Ancient Chinese Medicine — 5 Elements

The Five Elements and their characteristics

The Five Elements
They are fire, earth, metal, water and wood.

Their characteristics

1. Fire - Hot and upwards
2. Earth - Nurturing and nourishing
3. Metal - Contracting and descending
4. Water - Cold and downwards
5. Wood - Growing and expanding and straightening

The Five Elements and Their Relationship to Each Other

Generating

1. Wood Generates Fire
   Wood generates or nourishes Fire, because wood is combustible and Fire without Wood will burn out.
2. Fire Generates Earth
   Fire creates ashes, which can be used to nourish the Earth.
3. Earth Generates Metal
   Metal is mined from the Earth, which permits and helps it to form.
4. Metal Generates Water
   By acting as a conduit through which water can move.
5. Water Generates Wood
   Water nourishes the tree, and a tree without Water will die.

The Generating Sequence

Controlling (Restraining)

1. Wood controls the Earth
   Wood acts like a retaining wall for the Earth, keeping it in place.
2. Earth Controls the Water
   Earth acts as a sea wall or dam, preventing the Water from becoming a flood.
3. Water controls the Fire
   Water prevents Fire from getting out of control, by cooling it down.
4. Fire controls the Metal
   Fire moulds the Metal into shape.
5. Metal controls the Wood
   By cutting and shaping the Wood.

The Controlling Sequence

Five Elements and the Body

Click here to download a large version (Power Point file)

	Fire	Earth	Metal	Water	Wood
Yin Organs	Heart	Spleen	Lung	Kidney	Liver
Yang Organs	Small Intestine	Stomach	Large Intestine	Bladder	Gall Bladder
5 sense Organs	Tongue	Lips	Nose	Ears	Eyes
5 Body Layers	Pulse	Muscle	Skin	Bones	Tendon
5 Emotions	Joy	Worry	Sadness	Fear	Anger

The Five Elements and the Face

1.	Eyes	represents Wood
2.	Tongue	represents Fire
3.	Mouth	represents Earth
4.	Nose	represents Metal
5.	Ear	represents Water

The Five Elements and Emotions

1.	Anger and Depression	harms the Liver
2.	Over-joy and Upset	hurts the Heart
3.	Over-thinking and Not Thoughtful	drains the Spleen
4.	Sadness and grief	damage the Lungs
5.	Worry and Fright	wear the Kidneys out

The Five Elements and Body Sounds

1.	Breathing out	relates to Liver	represents Wood
2.	Laughing	relates to Heart	represents Fire
3.	Singing	relates to Spleen	represents Earth
4.	Crying	relates to Lung	represents Metal
5.	Moaning	relates to Kidney	represents Water