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The Five Forms of Qi
Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. These are the elements that form the basis of Chinese Metaphysics and they may not be as they seem.
The Five Elements 五行 is considered to be one of the backbones of Chinese Metaphysics. However, did you know that the elements themselves are not meant to be literal? They are not five sorts of fundamental matter, but five processes or phases with each has its own movement, direction and traits. The ancient Chinese sages saw everything in the world through this lens.
Energy, or Qi, goes through a perpetual cycle of five phases. Energy gradually grows as if it’s “Wood” before it rises like a “Fire”. At its peak, it would stabilize much like the “Earth” before it would solidify like “Metal”. Finally, energy sinks and flows like “Water”, then repeats the entire cycle all over again by growing. This shows that the 5 elements actually reflect the state of energy through their traits.
Think of each of these state of energy as vibrations or frequency. Like musical notes, some harmonize with other notes while certain frequencies clash. For example, what practitioners understood as “Water counters Fire” is simply a sinking energy bringing down a rising energy. The elemental interactions, both production and countering cycle, are simply shorthand codeword for these processes.
In Qi Men Dun Jia, particularly QiMen Forecasting, it is crucial to note the elemental interaction between the Hour Palace and the Day Palace. When the outcome (Hour) produces the asker (Day), it denotes a natural progression of event; the outcome is given to you. When one palace counters the other, it shows there is dysfunctionality for you to be getting from point A to B.
In a QiMen Chart, the elements also determine the strength of the components in any palace. Again, it’s all about harmony. A Fire element component such as the Scenery Door or Heavenly Hero would be amplified in Palaces that are complementary to it; but it might not be able to show its full potential if it lands on the Palace that counters it.
When you are able to remember the interactions between the elements by heart, you would be able to read any QiMen chart with great ease.
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