Geng (庚)

Gyeong Metal · The Forged Steel

You carry the energy of raw iron and bedrock. You draw clean lines, and once decided, you can break through stone. Your fierce sense of justice and heavyweight loyalty are your medals. Remember that steel becomes a masterwork blade only through the forge — do not fear your trials. But a blade always drawn can cut those closest to you; learn also the wisdom of the sheath, and yours is the vessel of great achievement.

The decisive energy of solemn execution (肅殺). Strong sense of loyalty and justice, with clear-cut boundaries.

Early spring · Yin month (寅)

An axe facing a spring forest. Geng metal in the Tiger month is when Metal runs thinnest, and yet everything ahead needs cutting, so the work and the strength are out of step. Swinging too hard damages the blade here: fire to heat it and earth to back it are what turn intent into execution.

Mid spring · Mao month (卯)

A tool standing before a thick forest. In the Rabbit month there is much to cut and little Metal strength, so the harder Geng works the faster it wears itself down. Not trying to cut everything is the skill here: fire to firm the body and earth to brace the handle are what fell even one tree properly.

Late spring · Chen month (辰)

Ore growing inside wet soil. Geng metal in the Dragon month has thick earth around it, so material piles up richly — and piled up, it shows little on the outside. This is not a season to be impatient in: what is gathered now becomes the edge in autumn, so being buried is currently the advantage.

Early summer · Si month (巳)

Raw ore set before the fire. Geng metal in the Snake month is where heat first opens its door and the body glows for the first time, and that burning both hurts and makes it. Difficulty in this season is not waste: if the temperature stays bearable, it becomes the threshold where ore crosses into tool.

Midsummer · Wu month (午)

Metal glowing red. Geng metal in the Horse month reaches peak heat and the form goes soft, so whatever is struck now decides the shape. The question is whether there is water to quench with: with something to cool it, this season forges an edge for a lifetime; without it, it sets while still soft.

Late summer · Wei month (未)

Metal buried under dry earth. Geng metal in the Goat month has the earth that bears it holding heat and setting hard, so what should support it instead covers it. Well-meant protection turns into suffocation here: cutting a water channel to wash the soil away is what brings the body out and the edge back.

Early autumn · Shen month (申)

Metal that has met its own month. Geng metal in the Monkey month is when the first frost sets, so judgment is quick and what should be cut gets cut without hesitation. With strength this ample, a fire to finish it is what is needed: without heat the sharpness wounds people; with it, that sharpness becomes craft.

Mid autumn · You month (酉)

Metal at its hardest. Geng metal in the Rooster month faces Metal gathered pure and no longer knows how to yield, so correct judgments keep leaving marks. Not a large fire but an exact one is wanted here: heat that knows its temperature is what carries this hardness over into a vessel.

Late autumn · Xu month (戌)

Metal set inside a dry storehouse. Geng metal in the Dog month has earth gathering and containing, so the edge does not come out but is kept within. Looking quiet is not the same as having gone blunt: to take it out when needed, some fire-warmth has to stay beside it against rust.

Early winter · Hai month (亥)

Metal washed in cold water. Geng metal in the Pig month gives its body to the water it produced, so the surface clears while the heat keeps leaving. It grows as cold as it grows clean: fire to warm it is what keeps that clarity from setting into coldness toward people.

Deep winter · Zi month (子)

Metal locked in ice. Geng metal in the Rat month sits where Water gathers cold, so the edge is intact yet cannot be gripped and reads only as dull. What is needed here is fire: heat that reddens it turns the coldness back into sharpness; without it, the composure becomes mere listlessness.

Late winter · Chou month (丑)

Ore buried in frozen ground. Geng metal in the Ox month is born from earth, and in this month that earth is frozen, so the material it holds cannot get out. Thawing comes before digging here: once warmth enters, the buried capacity starts to take a shape.

Wood (木)

For a Geng-metal day master, wood being the remedy means the forged blade is finally put to use shaping timber into lumber worth something. Only once decisive cutting turns into the practical work of managing does it become wealth. A sense of justice alone leaves nothing in hand — you have to know how to put it to use.

How to use it Do not stop at making the cut — carry it through to managing and putting the result to use. Shaping the felled tree into usable lumber is also your work.

Fire (火)

For a Geng-metal day master, fire being the remedy means raw iron only becomes a useful tool once it is heated in fire. Once the heat of discipline is applied to decisiveness in its raw state, it becomes an instrument rather than a weapon. Accepting pressure is, for Geng-metal, the road to completion.

How to use it Do not avoid hardship or discipline. Accept that it is the fire that forges raw ore into a tool.

Earth (土)

For a Geng-metal day master, earth being the remedy means raw iron does not exist until it is mined from the ore vein. For Geng-metal, whose cuts and decisions are always clear-cut, decisiveness only gains grounding once there is support that nurtures and holds it. Time spent receiving is what lets it tell exactly what to cut from what to keep.

How to use it Do not assume you already know — fill in the background and grounds first. Only ground to root in keeps the blade from losing its direction.

Metal (金)

For a Geng-metal day master, another Geng-metal being the remedy means a mountain range of rock stands firmer than a single boulder. For Geng-metal, whose loyalty and sense of justice run strong, standing alongside people who share the same conviction is not compromise but added strength. Self-belief hardens once it meets a colleague.

How to use it Do not stand alone against everything. Form ranks with people who share your convictions — that is how decisiveness holds without weakening.

Water (水)

For a Geng-metal day master, water being the remedy means the water used to temper raw iron is what forges its sharpness into a shape that can actually be used. Decisiveness alone produces nothing — only once it is expressed and let flow does it become a result. This is where the energy of autumn's cutting frost turns into yield.

How to use it Do not keep your judgment and decisions only inside — let them flow out as words and results. A forged blade only earns its worth once it is put to use.