Three answers to "what's my element?"
- Year element — the element of the heavenly stem of your birth year, which pairs with your zodiac animal: "Fire Horse", "Metal Ox". Years ending in 0 or 1 are Metal, 2–3 Water, 4–5 Wood, 6–7 Fire, 8–9 Earth. This is the element most horoscopes mean.
- Day Master — the stem of your day pillar in a BaZi chart. BaZi practitioners treat this as your personal element, because it represents you in the chart. It changes every day, so two people born in the same year often have different Day Masters.
- Na Yin (纳音) — a poetic "sound" element given to each of the sixty stem–branch pairs, such as "Gold in the Sea" or "Roadside Earth". It's older than modern BaZi and is still used in date selection and some compatibility readings.
The year element changes at the start of spring (around 4 February) for BaZi and feng shui, or at Lunar New Year for popular horoscopes. The calculator uses the start of spring.
The five elements at a glance
| Element | Colours | Shapes | Direction | Season | Traditionally associated with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood 木 | Green, teal | Tall, columnar | East, Southeast | Spring | Growth, kindness, planning |
| Fire 火 | Red, orange, purple | Pointed, triangular | South | Summer | Warmth, energy, expression |
| Earth 土 | Yellow, tan, terracotta | Square, flat | Centre, Southwest, Northeast | Late summer | Stability, trust, care |
| Metal 金 | White, grey, gold | Round, oval | West, Northwest | Autumn | Clarity, precision, discipline |
| Water 水 | Black, dark blue | Wavy, irregular | North | Winter | Wisdom, flexibility, depth |
The elements relate to each other in two cycles: each one produces the next (Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal → Water → Wood) and controls the one after that (Wood → Earth → Water → Fire → Metal → Wood). See them interactively on the five elements cycle.
Questions
Why do I get a different element on other websites?
Usually because they mean a different one of the three, or because you were born in January or early February and they use 1 January as the year boundary.
Which element should I use for colours at home?
Many people simply use their year element. BaZi practitioners instead look at the whole chart and recommend the element it lacks, which can be quite different from the Day Master.