Fire (wuxing)

In Chinese philosophy, fire (Chinese: 火; pinyin: huǒ) is one of the five concepts that conform the wuxing.

Fire is the old yang symbol of Yinyang character Its motion is expanded and its energy is fermenting, ripening and convective.

Fire is associated with Summer, the South in the northern hemisphere and North in the Southern hemisphere and the planet Mars, the color red (associated with extreme luck), hot weather, daylight, and the Vermilion Bird (Zhu Que) in the Four Symbols.

There is debate based on the logic of fire, summer and the south as to whether feng shui should be changed for the southern hemisphere.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fire is associated with the Heart, the Emperor or Sovereignty, and therefore Virtue,. Its attributes are considered to be dynamism, spontaneity, and enlightening; however, it is also connected to restlessness when out of balance and is burning out of control. The fire element provides warmth, connection, enthusiasm, and creativity; however when in excess or deficiency it can bring cold emotional responses or hot tempered behaviour including lace of joy, hatred, impatience, and impulsive behaviour. In the same way, fire provides heat and warmth; however, an excess can also burn too bright leading to dehydration, listlessness, and exhaustion. Fire is the prosper of the matter, or the matter's prosperity stage.

The organs associated with the Fire element are the Triple Heater, Heart and by extension the cardiovascular system (yin), small intestine (yang), tongue and a body's pulse. It is associated with the Spirit of the Shen (神).

The element plays an important role in Chinese astrology and feng shui. Fire is included in the 10 heavenly stems (the five elements in their yin and yang forms), which combine with the 12 Earthly Branches (or Chinese signs of the zodiac), to form the 60 year cycle.

Yang Fire years end in 6 (e.g. 1976). (Yang years end in an even number.)