Elements of the Chinese Zodiac
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The Chinese Astrology Signs are based on a number of things. The primary two things the Chinese Zodiac revolves around are Zodiac Animals and the Elements.
The five Chinese Elements are – Fire, Wood, Water, Earth, and Metal (why is Metal considered an element? Great questions! I’ve wondered that myself). To further complicate things, each element is connected to one of the planets in the solar system. If you’re wondering “where is Air?”, he makes his appearance over in the Western Zodiac. Fire, Water, and Earth appear in both Western and Eastern astrology. They must have good talent agents. Anyway, here are the planets:
Now, don’t bother mentioning that there is no wood on Jupiter. Also don’t ask why Earth element isn’t associated with Earth the planet. None of these questions will help you understand Chinese Astrology any better and will probably just annoy most astrologers, who are a rather serious and unfunny bunch in general.
The elements have structured relationships with one another – each element has a “destructive” pairing, a,”beneficial” pairing, and a “hostile” pairing. Generally the pairings are simple logic:
- Beneficial
I shouldn’t have to say this by now, but don’t ask why Metal creates Water, because you won’t get an answer you’ll be happy with. Just accept it.
Now the destructive relationships.
- Destructive
Ah, these make a bit more sense! So destructive pairings make for difficult relationships. For example, even though Rooster and Snake make a great romantic couple, there may be friction between them if the pairing is a Fire Rooster with a Metal Snake, or a Earth Snake with a Water Rooster. Though, now that I think about it, a Fire Rooster would basically be a Phoenix, and no one gets along with Phoenixes. You just can’t take them out anywhere with anything flammable. A night out for drinks? Forget it!
But where was I? Ah yes, the hostile relationships!
- Hostile
Once again, these seem pretty logical. I can see why Wood would hate Metal, you know? I was born in a Metal year, and I’m not too fond of Wood. Except bamboo, which is pretty handy.
So all told, when you pair up the five Elements with the twelve Chinese Zodiac Animals, you have a total of sixty possible astrology sign combinations in the Chinese Zodiac. Each Chinese Zodiac Animal also takes on characteristics of their element, which influences their behaviour. I’ll talk about Yin and Yang in a future post.
So here we go – let’s dive in and take a look at each of the elements and how they affect each sign, shall we? We’ve made it this far – why not, right?
Chinese Earth Element
Earths influence brings patience and reliability. While Earth people are ambitious and want good things for themselves, they manage to hang on to some idealisim and can be stubborn when going after things they really want. They are logical, methodical, and can be highly annoying to anyone who wants to get things done on time (or, heaven forbid, early). They make great detectives as long as they have people around them to keep them focused and on task. They also make good planners or administrative leaders as they love paperwork, research, and all the other boring stuff no on else wants to do. Don’t bother inventing them along on anything adventurous. Even if you can get them out of the house they’ll zap all the fun out of everything by over planning, making lists of things to make lists about, quadruple checking all the gear, and then complaining about forgetting something when you finally get wherever it is you were going. They are usually respected but may not have a lot of “bosom buddies”. Earth is usually self-interested. They fear change and the unknown, which leads to Earth people not doing anything much of the time since most of life is change and the unknown. For example, Earth people generally don’t make great scuba divers. It’s everything they hate all in one dark, scary place. As I said, I’m Metal and I don’t like scuba diving that much either. Sharks…
Moving on!
Chinese Fire Element
Fire Element people are the exact opposite of Earth people. They crave adventure and excitement and are usually charismatic adventure-seekers. They shrug off events that would make other signs cringe in terror. James Bond is a good example of how a Fire sign behaves. Sex, money, power, fast cars, sex, danger, excitement, bar fights, sex, taking risks, skydiving, sex, and sex. That’s a basic transcript of the Fire person’s thoughts at any given point in a day. They tend to have magnetic personalities and people may be attracted to them without really being able to explain why. Fire forms strong bongs quickly and has a tight circle of close friends that they prefer to pal around with. Anything new and unexplored is right up Fire’s alley. Fire, though, is destructive to both theirselves and others. They aren’t the most sympathetic of people, and if they experience roadblocks in life they can be reduced to tantrums. They can be overly emotional and sensitive, but then, thats generally what attracts people to them. Their wild unpredictable nature can be stimulating but get old fast when they’re calling you at four in the morning crying because they broke up with “the love of their life” that they met six weeks ago at a strip club. Ten the next day they wonder why you’re dragging at work and shout at you to pick up the pace.
That’s Fire for you! Hold on tight and enjoy the ride.
Chinese Metal Element
Metal people have a tenacity that other signs don’t understand or appreciate. They can have mood swings – one minute they’re conservative and reserved, the next they are outgoing, upbeat, and fun. In business, though, Metal people are an immovable object. The don’t yield for anything, and will never back down from a debate when they think they’re right (note: this is always). Metal people prefer order and structure and can be maddening with their devotion to cleanliness. Metal people generally know exactly what they want and have a pretty clear picture of how to get there. They see obstacles as opportunities to show off their greatness.
Metal people have an impulsive streak. They love to spend money, but they aren’t extravagant and can generally land on their feet. They set high expectations for everyone they come in contact with, including themselves, and become dismissive and tyrannical when people don’t live up to those expectations. If you’re ok with that, more power to you, but most people aren’t so Metal people end up not having a lot of friends, instead having a lot of followers and hanger-ons. Chinese Wood Element
Wood Element people are givers. They are the “flower children” of the zodiac, ethical, persuasive, and committed to a cause. They are not too concerned with gathering up a bunch of material wealth and take life as it comes. They tend to be mooches and rely on others to carry them through life safe and sound. They make up for it by being unselfish and loving. They don’t mind hard work but often times they direct their efforts in the wrong direction – think of the hippy “free love” movement. Lots of energy and effort. Tons of hard work setting up communes. Yet, how much money did anyone make? That’s Wood in a nutshell.
Wood people are prone to taking on more than they can handle and like to have lots of interests. They have a lot of confidence, though, and believe that they can take on anything. One difference between Wood people and Hippies is that Wood people are inhibited, shy, and reserved.
Chinese Water Element
Water Element people are easy-going, intelligent, and creative. They tend to have a pretty easy path in life since they are masters of manipulation and can always spot the easy way out of a situation. They make great thinkers and philosophers but don’t stick around for the actual work. Their powers of persuasion are legendary. Like the element water, Water people can move around obstacles with ease and can spot the path of least resistance. They tend to not be assertive to people’s faces and end up being too passive for their own good.
Water people make great diplomats since they often just tell people what they think people want to hear. They are influential and highly intuitive. That’s Water. Try to grab on and they slip through your fingers.
