Knowledge base

Wu Xing

Wu Xing (Five Element Theory) is found in ancient Chinese history from around 1000 B.C, and was formulated by the same philosophical school that is credited with developing the theory of Yin-Yang from the I Ching, also about 3000 years ago. This school was called the ‘Yin-Yang School’ or the ‘Naturalist School’.

The birth of Yin-Yang and Wu Xing theories, and their application to, for example, medicine, helped to create a new system that represented a major shift towards an empirically scientific approach based on observable, inductive and deductive methods of patterns of differentiation and away from the shamanistic view of mystical causes of sickness and disease.

The basic foundation of this knowledge is that there is a fundamental and intrinsic source of energy in the Universe. This source gives birth to everything – including the Five Elements (or Five Phases), which are the fundamental phases, forces, or energies, in the universe, which can be understood to create  everything that happens in the universe, both material and non-material, as a result of the interactions between these five elements. They are named after natural substances commonly found on earth, but they should not be viewed as physical objects at all, but instead states of a never ending series of interactions and processes, in a way, like the earth’s four seasons, which are just a sub-division of one year of the earth’s cycle, in which time it goes once around the sun.

Thus, as they are in fact five kinds of phases – invisible, interacting energies – they can be applied to every aspect of life, including human behaviour. The Five Elements exist in every living being and are essential to life. Ultimately, an individual’s unique element profile determines personality, physical and emotional health, other aspects such as physical characteristics, and the way in which life unfolds.

At the time of birth, when we leave the direct energetic influence of our mother – we receive our individual, unique ‘element profile – or code’ – just like a genetic code that is created and passed on from a combination of each parents’ unique genetic material. This unique five element energy code is created from a combination of that moment’s unique Earthly cyclical and static magnetic and energetic fields – plus the cyclical energetic fields that the Earth is subject to from the Sun, Moon and other Solar Systemic and Universal influences. All these aspects are in turn subject to their own five elemental phases’ particular balances at any one time.

Therefore, it is possible to see that an incredibly complex series of interactions are existing at any one time. This complexity was painstakingly studied and systemised by scholars of ancient science and arts into the system that is still used today, to great effect. However, to understand such an extraordinarily complex system requires someone to be exceptionally skilful themselves.

Thus, this unique five element energy code is constantly and eternally changing, according to cyclical patterns, meaning that no two babies can have the same code within a certain time frame, unless they are born as twins, triplets etc., within a specified period of time.

This code influences every aspect of our selves, including the major part of determining personality; physical and emotional health; and even the way in which life unfolds throughout our lifetimes – for example, are we lucky… or not… Only other aspects, such as soul aspects, personal Feng Shui, lifestyle behaviour and experiences – and of course our genes – can also influence these aspects.