The five elements
Acupuncture Therapy bases diagnosis upon observation of the five elements (or phases or energies), Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. These represent the different energies of all aspects of life: from birth to death; from spring to summer to harvest to autumn then winter before returning to spring; through day and night. As we are part of life the five elements also manifest in us. Treatment aims to balance these energies within us, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Wood
Wood energy is associated with Spring, when plans (associated with the liver) are set into motion (the gall bladder). We see beginnings of new shoots powerfully thrusting straight and upwards almost appearing out of nowhere, unaware of the balancing thrust of the roots into the ground. If they have nowhere to go they get frustrated, pot-bound and directionless. So to with us. See the athlete on the starting block, totally and single-mindedly focussed on sprinting the 100 metres ahead, then action and unawareness of anything other than the finishing line. This is the nature of wood energy. It is the energy of a child, full of hope, youthful buds springing into flower.
Fire
In Summer the energy changes. Fire energy spreads out in all directions, upwardly seeking out the Sun, seeking warm relationships with all around that allow it to spark. Like the barbeque: too much heat and everything burns, too little and nothing cooks and the fire looks lifeless and dull. On a wet, grey summer's day it is hard to feel the joy in our hearts that our Fire energy demands. Our heart sings in a good relationship, yet to be too open-hearted risks being wounded in our heart and soul. We have vulnerabilities and must learn (small intestine) who to let in and who not to. This is the energy of the young adult, full of life.
Earth
Earth is the centre and mother of life. Like gravity its energy pulls us towards it, needing us to understand its purpose. It is that time of late summer when the evenings are drawing in, the crops are ripened and the harvest is gathered. It receives and stores nurishment (the stomach) and distributes it (the spleen) via the blood to where it is needed. There must be give and take. If too much is given out too soon the cupboards will be bare. If too much is held on to, everything can grind to a halt and get stuck and nothing is nourished. Stresses can show as earthquakes and eruptions, yet Earth has strength and stability when it can just be. It is the energy of maturity.
Metal
If Earth is our mother then Metal is our father. It is the energy of the Autumn of each year and also of our life. It sighs with the cooler wind. It draws from the heavens our spirit and breath (lungs) . No longer able to hold onto the past it must retain all that is essential to life and let go of all it can no longer bear (colon). And it may yearn for what it no longer has, feeling far away, removed from the now. It is the energy of the grand design, both rarified yet refined, with attention to small detail and quality. Within are precious gems of wisdom, but on the outside perhaps a fine cutting edge. It is the energy of the elders, who deserve and demand respect.
Water
Water is the energy of Winter, often running deep and unfathomable, yet capable of turning into a torrent flooding out of control if unchecked by strong boundaries. The darkness and the depths carry the seeds of the future and with them the fear that they might die rather than be reborn, so threatening our very survival. It is the time of the low tide, the nadir of our year. We can sink or swim and pray that the tide will turn, and with it new life begin. Water is in every cell of our body. It holds our secrets. It unifies and soothes if it is pure (kidneys) and sufficiently plentiful (bladder). Water swells the dry seed to allow it to grow, the energy of old age giving way to the energy of Spring.