The Five Elements

Traditional Chinese Medicine · a map

Not five substances but five phases — the way anything moves from beginning to fullness to rest and back. Two cycles run through them at once.

How to read it

Around the circle, the generating cycle: each phase feeds the next, as a mother feeds a child. Across it, the controlling cycle: each restrains the one two steps on, so nothing grows unchecked. Health, in this reading, is both still moving.

drag to turn the wheel · tap a phase

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Wood

木 mù · spring

Push through.

Growth, direction, the shove upward through the ground. Feeds Fire — fuel. Restrains Earth — roots holding soil.

liver · gallbladderanger

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Fire

火 huǒ · summer

Blaze.

Fullness, warmth, connection at its height. Feeds Earth — as ash. Restrains Metal — which it melts.

heart · small intestinejoy

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Earth

土 tǔ · late summer

Hold.

The centre that ripens and steadies. Feeds Metal — mined from it. Restrains Water — as a bank holds a river.

spleen · stomachworry

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Metal

金 jīn · autumn

Let go.

Refinement: keeping only what is worth keeping. Feeds Water — dew on cold metal. Restrains Wood — as an axe.

lungs · large intestinegrief

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Water

水 shuǐ · winter

Rest.

Stillness, storage, the seed waiting in the dark. Feeds Wood — which it waters. Restrains Fire — which it puts out.

kidneys · bladderfear

Together

Every phase is fed by one, feeds one, restrains one, and is restrained by one. Nothing on the wheel is only a cause. Turn it — no phase stays on top for long.

Nothing in it stands still, and nothing moves alone.

Wu Xing, as used in traditional Chinese medicine; organ and emotion pairings are the classical correspondences.

scroll around the wheel

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