Five Elements Chart & Body Clock

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Traditional Chinese Medicine Five Elements Chart & Body Clock

	Wood	Fire	Earth	Metal	Water
Orientation	East	South	Middle	West	North
Season	Spring	Summer	Late Summer	Autumn	Winter
Climate	Wind	Summer Heat	Dampness	Dryness	Cold
Cultivation	Germinate	Grow	Transform	Reap	Store
Yin Organ	Liver	Heart	Spleen/Pancreas	Lung	Kidney
Yang Organ	Gall Bladder	Small Intestine	Stomach	Large Intestine	Bladder
Orifice	Eye	Tongue	Mouth	Nose	Ear
Tissues	Tendons	Vessels	Muscles	Skin & Hair	Bones
Emotions	Anger	Joy	Love	Grief	Fear
Body Fluid	Tears	Sweat	Saliva	Mucus	Urine
Colour	Blue/Green	Red	Yellow	White	Black
Taste	Sour	Bitter	Sweet	Pungent	Salty
Voice	Shout	Laugh	Sing	Cry	Groan
Shape	Rectangle	Triangle	Square	Round	Curve
Grain	Wheat	Beans	Rice	Corn	Millet
Mental Quality	Sensitivity	Creativity	Clarity	Intuition	Spontaneity
Finger	Index	Middle	Thumb	Ring	Little
Sense	Sight	Speech	Taste	Smell	Hearing
Smell	Rancid	Scorched	Fragrant	Rotten	Putrid
Life	Birth	Youth	Adulthood	Old Age	Death

The Interactions of Wu Xing: The creation cycle (black, circle shaped arrows) and the overcoming cycle (white, star shaped arrows).

The doctrine of five phases describes two cycles, a generating or creation cycle, also known as "mother-son", and an overcoming or destruction cycle, also known as "grandfather-nephew", of interactions between the phases.

Generating

The common memory jogs, which help to remind in what order the phases are:

Wood feeds Fire;

Fire creates Earth (ash);

Earth bears Metal;

Metal carries Water (as in a bucket or tap, or water condenses on metal);

Water nourishes Wood.

Also:

Wood absorbs Water;

Water rusts Metal;

Metal breaks up Earth;

Earth smothers Fire;

Fire burns Wood.

Other common words for this cycle include "begets", "engenders" and "mothers."

Overcoming

Wood parts Earth (such as roots; or, Trees can prevent soil erosion);

Earth absorbs (or muddies) Water (or Earth dam control the water);

Water quenches Fire;

Fire melts Metal;

Metal chops Wood.

This cycle might also be called "controls", "restrains" or "fathers".