Chinese five elements

The five elements of Chinese thought, or Wu Xing, are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, understood as phases of transformation rather than as substances. They follow one another in a generating cycle, in which Wood feeds Fire, which produces Earth, and in a controlling cycle. In Chinese astrology, each year pairs an animal with an element, which changes every two years, first yang and then yin: 2026 is thus the year of the Fire Horse.