The Controlling Cycle

The controlling cycle of the five phases is one of confrontations and imbalance. In this cycle, each phase controls and dominates its counterpart. Fire melts metal. Metal cuts wood. Wood depletes the earth. Earth blocks the flow of water and finally, water puts out fire.

When one phase is in control of another, order and harmony dissolve into chaos and discord. The controlling qi dominates and supresses the controlled qi, while the controlled qi struggles to resist control. This battle weakens and depletes qi and results in a stagnant environment that causes illness and other harmful effects to manifest. 

 

This cycle is sometimes mistakenly translated as "the destructive cycle". In this cycle, one type of qi only controls the its counterpart, it does not destroy it as matter and energy cannot be destroyed.