The Theory of the Five Elements
This theory holds that there are five 'elemental’ qualities within nature and everything around us possesses characteristics of these Five Elements. Just as everything around us can be thought of as the result of the interaction of Yin and Yang, the characteristics of everything around us are also controlled by the interaction and transition between these Five Elements. And just as there is a constant flow of Yin transforming into Yang and then back into Yin, so there is a constant flow of change as each Element is transformed into the next.
To further explain this point, let us consider a number of examples of this. Firstly let us look at the cycle of the annual seasons within Nature. The annual cycle starts with Spring as a time of growth and development. New seedlings start emerging from the ground growing upward and developing into new plants and finding their own way amongst their neighbours. Once the seedlings have become established fully-formed plants, they enter a stage of flourishing and blooming during the height of Summer where they are their most radiant and most procreative. As a result of the sexual potency at this stage, pollination occurs forming the seeds for the next generation. During the later part of the Summer there is a time for preparing for Winter as food is stored away in fruits and underground reserves. Food reserves in the form of fruits are laid down for the seeds formed in high Summer. This is also the time of harvest where those reserves are collected together. There is then a period of senescence during the Autumn as things begin to age, decay and die away during the final stages of preparation for Winter. Once in Winter, the hidden reserves of the seeds enter a period of hibernation as the potential for new life is hidden away in the cold depths. As Winter then begins to give way to Spring, the seeds from last year start to germinate bringing with it new life restarting the sequence of growth and development in Spring. This 'flow' of the seasons is shown in the figure below. All five seasons form a repeating cycle of change, each season having its own characteristics but also preparing the way for the next season in the cycle.
This is one example of a flow or sequence in Nature that can be interpreted in terms of the Five Elements. The figure below transposes each of the Elements onto the appropriate season. We can see that the Element of Fire corresponds to Summer, the Element of Earth corresponds to Late Summer/Harvest, Metal corresponds to Autumn, Water corresponds to Winter and Wood to Spring. The Five Elements are also sometimes referred to as the Five Phases and in many senses this is a better label as it conveys the idea of transformation, one phase leading onto the next.
TCM in fact suggests that everything around us and everything within us experiences these Five Phases or Elements.
Another example would be to consider the human life-cycle in terms of the Elements/Phases:
- Conception and birth correspond to the Water phase.
- Growth and development of the child into a young adult is the Wood phase.
- Adulthood is the Fire phase.
- Parenting, nesting and maturing is the Earth phase.
- Death and decay is the Metal phase.
Each of the Elements or Phases have certain characteristics or 'resonances' that help define that particular Element. So for example, we have seen how the Fire Element is associated with Summer. On a more general level we would say that the Fire Element resonates with heat, warmth, passion, energy, activity, joy and excitement. Correspondingly Water is associated with season of Winter and so Water is associated with cold, lethargy and dormancy. A fuller list of these associations and resonances are shown in the table below:
One thing you will notice from the table is that just as the seasons and the stages of our life cycle are related to each of the Elements, so too are the meridian systems of the body. The association between the meridian systems and the Elements is pictorially shown below.
Probably the most important concept here is that as our Qi circulates through each meridian, the Qi takes-on the characteristics or resonances of the Element associated with that meridian system. So, when Qi is flowing through the Small Intestine meridian (for example) it is associated with the characteristics of the Fire Element - heat, activity, passion, joy and excitement. Similarly, when Qi flows through the Kidney meridian it takes on characteristics associated with the Water Element and is therefore associated with cold, a pale complexion and inactivity.
I should also say at this point that all of these characteristics are positive attributes when they are in balance. We tend to assume that heat, activity and joy are positive qualities and that somehow inactivity and cold are negative qualities. However, in TCM it is important that everything is in balance and so if there is heat in your body there must also be cold in order to achieve that balance. Too much heat or too much cold would lead to imbalance, dis-ease and in the longer term, illness. Equally TCM would say that whilst joy is essential, it can be just as damaging for there to be too much joy as it would be for there to be too little joy. Activity is good in the right measure but too much without any periods of inactivity would be harmful just as too little activity would be harmful.