it would already tell you a lot about your chart, even without the knowledge of the 10 gods or 10 stems or branches.

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Controlling cycle:

• Earth controls water like how the mountain / earth directs the movement of the river. Water needs earth to have directions.
• Water controls fire like how fireman puts out fire with water from the hose. It helps to cools down heat.
• Fire controls metal like how you use fire to forge sword. Hence metal needs fire to be more refine and become useful.
• Metal controls wood like how the axe chops the wood. Like for the case of some plants, we need scissors to help trim the plant to maintain the shape in which we want it to be.
• Wood controls earth like how the roots of the tree hold on to the earth. Like what we learn in geography, wood is needed to hold on to the soild to prevent soil erosion. 

Producing & Weakening cycle:

• Earth produce metal because that's how you get all the precious metal, from mining. In the process earth is weakened as it became loose.
• Metal produce water but mainly it was metal attracting water through condensation. In the process metal is weaken as it may start to corrode. But this doesn't happens as fast as all other weakening cycles.
• Water produce wood as wood needs water to grow. In the process, the water is absorbed by the wood and hence there's less water.
• Wood produce fire as fire needs wood as fuel to burn. In the process, the wood would become ash.
• Fire produce earth because as fire burns, ash is produced, which became part of the soil. As there's more ash produced, the fire became smaller.

The key about 5 elements relationship in bazi is that the above interaction translate to 5 main interaction between you (reference point) and the element that you are reading (focus point):

1. Same element as you indicates a friendly behaviour and see each other as equals.
2. Element that you produce indicates that you support that element / person / thing. It also indicates that you are useful to that element that you produce. In the process, it makes you weaker.
3. Element that produce you indicates that the element supports you and is useful to you. This element makes you stronger.
4. Element that you control indicates that you would want to have control over something / someone depending on the context of your reading. But in order to control that element, you need to first be strong in order to take charge.
5. Element that controls you indicates that it had power over you, it also means that you tend to relinquish your control and follow something / someone.