From stillness to activity and back to stillness again, from death to birth to growth and back to death again. All done in an orderly fashion as it moves through the five stages of the seasons. The Chinese called these five steps of the creative energy the five elements. Thus wood, fire, earth, metal and water was around them. Table 1 summarizes aspects of the five elements.
All elements are of equal importance.
We can see how each element conveys the appropriate qualities. The wood is the spring expressing itself in birth and growth and in hope of future harvest. In summer the energy expresses itself in a special way that they called fire. In Summer warmth is from the sun and in people the inner warmth is joy, love and compassion. The fall is a metal time of year when the trees let go of their leaves when their work is done for the year.