Wu Xing 五行
The Five Elements in BaZi
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water are the Five Elements (Wu Xing) that describe kinds of movement and relationship in a BaZi chart. Every stem and branch carries one of them.
The five qualities
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water
Each element describes a quality: growth and planning for Wood, expression and warmth for Fire, stability and nourishment for Earth, structure and precision for Metal, and reflection and flow for Water. These are symbolic descriptions of movement, not literal materials.
Where they live
Stems and branches carry elements
The ten Heavenly Stems express the Five Elements in Yin and Yang forms — for example Yang Wood (甲 Jia) and Yin Wood (乙 Yi). The twelve Earthly Branches each carry an element too, and each branch also contains hidden stems used in deeper readings.
A simple chart summary counts the visible stems and main branch elements to show the distribution of the Five Elements in your chart.
How they relate
Generative and controlling cycles
The Five Elements follow two traditional cycles. In the generative cycle, Wood feeds Fire, Fire creates Earth, Earth produces Metal, Metal carries Water, and Water nourishes Wood. In the controlling cycle, Wood parts Earth, Earth dams Water, Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts Metal, and Metal cuts Wood.
These cycles describe how the elements interact in a chart, which is why the balance and position of each element matter more than any single element on its own.
An honest boundary
A distribution chart is not a full judgment
The Five Elements bar in this calculator counts visible characters only. It is not a complete strength, weakness or favorable-element judgment. Season, hidden stems, polarity and interactions all belong to a deeper traditional assessment.
See the Five Elements distribution in your own chart, free.
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