Master Road · Essentials
Read what the board already shows.
Six lessons. Find the scene, both sides, the role you care about, and the change already moving through it.
Lesson 02 · Essentials
Five Elements, One System
Learn the five qualities that show how one line supports or controls another.
You can now find the scene and its active change. To understand how the forces inside that scene affect one another, we need the Five Elements. This lesson gives you the simple language for seeing which force supports another and which one keeps it in check.
Five qualities carry the whole system.
The Five Elements are a language of behaviour, not five literal substances.
🌱WoodGrowth · breakthrough · expansion · direction
🔥FireHeat · visibility · expression · acceleration
⛰️EarthStability · holding · absorption · accumulation
💧WaterFlow · depth · adaptation · uncertainty
Two relationships are enough to begin.
One feeds a force. One keeps a force in check.
Water supports Wood. Wood supports Fire. Fire supports Earth. Earth supports Metal. Metal supports Water.
Wood controls Earth. Earth controls Water. Water controls Fire. Fire controls Metal. Metal controls Wood.
Every line has a Branch and an element.
We have already marked both. You only need to recognize them.
Every line carries a different Branch. Every Branch belongs to one of the Five Elements. The six lines therefore do not all act in the same way; each line must be read from its own Branch and element. The board already shows the icon and colour, so you can check instead of memorize.
Branches🌱寅·Yin🌱卯·Mao
Branches🔥巳·Si🔥午·Wu
Branches⛰️辰·Chen⛰️戌·Xu⛰️丑·Chou⛰️未·Wei
Branches
Branches💧亥·Hai💧子·Zi
Use the chart, not your memory
Find the Branch. Read its symbol.
Water meets Wood on the board.
One row carries 💧亥·Hai. Another carries 🌱卯·Mao. Water supports Wood, so the first force is feeding the second. If 💧亥·Hai meets 🔥巳·Si, it controls it instead.
Check what you can read.
Answer in one sentence, then open the row.
1Which element does 🔥巳·Si represent?Check
Fire. The icon and colour give you the answer.
2What happens when Water meets Fire?Check
Water controls Fire. Use the ordinary image of water putting a fire out.
3How does Earth control Water?Check
Earth holds and absorbs Water, keeping it from flowing freely.