The five elements — Wu Xing (五行) in Mandarin — are one of the foundational frameworks of Chinese cosmology. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water are not chemical elements in the modern sense. They are dynamic phases of energy, more like seasons or moods than substances. Each element has a season, a direction, a color, an organ system, and an emotional signature. Wood is spring, the east, green, the liver, and benevolent ambition. Fire is summer, the south, red, the heart, and joyful expression. Earth is late summer, the center, yellow, the spleen, and grounded care. Metal is autumn, the west, white, the lungs, and refined judgment. Water is winter, the north, black, the kidneys, and deep wisdom.
The elements relate to one another in two main cycles. The generating cycle (sheng) describes how each element nourishes the next: Wood feeds Fire, Fire creates Earth (ash), Earth produces Metal (ore), Metal collects Water (condensation), and Water feeds Wood. The controlling cycle (ke) describes how each element checks another: Wood breaks Earth, Earth dams Water, Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts Metal, and Metal cuts Wood. These cycles are not moralistic — being controlled is not bad, and being generated is not always good. They simply describe how energies move through systems, whether those systems are bodies, relationships, or organizations.
In the context of the Chinese zodiac, your birth year carries an element that modifies your animal sign. A Water Rabbit and a Fire Rabbit share core Rabbit traits — gentleness, refinement, diplomacy — but the Water Rabbit tends to be more introspective and intuitive while the Fire Rabbit tends to be more outwardly expressive and socially active. The practice of reading your own chart often begins with finding your element, then noticing where in your life that element's strengths and shadows appear most strongly.