The Five Elements

The 5 element theory is simply an observation on natural, creative change; and it is the
natural world that confirms that throughout that all the forces and energies in nature can
be in constant smooth and harmonious transition from one phase to another - just as
one season 'becomes' the next.

WOOD

Wood is the most human of the elements. It is the element of spring; the creative urge
to achieve - which can turn to anger when frustrated. It is associated with the capacity to
look forward, plan and make decisions.
Wood energy is rising, expanding, and is the force of growth and flexibility.
This element represents all the activities of the body that are self regulating and/or
function without conscious thought; i.e. digestion, respiration, heart beat and basic
metabolism.
The liver (which converts food into fuel which is then supplied to the muscles, tendons
and ligaments) is associated to the Wood element.
FIRE

Fire is the element of heat, summer and enthusiasm; nature at its peak of growth, and
warmth in human relationships. Its motion is upward.
Fire is the symbolic of combustion and this represents the functions of the body that
have reached that fleeting moment of maximum activity; indicating that decline is then
inevitable.
The element is associated with the heart and related to the tongue.
EARTH

Earth is the element of harvest time, abundance, nourishment, fertility, and the mother
to child relationship. This element is also regarded as central to balance and the place
where energy becomes downward in movement. It is the symbol of stability and being
properly anchored.
Earth is associated to the spleen and related to the sense of taste.
METAL

This category includes the Western idea of the air element. It is the force of gravity, the
minerals within the earth, the patterns of the heavenly bodies and the powers of electrical
conductivity and magnetism. Metal has structure, but it can also accept a new form when
molten.
Metal energy is consolidating and with inward movement, like a flower closing its petals.
The symbol of metal is one of a cutting and reforming action, but it is also regarded as a
solidifying process.
The element is associated with the lungs and related to the nose.

WATER

Water is the source of life on this planet. Likewise it is the fluids (the main component of
the body) which nourish and maintain the health of every cell. Water corresponds to the
vital fluids, i.e. blood, lymph, mucus, semen and fat.
The kidney is especially linked to this element. Its motion is downward.
Water has the capacity to flow, infinitely yielding yet infinitely powerful, ever changing
and often dangerous with the capacity also to nourish and cleanse.
Water is the ultimate yin; quiet, cold; representing the resting time of winter. It has a
waiting, silent, still quality that can be described as "stored potential". It has flexibility
(think of water filling up any shape of vessel), yet it has great power (think of the
devastation caused by floods).
In human psychology the element governs the balance between fear or being exploited
and the desire to dominate.
Characteristics
According to the 5 Elements theory - which is of itself no more than just one element in
a far greater united theory of traditional Chinese medicine - your internal organs,
tissues, other parts of the body and their associated activities, all correspond to one or
another of the Five Elements (phases). Thus, the relationship between the internal
organs is like the relationship between the seasons. Accordingly, in healthy people the
elements are said to be balanced and in sick people they are said to be unbalanced.
Indications of an imbalance may appear in signs as varied as an unusual skin colour or
body odor, or as the recurrence of a particular symptom at specific times of the day.

The characteristic of each phase (new yang through to full yin) is determined by what
happens in the natural world during each associated season. One season after another
plays its role in the cycle of the year by just doing what it does when it does it and then
smoothly moves on to the next. It is the smooth and harmonious transition from one
phase to another that is important, along with the balance between them.

Element Wood Fire Earth Metal Water

yin/yang
Phase new yang full yang new yin full yin
balance
Colour green red yellow white black
center
Direction east south west north
(nadir/zenith)
Life Cycle infancy youth adulthood old age death
Energy
generative expansive stabilizing contracting conserving
Quality
between
Season spring summer autumn winter
seasons
Climate windy hot damp dry cold
ripening
Development sprouting blooming withering dormant
harvest
Smell rancid scorched fragrant putrid rotten
Flavor sour bitter sweet pungent salty
Mental
sensitivity creativity clarity intuition spontaneity
Quality
Negative
anger hate anxiety grief fear
Emotion
Positive
patience joy empathy courage calmness
Emotion
Body tendons pulse muscle skin bones
 tongue,
Aperture eyes lips, mouth nose ears
throat
Bodily Fluids tears sweat saliva mucus urine
green red yellow black
Primal Spirit white tiger
dragon pheasant phoenix tortoise

HAVE A
SMILE WITH
FIVE
ELEMENTS
DR MALIK