Law of Five Elements, energy flow

The five elements are:

1. Wood
2. Fire
3. Earth
4. Metal
5. Water

Each flows into (feeds) the next element. In Chinese medicine this is called the "feeding cycle" or a mother-child relationship.

• Wood feeds the Fire - like we add wood to a fire to keep it going
• Fire feeds the Earth - it is the ashes of a fire that add quality to soil
• Earth feeds Metal - we find metal inside earth
• Metal feeds the Water - it is the minerals that give water quality, otherwise it is just H2O and
• Water feeds the Wood - as in how we water the plants to help them grow.

There is another relationship between elements that is used in the Chinese medicine and that one is called Ke or a"controlling" relationship. Instead of moving from one to the next element, in the controlling relationship one element is skipped so:

• Wood controls the Earth - we use wood to control the soil when building garden terraces
• Fire controls Metal - we melt metal with high heat
• Earth controls the Water - dams are build with earth
• Metal controls the Woods - as in the blade of an axe and
• Water controls the Fire.