The five elements, wood(space), fire, earth, metal(air), water, hold within itself the knowledge of those particular gifts of which it is the unique trustee, and to which no other element has the key.
• For WOOD it is the ability to start, for FIRE the ability to relate, for EARTH the ability to sustain, for METAL the ability to extract, for WATER the ability to rejoin.
• WOOD looks to others for structure, FIRE for Love, EARTH for comfort, METAL for respect, WATER for reassurance
• WOOD acts and gives us hope, FIRE relates and gives us joy, EARTH supports and gives us understanding, METAL judges and gives us significance, WATER survives and unifies.
• Anger strengthens wood, Joy lights Fire's way, Sympathy supports Earth, grief purifies Metal and Fear helps water evade danger.
• WATER and EARTH are the two elements apparently most susceptible to being overwhelmed by life, for in their differing ways, both have a sense of deep insecurity when their energy is out of balance. And yet in reality these are the two elements least likely to go under.
WOOD can wither at its roots, FIRE can burn itself out and METAL stifle itself.
No similar force can destroy EARTH or WATER.
Earthquakes and tempests can buffet the surfaces of land and sea, yet leave undisturbed the depths beneath.
