Descriptions of the Five Elements

The matrix of the spleen in the body is like dirt in a potted plant. It needs to be moist at all times, but not overly so. If the dirt becomes clotted, the water runs through the channels and the soil remains dry. The moisture doesn’t disperse to the extremities in this case and the feet and hands feel cold. The nature of the earth is to hold the qi and moisture within it to support life. If it’s weak, the moisture falls downward and the feet get swollen and things are not held up in the body. The spleen is connected to the world around it and receives it’s nourishment from touch and connection. The spleen turns food into the weave of the body. The spleen doesn’t like to change or move, preferring constancy so the weave is not disturbed.

Metal regulated the barriers between ourselves and the outside world, regulating what comes in and what goes out. Metal pushes downward in the transition into Water qi. Water is rooted, metal moves downward. The lungs are in constant motion, pulling the air into the body, regulating the qi that enters our body and that which remains outside of it.

Man exists between heaven and Earth. Water roots the man in the Earth. It powers our will by anchoring us so we can move forward without being swayed. We feel the pull of gravity upon us and allow ourselves to extend into the ground beneath us. When we aren’t properly rooted, we easily slip and fall. Our step becomes treacherous and we become fearful, not knowing when or how hard we will fall.

Wood energy moves us out into the world. It arises from the Earth as it pushes back on our Water roots. The taiji push exemplifies this – the power arises from the extension between our rooted feet and our extending hands. When the wood energy flows clearly through us, our qi moves easily and smoothly, holding our bodies erect and even. When the wood is obstructed, the stasis leads to anger and pain and the qi attempts to move through our body, but is diverted and blocked. Wood transforms into fire through laughter (dark) and sex (light), two actions which bring joy and bring people closer together.

Fire is the qi we feel when we are connected to other people or energies in the world. Fire heals. The spleen is the weave of our body, the heart is the weave of the world. The pericardium helps to regulate our place in that weave. When we become disconnected with the world, the fire burns itself and we are left with anxiety and fears of unreality. The connections to others nourish our internal earth weave, but the heart connections are our place in the world. When we are healthy, our internal earth weave aligns with our external heart weave. The liver energy creates our heart connections, but once made, they flow inward and nourish the earth weave. The metal is created to regulate that flow. As the heart spreads outward, we may start to lose ourselves or we may find that we need a stronger connection.