Understanding The Elements
Understanding the Productive & Absorbing Cycles and the Destructive Cycle
The Productive and Absorbing Cycle
- WATER– the end of one cycle & beginning of a new cycle. Water absorbs Metal enriched by new minerals.
- WOOD- growth. Wood absorbs the Water.
- FIRE- high energy. Fire absorb Wood.
- EARTH- grounding. Earth calms & absorbs the Fire.
- METAL– shedding & containment. Metal absorbs Earth becoming the foundation for Water to pass over and so a new productive cycle begins.
The Destructive Cycle
- WATER puts out of FIRE.
- FIRE melts METAL.
- METAL chops WOOD.
- WOOD pushes through EARTH breaking it up like a tree pushing through earth when it grows.
- EARTH stops WATER like a dam or similarly the tide stops when it meets earth.
The five elements used to describe the state of nature:
- Wood/Spring: a period of growth, which generates abundant wood and vitality
- Fire/Summer: a surge in fire and energy
- Earth: the in-between transitional seasonal periods, or a separate ‘season’ known as Late Summer or Long Summer – where the fire burns out and moderation returns.
- Metal/Autumn: a period of harvesting and collecting
- Water/Winter: a period of retreat, where stillness, storage, hibernation & rest prepares for the next cycle.