How the five elements came about?
If you google around for "Five elements", you probably find many hits that tell you something like this...
1) 5 Elements : Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood = 5 elements
2) Cycle of Birth: Fire burns to Ashes (Earth), Earth produces Metallic materials (Metal), Metal melts to liquid (Water), Water nourishes trees (Wood)
3) Cycle of Destruction: Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melt Metal, Metal cuts Wood, Wood penetrates Earth, Earth stops Water
But where did the 5 Elements came about? Which came first? I believe many people have not thought of that question. The clue is in the Chinese He Tu (River Map). You could certainly google that to read more. According to the He Tu, the order of origination started from Water, then Fire, then Wood, followed by Metal and lastly Earth. It was said that when the Yin & Yang forces first joined, the resultant force was damp, thus Water is the first element that existed on Planet Earth. To balance the dampness, Fire was the next element that was formed. At this point, Planet Earth was still barren without any lives. With the combination of Fire and Water, the temperature was regulated to a state that promoted warmth and conditions to sustain life, thus Wood was next to appear. Again, to balance the warmness of Wood element, the cold energy of Metal emerged. We can see that the four elements were opposing each other (Fire & Water, Wood & Metal) and thus force of Earth was surfaced to regulate these 4 elements.
But briefly, it depicts that the 5 elements are not really the physical Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. They are really the characteristics of 5 universal types of forces that resemble the physical 5 elements, hence we use these physical elements to represent the universal forces.
Force Of Water : - Characterised by energy that is damp and moving in downward direction
Force of Fire : - Characterised by energy that is hot and moving in upward direction
Force of Wood : - Characterised by energy that is warm and moving in outward directions
Force of Metal : - Characterised by energy that is cool and moving in inward directiona
Force of Earth : - Characterised by energy that is of moderate temperature and moving in horizontal direction
Hope we have a clearer pictures on the origination of the five elements ;-)
1) 5 Elements : Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood = 5 elements
2) Cycle of Birth: Fire burns to Ashes (Earth), Earth produces Metallic materials (Metal), Metal melts to liquid (Water), Water nourishes trees (Wood)
3) Cycle of Destruction: Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melt Metal, Metal cuts Wood, Wood penetrates Earth, Earth stops Water
But where did the 5 Elements came about? Which came first? I believe many people have not thought of that question. The clue is in the Chinese He Tu (River Map). You could certainly google that to read more. According to the He Tu, the order of origination started from Water, then Fire, then Wood, followed by Metal and lastly Earth. It was said that when the Yin & Yang forces first joined, the resultant force was damp, thus Water is the first element that existed on Planet Earth. To balance the dampness, Fire was the next element that was formed. At this point, Planet Earth was still barren without any lives. With the combination of Fire and Water, the temperature was regulated to a state that promoted warmth and conditions to sustain life, thus Wood was next to appear. Again, to balance the warmness of Wood element, the cold energy of Metal emerged. We can see that the four elements were opposing each other (Fire & Water, Wood & Metal) and thus force of Earth was surfaced to regulate these 4 elements.
But briefly, it depicts that the 5 elements are not really the physical Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. They are really the characteristics of 5 universal types of forces that resemble the physical 5 elements, hence we use these physical elements to represent the universal forces.
Force Of Water : - Characterised by energy that is damp and moving in downward direction
Force of Fire : - Characterised by energy that is hot and moving in upward direction
Force of Wood : - Characterised by energy that is warm and moving in outward directions
Force of Metal : - Characterised by energy that is cool and moving in inward directiona
Force of Earth : - Characterised by energy that is of moderate temperature and moving in horizontal direction
Hope we have a clearer pictures on the origination of the five elements ;-)
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