Zodi Animal· The Elements· Wood 木· Wood's two cycles

A room of Wood · 木

One of the five phases behind your Primal Zodiac Animal

Wood's two cycles

shēng and kè

Wood is fed by Water (水生木), it feeds Fire (木生火), it controls Earth (木克土), and it is controlled by Metal (金克木). Those four relationships are how you feed a weak Wood or prune an overgrown one.

Feeding and draining

To strengthen a weak Wood, add its mother, Water, which nourishes it. To drain an overfull Wood, let it pour into its child, Fire, which it fuels. This is the generating cycle, 相生 (xiāng shēng).

Holding in check

To calm an excessive Wood, add its controller, Metal, the blade that prunes and shapes it. Wood in turn keeps Earth from running to excess by parting it and drawing it up into growth. When a phase grows too strong the balance can distort into over-control (相乘) or rebellion (相侮), which is why the aim is always proportion, not dominance.

Where Wood sits

Leave Wood in any direction

The five phases are one lens on your Zodi Animal, the creature you get when your Western Sun sign crosses your Chinese zodiac year.