Overacting (相乘)
Metal overacts on Wood
Metal normally keeps Wood in check. When Metal is far too strong, or Wood far too weak, the check turns into damage.
Classical saying
木弱逢金，必為砍折
Weak Wood that meets Metal is cut down.
Five Elements Cycle: the Generating and Controlling Chart
Generating: Wood feeds Fire, Fire makes Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal carries Water, Water nourishes Wood. Controlling: Wood checks Earth, Earth dams Water, Water quenches Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood. Tap any element to see all four of its relations.
Updated October 17, 2026
Generating cycleControlling cycle
Tap an element, or press Tab and use the arrow keys. SVG and PNG save the diagram exactly as shown.
Diagram mode
Both cycles
Green arrows round the ring are the generating cycle; red arrows across it are the controlling cycle. Every element has four links: what produces it, what it produces, what controls it and what it controls.
The pairs (tap one to see it)
Tap any element on the diagram to see its four relations and the ten gods they become.
Five elements order: both cycles in one line
Quick answer
- Generating cycle (相生)
- 木火土水木
Wood feeds Fire, Fire feeds Earth, Earth feeds Metal, Metal feeds Water, Water feeds Wood
- Controlling cycle (相剋)
- 木土水火木
Wood controls Earth, Earth controls Water, Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal, Metal controls Wood
Memory aid
Put Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water in a circle. One step forward is generating; skip one and you get controlling. The Han scholar Dong Zhongshu said it in seven characters: 比相生而間相勝, neighbours generate, alternates conquer.
How to say them
- 木mù
- 火huǒ
- 土tǔ
- jīn
- 水shuǐ
In Japanese: moku, ka, do, gon, sui. Chinese speakers often list them as 金木水火土 (jīn mù shuǐ huǒ tǔ), a sing-song order that is neither cycle.
Four orders you will meet
- Generating order木火土水
The order of production, used in Bazi and on most charts.
- Controlling order木土水火
Each element controls the next one in the list.
- Hong Fan order水火木土
The oldest list (《尚書·洪範》), numbered 1 to 5, the same as the River Chart numbers.
- Spoken order木水火土
How the five are usually recited in Chinese. Easy to say, but it follows neither cycle.
The generating cycle (相生): how each element feeds the next
Generating (相生, xiāng shēng) means producing and nourishing, like a mother and her child. The order never changes: Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal → Water, and back to Wood. Each pair comes with the image the tradition uses for it.
- 木火
Wood feeds Fire
Dry wood catches a spark and keeps a fire burning. Fuel is what Wood gives Fire.
In a chart: if Fire is your Day Master, Wood is your Resource.
- 火土
Fire feeds Earth
Whatever fire burns turns to ash, and ash enriches the soil. Fire leaves Earth behind.
In a chart: if Earth is your Day Master, Fire is your Resource.
- 土
Earth feeds Metal
Ores form slowly inside rock and soil; every metal is dug out of the ground.
In a chart: if Metal is your Day Master, Earth is your Resource.
- 水
Metal feeds Water
Cold metal gathers dew and springs run out of mineral rock. Autumn's crisp air condenses into winter's water.
In a chart: if Water is your Day Master, Metal is your Resource.
- 水木
Water feeds Wood
Rain and rivers feed roots. Nothing green grows without water.
In a chart: if Wood is your Day Master, Water is your Resource.
When generating goes wrong: too much support
Production helps only in the right amount. The classical sayings name two failures: too much mother, where the producer smothers its child, and too much child, where the child drains its producer. Pick a saying to see it on the diagram: the element there is too much of grows, the one that suffers shrinks.
Too much mother (母多子病)
Too much child (子多母弱)
金賴土生，土多金埋
Metal relies on Earth to be born, but too much Earth buries it: support that smothers.
The controlling cycle (相剋): how each element keeps another in check
Controlling (相剋, xiāng kè) means restraining, not destroying. Each element checks the one two steps ahead: Wood → Earth → Water → Fire → Metal, and back to Wood. Every element controls one other and is controlled by one other, so no single element can take over.
Five elements controlling chart: who controls whom
| Control | Image in nature | In a Bazi chart | Too much (overacting) | Backfire (insulting) | Bridge element |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 木土Wood controls Earth | Roots break up packed ground and draw nutrients out of it; a tree holds a slope in place. | Earth is Wood's Wealth; Wood is Earth's Power. | 土衰逢木，必遭傾陷Wood overacts on Earth | 木能剋土，土重木折Earth insults Wood | 火Fire |
| 土水Earth controls Water | Banks and dams keep a river in its course, and dry soil soaks up a spill. | Water is Earth's Wealth; Earth is Water's Power. | 水弱逢土，必為淤塞Earth overacts on Water | 土能剋水，水多土流Water insults Earth | Metal |
| 水火Water controls Fire | Water puts out fire and cools whatever is too hot. | Fire is Water's Wealth; Water is Fire's Power. | 火弱遇水，必為熄滅Water overacts on Fire | 水能剋火，火炎水灼Fire insults Water | 木Wood |
| 火Fire controls Metal | The heat of the forge softens metal so it can be shaped. | Metal is Fire's Wealth; Fire is Metal's Power. | 金衰遇火，必見銷熔Fire overacts on Metal | 火能剋金，金多火熄Metal insults Fire | 土Earth |
| 木Metal controls Wood | Axes and saws fell trees and cut timber into beams. | Wood is Metal's Wealth; Metal is Wood's Power. | 木弱逢金，必為砍折Metal overacts on Wood | 金能剋木，木堅金缺Wood insults Metal | 水Water |
Is control bad? Restraint that makes things useful (制化)
Control is how the five elements stay in balance. Banks give a river its shape, pruning makes a tree grow straight, the forge turns ore into a blade. The tradition calls this 制化, restraint that transforms, and says a strong element needs its controller before it is of any use. In a chart, a strong Day Master often does best with some Power (官殺) to give it direction.
When control backfires (反剋)
Control works only when the controller is strong enough. If the element being controlled is much stronger, the attack fails and hurts the attacker: hard wood chips the axe, a flood washes the bank away. This reversed control is the insulting (相侮) described below. Pick a saying to compare control that works with control that backfires.
Strong ones need control (宜剋)
Control backfires (反剋)
金旺得火，方成器皿
Strong Metal needs Fire: only the forge turns raw ore into useful tools.
Do your elements clash as a couple?
Two Day Masters that control each other (Metal and Wood, Water and Fire …) are not a verdict. What matters is the bridge element and the whole of both charts.
Overacting (相乘) and insulting (相侮): when control goes wrong
Besides normal control, Chinese medicine and Bazi describe two abnormal kinds. Overacting is control that goes too far; insulting is control that turns back on the controller. Both start from the same thing: one element has too much or too little.
氣有餘，則制己所勝而侮所不勝；其不及，則己所不勝侮而乘之，己所勝輕而侮之。
When an element has a surplus, it overpowers what it controls and insults what should control it. When it falls short, what should control it overacts on it, and what it should control looks down on it and insults it.
Pick an element
Insulting (相侮)
Wood insults Metal
Normally Metal controls Wood. When Wood is far too strong, or Metal far too weak, the arrow flips and Wood pushes back on Metal.
Classical saying
金能剋木，木堅金缺
Metal cuts Wood, but hard wood chips the blade.
Overacting vs insulting: what is the difference?
| Overacting (相乘) | Insulting (相侮) | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Same as the controlling cycle (Metal → Wood) | Reversed (Wood → Metal) |
| Cause | The controller is too strong, or the controlled element too weak | The controlled element is too strong, or the controller too weak |
| Example | 木弱逢金，必為砍折: weak Wood is cut down by Metal | 金能剋木，木堅金缺: hard Wood chips the Metal blade |
| What helps | Support the weak element (its producer or its own kind), or drain the controller | Strengthen the controller, or drain the element that is too strong |
Bridging a clash (通關): turn control into a chain of support
生剋制化 (production, control and the balance between them) is the idea that the two cycles keep each other in check. Its most useful tool is the bridge element: put the element the controller produces between the two, and the clash becomes a flow. Pick any two elements to find it.
First element
Second element
Controls水木
Metal controls Wood. Add Water: Metal feeds Water and Water feeds Wood, so the control becomes a chain of support. Water is the bridge element.
In ten-god terms: if Wood is your Day Master, Metal is your Power and Water your Resource, so Power feeds Resource and Resource feeds you. If Metal is your Day Master, Wood is your Wealth and Water your Output, so Output turns into Wealth.
Seven Killings and Resource produce each other (殺印相生)Officer and Resource produce each other (官印相生)Output produces Wealth (食傷生財)
Classical saying
強金得水，方挫其鋒
Strong Metal that finds Water has its sharp edge softened.
Bridge elements for every clash (通關表)
The bridge is always the element the controller produces. The classical line in each row says the same thing from the other side: a strong element is best calmed by what it produces.
| Clash | Bridge element | Chain | Classical line (強者宜洩) | Bridge color and direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal controls Wood | 水Water | 水木 | 強金得水，方挫其鋒Strong Metal that finds Water has its sharp edge softened. | Black, navyNorth |
| Wood controls Earth | 火Fire | 木火土 | 強木得火，方化其頑Strong Wood that finds Fire turns its stubbornness into warmth. | Red, purpleSouth |
| Earth controls Water | Metal | 土水 | 強土得金，方制其壅Strong Earth that finds Metal has its blockage cleared. | White, goldWest |
| Water controls Fire | 木Wood | 水木火 | 強水得木，方緩其勢Strong Water that finds Wood slows from a torrent to a stream. | Green, tealEast |
| Fire controls Metal | 土Earth | 火土 | 強火得土，方止其焰Strong Fire that finds Earth settles and stops flaring. | Yellow, brownCenter |
Too strong or too weak: five ways to rebalance an element
An element that is too strong can be controlled (剋), drained (洩) or worn down (耗); one that is too weak can be produced (生) or joined by its own kind (扶). Which one a chart needs depends on Day Master strength and the favorable elements, not on counting.
| Element | If too strong | If too weak | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control it (剋) | Drain it (洩) | Wear it down (耗) | Produce it (生) | Join it (扶) | |
| 木Wood | Metal | 火Fire | 土Earth | 水Water | 木Wood |
| 火Fire | 水Water | 土Earth | Metal | 木Wood | 火Fire |
| 土Earth | 木Wood | Metal | 水Water | 火Fire | 土Earth |
| Metal | 火Fire | 水Water | 木Wood | 土Earth | Metal |
| 水Water | 土Earth | 木Wood | 火Fire | Metal | 水Water |
Five elements relationship table: who generates and controls whom
Read across: the row element is "me", the column is the other element, and each cell says what I do to it. Tap a cell to light the pair up on the big diagram.
- feeds
- fed by
- controls
- controlled by
- same
| Me ↓ · Other → | 木Wood | 火Fire | 土Earth | Metal | 水Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 木Wood | |||||
| 火Fire | |||||
| 土Earth | |||||
| Metal | |||||
| 水Water |
Wood controls EarthTap a cell to show it on the diagram
From the five elements to the ten gods
Bazi reads every element in a chart from your Day Master. What produces you is Resource (印), what you produce is Output (食傷), what controls you is Power (官殺), what you control is Wealth (財) and your own element is Self (比劫). Pick a Day Master element to see the map.
Day Master element
- 水
What produces me is Resource (生我者為印)
ResourceWater feeds WoodIndirect ResourceDirect Resource
- 火
What I produce is Output (我生者為食傷)
OutputWood feeds FireEating GodHurting Officer
What controls me is Power (剋我者為官殺)
PowerMetal controls WoodSeven KillingsDirect Officer
- 土
What I control is Wealth (我剋者為財)
WealthWood controls EarthIndirect WealthDirect Wealth
- 木
What equals me is Self (同我者為比劫)
SelfWood meets Wood: same elementFriendRob Wealth
The ten gods produce and control each other too (十神相生相剋)
The five families sit on the same ring, so they follow the same cycles. These ten links are what combinations like "Seven Killings meets Resource" are built on.
Generating cycle
- Peers produce Output: energy and confidence become expression and work.
- Output produces Wealth: talent and skill turn into income.
- Wealth produces Officer: money supports status, and invites pressure.
- Officer produces Resource: duty and pressure bring learning and protection.
- Resource produces Peers: knowledge and mentors give you backbone.
Controlling cycle
- Peers control Wealth: rivals compete for your money; you spend and earn boldly.
- Output controls Officer: talent pushes back against pressure and rules.
- Wealth controls Resource: practical needs and money limit study and reputation.
- Officer controls Peers: rules and pressure discipline you and your rivals.
- Resource controls Output: learning and rules rein in expression.
Reading the cycles in your own chart
- 1
Find your Day Master
The stem of your day pillar is you. Its element sits at the centre of the ring, and every other element is read from it.
- 2
Weigh the elements
See which elements are strong and which are missing, and whether your Day Master is strong or weak. Strength decides whether being produced or being controlled is welcome.
- 3
Follow the flows
Look for chains (Wealth feeding Power feeding Resource), clashes that need a bridge, and the elements your chart leans on: those are your favorable elements.
Where the five elements idea comes from
五行 (wǔ xíng) literally means "five movements" or "five phases". They are less five substances than five kinds of change, used for some 2,500 years to describe seasons, directions, the body and fate. The idea grew in layers.
Zhou dynasty
The first list: 《尚書·洪範》
The Hong Fan chapter of the Book of Documents names the five in the order Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, Earth and gives each its nature: water soaks downward, fire flames upward, wood bends and straightens, metal yields and changes shape, earth is sown and reaped.
Spring and Autumn
Five materials (五材)
The Zuo Zhuan speaks of five materials that heaven gives and people use together, not one of which can be done without: practical stuff rather than cosmic forces.
Warring States
Zou Yan: yin-yang and the five phases
Zou Yan joined the five with yin and yang and taught the five virtues cycle (五德終始): each dynasty rules by one element and falls to the next in the controlling order. The First Emperor of Qin chose Water to overcome the Zhou's Fire.
Western Han
Dong Zhongshu writes down both cycles
His Chunqiu Fanlu has separate chapters on generating and on conquering, and fixes the order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water: neighbours generate, alternates conquer.
Han dynasty
Medicine: the Inner Classic
The Huangdi Neijing maps the five onto the organs, emotions and seasons, and describes overacting and insulting, which Chinese medicine still teaches today.
Sui dynasty
Xiao Ji's Wuxing Dayi
A compendium of everything then known about the five phases. It reached Japan early and shaped Onmyōdō and the court calendar there.
Tang to Song
Bazi: the elements read from the Day Master
Li Xuzhong and Xu Ziping built fate reading on the stems and branches. Xu put the day stem at the centre, and the generating and controlling cycles became the ten gods.
The five natures in the Hong Fan
The oldest description of the five elements is not about cycles at all, but about how each one behaves. It lists them as Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, Earth, numbered 1 to 5.
- 水01
水曰潤下
Water soaks and flows down: it nourishes, sinks and seeks the low ground.
- 火02
火曰炎上
Fire flames upward: it rises, warms and lights things up.
- 木03
木曰曲直
Wood bends and straightens: it grows, branches out and can be trained.
- 04
金曰從革
Metal yields and changes: it can be melted, cast and reshaped.
- 土05
土爰稼穡
Earth is sown and harvested: it holds, carries and brings things to ripeness.
The five elements in everyday life
The idea is still all around: Japanese and Korean weekday names (火曜日, 水曜日, 木曜日, 金曜日, 土曜日) come from the five planets named after the elements; Chinese medicine pairs them with the organs; the Japanese doyō (土用) days before each season come from Earth's place between the seasons; and feng shui maps them onto the compass.
Five elements correspondence chart
Each element also stands for a season, a direction, a color, an organ and more. These links come from the same classical texts; tap an element for its full page.
| Element | 木Wood | 火Fire | 土Earth | Metal | 水Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavenly stems | 甲乙 | 丙丁 | 戊己 | 庚辛 | 壬癸 |
| Season | Spring | Summer | Late summer (season changes) | Autumn | Winter |
| Direction | East | South | Center | West | North |
| Color | Green, teal | Red, purple | Yellow, brown | White, gold | Black, navy |
| Climate | Wind | Heat | Damp | Dryness | Cold |
| Yin organ | Liver | Heart | Spleen | Lungs | Kidneys |
| Emotion | Anger | Joy | Worry | Grief | Fear |
| Taste | Sour | Bitter | Sweet | Pungent | Salty |
| Virtue | Benevolence (仁) | Propriety (禮) | Trust (信) | Righteousness (義) | Wisdom (智) |
| Planet | Jupiter | Mars | Saturn | Venus | Mercury |
| Celestial animal | Azure Dragon | Vermilion Bird | Yellow Dragon | White Tiger | Black Tortoise |
| Shape | Tall, upright | Pointed, triangular | Square, flat | Round, arched | Wavy, irregular |
Traditional correspondences only. The organ links come from classical Chinese medicine and are not a health diagnosis.
Five elements cycle: frequently asked questions
Generating: Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal → Water and back to Wood. Controlling: Wood → Earth → Water → Fire → Metal and back to Wood. Put the five in a circle in generating order: each one feeds its neighbour and controls the element two steps ahead.
No. Control (剋) is restraint, not damage. Without it every element would grow unchecked: a river without banks floods, a tree that is never pruned grows crooked. Classical texts call well-measured control 制化 and say strong elements need it to become useful. Trouble starts only when control is too heavy (overacting) or flips direction (insulting).
The tradition gives three images: cold metal gathers dew from the air; springs seep out of mineral rock in the mountains; and in the seasons, Metal's autumn condenses into Water's winter. The idea is condensation and descent, not metal literally melting into water.
Learn one order, Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-Water (mù huǒ tǔ jīn shuǐ), and arrange it in a circle. One step clockwise is generating; skip one and you get controlling: Wood skips Fire and controls Earth, Fire skips Earth and controls Metal, and so on round the ring.
Both are control gone wrong. Overacting keeps the normal direction but goes too far: Metal crushes a weak Wood. Insulting reverses the direction: Wood that is too strong chips the axe, so Wood pushes back on Metal. The Inner Classic traces both to the same cause, one element having too much or too little.
A clash between two Day Master elements is a small part of compatibility. Look for the bridge element (Water between Metal and Wood, Fire between Wood and Earth, and so on) in both charts, and compare the whole charts rather than single elements. The five elements compatibility page and the Bazi compatibility calculator do both.
The element that turns a control into a chain of production. Metal controls Wood, but Metal produces Water and Water produces Wood, so with enough Water the conflict becomes a flow. The bridge is always the element the controller produces.
Find your Day Master (the stem of your day pillar), see which elements are strong and which are weak, then read every other element as what produces, drains, controls or is controlled by you. The five elements calculator shows your balance; the favorable elements calculator shows which relations your chart needs.
Water-Fire-Wood-Metal-Earth is the oldest list, from the Hong Fan chapter of the Book of Documents; it numbers the elements 1 to 5 to match the River Chart. Wood-Fire-Earth-Metal-Water is the generating order, set out in the Han dynasty and used in Bazi. Metal-Wood-Water-Fire-Earth is just the way people usually say them.
The ten gods are the five relations seen from your Day Master: what produces you is Resource, what you produce is Output, what controls you is Power, what you control is Wealth, and your own element is Self. Split each by yin and yang and you get ten. That is why the ten gods produce and control each other in the same cycles.
Classical sources
The cycles, sayings and history on this page come from these public-domain texts.
- 01《尚書·洪範》The first list of the five elements and their natures (潤下, 炎上, 曲直, 從革, 稼穡).
- 02《春秋繁露》Dong Zhongshu, Western Han. Chapters on generating and conquering; "neighbours generate, alternates conquer".
- 03《黃帝內經·素問》The five elements in medicine; overacting and insulting in the chapter 五運行大論.
- 04《五行大義》Xiao Ji, Sui dynasty. The classical compendium of five-phase theory.
- 05《窮通寶鑑》Opens with the sayings on what suits and what harms each element in production and control (五行生剋制化宜忌).
- 06《滴天髓》The Bazi classic on reading the elements from the Day Master and judging their rise and fall.
See the cycles in your own chart
Enter your birthday to find your Day Master element, the balance of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, and what your chart is missing.
Open the five elements calculatorMore free tools
- Five Elements CalculatorFind your element, the balance of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water in your chart, and what is missing.
- Favorable Elements CalculatorFind your useful god, joyful god and taboo elements, plus the colors, directions and years that suit you.
- Day Master Strength CalculatorIs your Day Master strong or weak? A 0–100 score built from season, roots and support.
- Bazi CalculatorFour Pillars, ten gods, hidden stems, element balance and luck pillars. Free, and no sign-up.
- The ten godsFriend, Eating God, Seven Killings and the rest: what each of the ten gods means and how to find yours.
- Bazi CompatibilityCompare two charts for love or business.