What are the Five Elements?
  By Deborah Valentine Smith
Five Element theory is a metaphorical description of various attributes of matter, energy and spirit. Ultimately, all is one: the Tao. But to have subject
and object, the opportunity to play with the stuff of the universe, the One differentiates into different qualities that may then interact and create
existence as we know it. The ultimate division is into yin and yang. But even yin and yang must begin and grow and diminish. The five elements - or,
more accurately, phases - describe the beginning of yin (Metal), the fullness of yin (Water), the beginning of yang (Wood), the fullness of yang
(Fire), and the midpoint, the transition between them (Earth).
(To purchase a guided meditation through the five elements on CD, go to Resources.)

Fire/Red
The South, Summer, Blossoming
Heart and Small Intestine Meridians: Sovereign Fire
Pericardium and Triple Warmer Meridians: Supplemental Fire
Fire, expanding, the energy moving up and out; light, warmth, brilliance.  The heart is the emperor.  When any other official is in charge, it is by
definition out of balance.  The Heart issues the commands based on attunement with the Tao.  Supplemental Fire carries out the commands through
the circulatory system (pericardium) and the cycles of energy transformation (Triple Warmer).  The Small Intestine determines what will enter the
blood stream from the outside, and thus come close to the emperor.  The amplifier of the emotions, the Heart stores the Shen, or the Spirit, and
unites all the emotions.  The healthy heart reaches out in Joy, Compassion, Creativity, Relationship.

Earth/Yellow
Middle, Indian Summer, Maturing
Stomach and Spleen/Pancreas Meridians
Earth, grounding, the energy of the middle; the stillness at the extreme of the pendulum swing, the balance in the transitions from one thing into
another. The "officials of the public granaries" (Nei Ching).  Responsible for nourishment at all levels, for digestion of raw materials into absorbable
chunks, be it food, ideas, emotions.  The  organs  break food down physically (stomach) and chemically (spleen/pancreas) into such small parts that
everything is reduced to the same few basic building blocks.  The emotional and spiritual functions break down the complexities of the individual into
the universal qualities shared by all.  Understanding.  Sympathy.  Recognition. Connection.  Home.

Metal/White
The West, Autumn, Pulling In, Letting Go
Lung and Large Intestine Meridians
Metal, crystal, the treasures of the deep earth.  That which gives shape and structure to things so we know what  is inside, what is outside.  The
breath, the skin, the Protective  Qi.  Metal grasps what is precious, like gold, and eliminates what is not. The lung eliminates carbon dioxide, the
Large Intestine eliminates solid waste.  They both take in water.   Holding on and Letting go at the emotional level reveals what is important to us;
grief allows us to pull our energy back from that which is no more.  The spiritual aspect of metal is the animal spirit that holds on to the human body
so that the spirit may manifest in it.  It is revealed as our physical energy, our instincts, our sense of preservation and beauty.

Water/Blue
The North, Winter, Keeping Still
Kidney and Bladder Meridians
Water, most receptive of the elements, moves only when moved, finds the shape of its container, and by the completeness of its passivity, becomes
powerful.  As it falls down the mountain it gains the power of gravity, as it absorbs the warmth of the sun, it gains the power of heat and light.  It
stores energy.  It takes in.  The Kidney monitors the levels of many necessary electrolytes in the blood stream, including calcium.  If that mineral is
lacking, the kidney function stimulates its release from the bones.  And so the water element governs the bones, the core, the essence, the
reserves. Fear is mobilization of  the reserves, Will is the gathering of them. It monitors the metabolism of water - the medium in which most chemical
reactions take place.  The Bladder stores, holds, puts away, puts things behind us.   In the Winter we let drop away what is non-essential, store what
is essential and conserve our Qi.

Wood/Green
The East, Spring, Sprouting
Liver and Gall Bladder Meridians
Wood, growing, moving relentlessly through or around obstacles toward its vision of the light, the sun, the Shen.  The ability to move with strength
and flexibility, the meridians govern the tendons and ligaments, both stabilizing the joints and causing movement of the bones through their
connection to the muscles.  The Gall Bladder influences all the other organs of the digestive system by a simple "yes" or  "no," releasing or not
releasing the bile into the Small Intestine.  On the emotional level it also governs decision-making, while its partner, the Liver, governs planning and
synthesizing.  Growth, development, becoming our potential through movement of the body, the emotions, the spirit.
This site was designed by                      and last updated on 8/29/11.
Tao Te Ching quotations from Stephen Mitchell translation
Site ©2000-2011 by Deborah Valentine Smith

This site was designed by                      and last updated on 4/2/12.
Tao Te Ching quotations from Stephen Mitchell translation
Site ©2000-2011 by Deborah Valentine Smith