🌻The secret of The Five Elements
🌻The Five Elements
💧 Water 🌳 Wood 🔥 Fire 🌏 Earth 🪓 Metal
🌻The Five Stages Existence
andlt;andlt;PREVIOUS Ying Yang
As mentioned before, the Tao exists in between Yin and Yang. All existence has a beginning and an ending.
The Tao is the path in between the beginning and the ending. The Tao is where existence progresses. If the path is divided into five stages, it would become the five stages of existence which are Birth, Growth, Mature, Deteriorate, and Death.
The five elements are used as references to the five stages of existence. Water resembles birth. Wood resembles growth. Fire resembles maturity. Earth resembles deterioration. Metal resembles death.
| Birth | Growth | Mature | Deteriorate | Death |
| 💧 Water | 🌳 Wood | 🔥 Fire | 🌏 Earth | 🪓 Metal |
🌻Creation and Destruction or the Five Elements
Nature has two forces, the force of creation and the force of destruction.
🌻Creation Cycle of the Five Elements
- 🌿 Water gave birth to Wood.
- 🌿 Wood gave birth to Fire.
- 🌿 Fire gave birth to Earth. (When wood is burned, it turns into ashes.)
- 🌿 Earth gave birth to Metal (Metals came from the ground.)
- 🌿 Metal gave birth to Water. (When solid melts, it becomes liquid.)
Water gave birth to wood. In Chinese, it is called water sheng (生) Wood. The Chinese character sheng (生) can be interpreted as creation and nourishment. In other words, water gave birth to wood can be interpreted as water creates and nourishes wood. Creation is a force that keeps its descending element alive and healthy. Wood cannot exist without water. Thfore, water is auspicious and beneficial to wood.
🌻Destruction Cycle of the Five Elements
As there are forces of creation, there are also forces for destruction. Otherwise, life will exist forever.
- 🔥 Water afflicts Fire (water puts out fire).
- 🔥 Fire afflicts Metal (fire melts metal).
- 🔥 Metal afflicts Wood (as ax chops down a tree).
- 🔥 Wood afflicts Earth (The roots of a tree hold soil in place and absorb the nutrients from the earth)
- 🔥 Earth afflicts Water (When earth is thrown into a puddle, water is absorbed).
Water afflicts fires in Chinese it is called water ke (剋) fire. The Chinese character ke (剋) means harmful to, hostile to, and destroy. Because of it, water is hostile to fire.
🌻The Relationships Between the Self and The Force of Creation, and The Force of Destruction
Human beings have two forces, the force of creation and the force of destruction.
🌻The Self
The self is I. I am myself. I can think and I can see. I have feelings. I am an "existence". Because I exist, I have relationships with others. I can create and I can destroy.
🌻Active and Passive Forces, Creation and Destruction
- 🌿 Active CreationI can actively create something or help someone. I am active. My activities are causing others to benefit.
- 🌿 Passive CreationI myself was created and nourished by my parents. I am passive. Sometimes when I am in need, I am being helped by the activities of others.
- 🔥 Active DestructionI chop down a tree and use the logs as firewood. I am active. Because of my action, a tree is no more.
- 🔥 Passive DestructionSomeone has broken my car window. I am passive. What is mine has been destroyed by someone else, other than myself.
| ☯ Yin Yang | Active (Yang) | Passive (Yin) |
| ☀️ Positive (Yang) | To Create | Created By |
| 🌙 Negative (Yin) | To Destroy | Destroyed By |
🌻The Four Relationships and I, and the Five Elements
The four relationships are:
🧓🏻👵🏼 Parent 👨👩👧👦 Children 👮🏻♀️Authority 💎Wealth
Have you ever wondered, why there are only five elements, not four or not six? The self is I (wo 我). Because I exist, relationships are being formed between me and others. If I am fire ( the element of fire) then I was created by wood since wood gave birth to fire. Wood nourished me and I grew. Wood is my parent. My creation is earth. Earth is my child. Earth deprives me. I am afflicted by water since water puts out fire. Water hinders my growth. To me, water is my authority, and has power over me.
I exist and, I am "fire". Being what I am, I have a natural tendency to cause affiliations on medals. Fire melts metal. Metal is my wealth.
| 🧓🏻👵🏼 Parents | 👨👩👧👦 Children | 👮🏻♀️Authority | 💎Wealth |
| Created Me | I created | Afflicts Me | I Afflicts |
| I am Passive | I am Active | I am Passive | I am Active |
The four relationships and I form the five elements.
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