The Five Elements

Another powerful tool of analysis and organization in Oriental Medicine is called the Five Phases or Elements Theory or The Medicine of Correspondences. Being in harmony with the universe was very important to the Taoists. The fundamental processes of the universe were thus also considered a good basis for understanding the world. Five Element Theory is an attempt to classify existence according to these processes.

Through both observation and theorizing, numerous correspondences were discovered. Things as diverse as compass directions, taste, human organs, sounds, grains, emotions, animals, and stages of growth were found to have something in common. They were associated in discernible patterns; The Five Phases. Being naturalist philosophers the Taoists took the names of the categories of correspondence from nature. The Five Elements are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal.

Abbreviated Table of Correspondences
WATER WOOD FIRE EARTH METAL
Season Winter Spring Summer Late Summer Autumn
Climatic Qi Cold Wind Heat Damp Dryness
Yang Organ Bladder Gallbladder Sm. Intestine Stomach Lg. Intestine
Yin Organ Kidney Liver Heart Spleen Lung
Sense Organ Ears Eyes Tongue Mouth Nose
Body Tissue Bone Sinews Blood Vessel Muscles Skin

Emotion Fear Anger Joy/Shock Worry Sadness
Color Black Green Red Yellow White
Taste Salty Sour Bitter Sweet Spicy

It's a short jump from the principle of the inter-connectedness of all things to the principle that all things contain a microcosm of the universe. Being a part of the universe man contains a microcosm of it. Man therefore embodies the fundamental processes of the universe; AKA The Five Phases or Elements. This being the case man can be analyzed according to the Five Elemensts.

Let’s examine a simplified case. A 32 year old man had a fight with his wife during breakfast. He became very 1) angry and forgot about finishing his meal. He presented at the clinic with 2) strong cramping pain around the lower right front ribs, 3) nausea, 4) greenish facial complexion, 5)and a frontal headache which seemed to affect his eyes.

Anger is the emotion of Wood
Possible gallbladder pain. - Wood Yang organ
Nausea - Earth Yang Organ -Stomach
Green is the color of wood
Eyes are the sense organs of Wood
Diagnosis: The gentleman’s Wood element is out of balance and
is affecting his Earth element.

Relationships Among the Elements

The Shen or Nourishing Cycle
The clockwise sequence on the circle represents the Shen cycle. The Shen cycle is often called the nourishing cycle or the mother-son cycle. Each element is mother to the next element. Water nourishes Wood, Wood fuels Fire, Fire makes Earth (ashes), Earth yields Metal, Metal produces Water (e.g. condensation).

The Ko or Regulating Cycle
The clockwise sequence depicted by the pentagon represents the regulating or destructive cycle. Water can extinguish Fire, Fire can melt Metal, Metal can cut Wood, Wood can contain Earth and Earth can absorb Water. The Ko cycle is often referred to as the grandmother-son cycle.

It has been said that Confucian social theory considered this to be the natural order of things though a few moments thought about real families suggests that the Ko cycle is probably an ideal and not a reflection of reality. Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts or tempers Metal, Metal cuts and shapes Wood, Wood can contain Earth, Earth absorbs Water. When balanced these are the healthy relationships of the Five Elements.