Introduction to the 5 Phases/Elements

The ancient Chinese understood the universe was in a constant state of change. They saw that things germinate and begin to expand (spring).  Grow and develop (summer) and they mature and ripen (late summer). They then begin to dry and wilt (autumn). They store and conserve (winter). For the ancient Chinese these five seasons (now called the five elements or five phases) were a constant sequence that continued endlessly. Each period of rest at winter was followed by one of new growth in spring. The 5 element/phases system is a traditional Chinese way of explaining the relationships and interactions between all natural phenomena. It is not just particular to Traditional Chinese medicine it is used to understand many different aspects of ancient Chinese thought and society, areas such as politics, astrology, martial arts, and music.

Each one of the phases has its own correspondences, these may be directions, sounds, colours, and importantly for medicine emotions, organs, body parts and tendencies to states of health and illness

	FIRE	EARTH	METAL	WATER	WOOD
Yin Organs	Heart	Spleen	Lung	Kidney	Liver
Yang Organs	Small Intestine	Stomach	Colon	Bladder	Gall Badder
Sense Organs	Tongue	Mouth	Nose	Ears	Eyes
Colors	red	yellow	white	blue/black	green
Sounds	Laughing	Singing	Crying	Groaning	Shouting
Emotions	Joy	Worry or Pensiveness	Grief or Sadness	Fear	Anger
Seasons	Summer	Late Summer	Autumn	Winter	Spring
Environment	Heat	Dampness	Dryness	Cold	Wind
Tastes	Bitter	Sweet	Pungent	Salty	Sour

To understand how the elements relate to each other we use two models. The generating cycle and the control cycle, which can be used to understand and treat element imbalances.

The Generating Cycle

The strength of an element is dependent of the strength of the previous phase. This is called the mother and child relationship. In TCM if an element is weak we often treat the weakened element and its mother element for added benefit.

As TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) practitioners we remember the generating cycle this way:

§  Wood feeds Fire;

§  Fire creates Earth (ash);

§  Earth bears Metal;

§  Metal carries Water (as in a bucket or tap, or water condenses on metal);

§  Water nourishes Wood.

The Control Cycle

This cycle is preventing one of the elements from becoming too dominant.

In the clinic we might see a patient with an excess of fire. The main fire organ is the heart which dominates the spirit. This might be seen in problems such as anxiety insomnia etc. To help this we might use points and herbs that benefit the Kidneys (the water organ) to balance out the excess fire.  Similarly an element can overact on another such as when wood over acts on earth, this is one of the most common 5 element diagnoses of IBS.

§  Wood Holds  Earth (such as roots; or, Trees can prevent soil erosion);

§  Earth channels Water (or an Earth dam can control water);

§  Water quenches Fire;

§  Fire melts Metal;

§  Metal chops Wood.