The Five Elements

The five elements	Elemental colours	Shape of the Symbol
Wood	Green
Fire	Red
Earth	Yellow
Iron	White
Water	Blue

 
Space symbolises all five elements.


In some English texts Iron is also called Metal, and in some old pictures the blue colour of Water can be black.

The five elements also give colours for Tibetan prayer flags which are usually placed outside of the temples and up the mountains. In the open air wind will circulate prayers and often the colour of flags has an astrological purpose.


Dynamic qualities of the five elements

Explanations concerning the five elements are quite similar to those given in Tibetan medicine.


Elemental rulerships
The five elements each rule two animal years in succession. But each element also rule two to four animal signs, nine magic Mewa square numbers and the eight Parkha trigrams.

The elemental rulerships are pictured in Sipa-ho tangka. The innermost are the nine magic Mewa square numbers. The middle layer consists of eight Parkha trigrams. Surrounding the Mewa and Parkha in an outer layer are the 12 animal signs.

	Head South
Right Lung East		Left Lung West
	North Tail