Wood
Wood is the first element of the Wu Xing cycle. In the Chinese zodiac the element is determined by the last digit of the year: 4 and 5 give Wood. These are the years 1974, 1975, 1984, 1985, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2024, 2025.
Personality of the Element
In Wu Xing, Wood stands for growth and expansion. A Wood person tends to plan ahead, keep developing and draw others in: Wood reaches upward and outward at the same time.
Strengths: generosity, the ability to see the bigger picture, a talent for working with people and helping them grow. Wood is rarely petty.
Weak spot: spreading itself too thin. Taking on too many directions at once, Wood finishes none of them, and under pressure it snaps instead of bending.
The element strengthens whatever in a sign is linked to growth: the Tiger and the Rabbit belong to Wood in their own right.
Colors, Directions, Time
Colors: green and turquoise. Direction: east and southeast. Season: spring; time of day: morning. Planet: Jupiter. Organ in Chinese medicine: the liver.
In feng shui the Wood element governs the east and southeast sectors: they are strengthened with live plants and wooden furniture, while metal there weakens them.
Relationships with Other Elements
Produces Fire (wood burns). Is produced by Water (water nourishes wood).
Controls Earth (roots deplete the soil). Is controlled by Metal (the axe cuts the tree).
Hence the practical conclusion of the tradition: Water years and Water people are good for a Wood person, while Metal ones put obstacles in the way.