THE FIRE ELEMENT

Season: Summer Odor: Scorched

Developmental Stage: Growth Emotion: Joy

Environmental Factor: Hot Direction: South

Color: Red    Time of day: 11am-1pm, 7pm-11pm

Sound: Laugh Acupuncture channels: Heart, Small Intestine,

Pericardium, and San Jiao

Gifts: Sadness → Joy Confusion → Propriety Excess Elation → Awareness Isolation → Connection

Fire is about communication and connection. One of the core gifts of Fire is the ability to connect deeply with another person. In balance, this yields the emotion of joy, as well as partnership with the people around us. When Fire is out of balance, our ability to connect and communicate falters. For example, although you may be outwardly smiling and laughing when in the presence of other people doing the same, you may feel as if something is preventing you from connecting with them at a deep level. Or you may feel like you can't seem to communicate your inner world to others, yielding sadness, disconnection, or a sense of isolation.  If Fire is out of balance, you can experience this sense of isolation or disconnection even when surrounded by people. Healthy Fire allows you to be honest and genuine both in communicating to yourself what you are experiencing internally, as well as communicating this to the people in your life. This honesty fosters understanding and connection, and from connection comes genuine friendship and love. In order to be honest with others, you must be honest with yourself; aware of the emotions, ideas, and beliefs that you hold in your heart. Healthy Fire is not only about knowing and loving other people, it is also about knowing and loving yourself.

​Another virtue of Fire is the ability to be present in the moment.  This ability to be present yields compassion, empathy, and warmth, emanating directly from the heart. The mind is often busy thinking about the past, the future, things that need to be done or should have been done; anything but the present moment. If you allow your mind free reign to do this, you may never be present to the moment nor present to the people around you. The heart, unlike the mind, is always present yet often quiet. It is easily overridden by the mind's antics. If one can quiet the mind and come present with the heart, this allows the full compassion and empathy of the heart to be expressed. This is truly a gift to both yourself and those around you. It's a gift to any person in your presence because they will be able to receive the full depth of your attention, warmth, and love. "The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers." (Thich Nhat Hanh).  It's also a gift to you, as the compassion and empathy of the heart need not only be directed toward others, but can also shine on your inner self. 

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Here is a list of manifestations and correspondences associated with the Fire Element:
On a physical level the fire element corresponds with the face (including acne), tongue, speech, heart, pericardium, small intestine, and with the triple heater (loosely correlated with the endocrine system)​. On a mental level, fire corresponds with love, warmth, relationships, affection, sexuality, excitement, joy and happiness, animation, self-expression, enthusiasm, activity, passion, the boundaries you hold between yourself and other people, and the ability to sort and separate ideas. On the level of the spirit, the fire element corresponds with  the ability to be clear and present, a sense of beauty, confidence, consciousness and unity.

Click here to read more on The Season of Fire from the Institute of Classical Five Element Acupuncture

THE EARTH ELEMENT

Season: Late Summer Odor: Fragrant 

Developmental Stage: Transformation Emotion: Worry   

Environmental Factor: Damp/Humidity Direction: Center

Color: Yellow  Time of day: 7am-11am

Sound: Sing Acupuncture channels: Spleen and Stomach

Gifts: Thoughtlessness → Sympathy Self pity → Receiving/Nourishment Pensiveness → Integrity

When a person has a healthy Earth element, they are grounded, centered, and stable. No matter what kinds of situations life throws at them, they maintain their center and don't get thrown off balance. When Earth is out of balance, a person can be swayed or toppled easily by situations or people in life. Everything can seem to swirl around them, and life can seem out of control or at least very confusing. To have a healthy Earth is to be solidly anchored in your core, your gut.

One major function of the Earth element has to do with our gut: to take in nourishment and break it down into useful parts. On the physical level, this corresponds to healthy digestion. Any gastrointestinal upset is a sign that this element is out of balance. On a mental level, this correlates with the ability to think clearly and 'digest' the information given to us. An imbalance in Earth may therefore also show up as a difficulty in thinking; feeling 'foggy headed', having trouble with memory, or constantly worrying about the same things over and over again. These two levels of the Earth element, digestion and thinking, often go hand in hand. For example, after eating a heavy meal one might feel sluggish and foggy headed, unable or unwilling to do anything productive. Everyone has experienced this at one time or another, especially around the holiday season. Healthy Earth is supported by choosing foods wisely. Instead of asking what would taste good for a meal, asking instead how you will feel after eating that food, or that second helping, can be helpful in making healthy choices for your body and mind. Nourishing your body with healthy food in appropriate amounts will also manifest as a healthy ability to think, process ideas, and remember things. Thinking clearly and memory are a big part of being centered.

Earth is also the element that is at the core of giving and receiving.  Healthy Earth means we can easily give of our time and energy to nourish others in our lives, and easily ask for and receive what we need in return from others. In health, we can do both of these things without altering our own ability to be centered. Out of balance, this aspect of the Earth element usually manifests in one of two ways. The first involves giving to others without regard for yourself, and draining your own reserves for the sake of helping someone else. It is important to remember when this pattern shows up that you will not long be able to care for others if you drain yourself in the process. A good example of this is a caregiver who is caring for an elderly parent. If the caregiver only focuses on tending their loved one and ignores their own needs, then they will soon also get sick, and when they do they will be unable to focus and care for their loved one the way they could when they were healthy. If the caregiver is able to ask for help at times when they need a break, then they will stay healthy for the long term and be able to tend their loved one to the best of their ability indefinitely.

​The second way an imbalance in giving and receiving shows up involves feeling as if you are never offered or given what you need from others. We tend to expect that the people in our lives who are close to us should automatically know what we need from them. It's possible, though, that they don't know that you need anything from them. Many people are busy with their own internal world, and miss subtle clues from loved ones about what it is they are struggling with. The solution for this is clearly asking for what you need, and then remembering to savor the experience of receiving. Clearly asking for what you need will bring ease to both you and the other people in your life, as they most likely sense that you are unhappy but don't know why. To allow yourself to ask is also a gift for the other people in your life, as it allows them to be the giver, and that feels good for them. One example of this is a wife who does all the housework and wishes that her husband would pitch in. If she doesn't ask him for help and is simply grumpy, he may have no idea why she's unhappy. On the other hand, if she makes a clear request for him to help by doing a specific task or chore, he will know what she wants and be able to give it to her. Keep in mind that not all requests will be automatically accepted. This is where clear thinking and compromise come in, allowing counter-offers to be made until both people feel heard and have their needs met. Again, healthy Earth involves a balance between giving and receiving, and having this balance is central to your ability to be centered and stable.


Here is a list of correspondences associated with the Earth element:
On the physical level, the earth element is correlated with the digestion, appetite, the mouth, the muscles/flesh, the spleen, and the stomach. On the mental level, earth is correlated with nourishment, stability, security, mothering, centeredness, fulfillment, groundedness, empathy and caring. On the level of the spirit, the earth element is correlated with an easy balance between giving and receiving, comfort, belonging, and a sense of contentment.

Click here to read more on The Season of Earth from the Institute of Classical Five Element Acupuncture.

THE METAL ELEMENT

Season: Fall Odor: Rotten

Developmental Stage: Harvest Emotion: Grief

Environmental Factor: Dry  Direction: West

​ Color: White   Time of day: 3am-7am 

Sound: Weep Acupuncture channels: Lung & Large Intestine

Gifts:  Grief → Inspiration Lawlessness → Justice

From a healthy Metal element comes the ability to see the value in all situations or people. Even if the situation is a ‘bad’ one, a healthy Metal element within us gives us the ability to see the good; to find the "gem in the rough"; such as in lessons learned or beauty experienced. Out of balance, this aspect of Metal can show up as harsh judgment of both self and others, where we see with a critical eye only the bad and not the good. In this instance, we fail to see what is of value. This imbalance may show up as a diminished sense of self worth or self esteem, or as having very high self esteem while looking critically at others. A healthy Metal element allows us to see clearly both the good and the bad in all things, appreciating the good and acknowledging the not-so-good.  

​On an emotional level, the Metal element is involved with grief. In balance, we respond to loss with rituals of appreciation, acknowledgment, and respect. We allow ourselves to let go, and hold on to that which is left that has value. Out of balance, we can only see the loss and fail to let go. Because we focus so intently on what has been lost, we may not be easily able to acknowledge the good side of what still is, such as the good things that are still ​part of our lives, or lessons learned that will always be with us. Creating practices for letting go can be helpful at these times. 

​Grief can also manifest in a more general way as 'grieving the way life is'; one form of stress. The practice of replacing negative thoughts with thoughts of gratitude or appreciation for the good that exists in your life can be helpful at these times. One simple practice that can be useful is gratitude journaling. This involves choosing one time every day to write down three things that you're grateful for in your life. Cultivating appreciation and gratitude in daily life through specific practices is a wonderful way to foster a healthy Metal element. 

​On a more spiritual level, Metal is involved with inspiration and the sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves. A variety of different words and ideas are used to explain what this 'bigger' thing we're a part of is. Whatever the words we use, the experience is often the same; one of amazement, inspiration, and gratitude. A sense of purpose may also stem from this aspect of the Metal element, perhaps the sense that we are guided by divine will or that our actions have larger consequences beyond ourselves. Without this aspect of healthy Metal in place, one may feel a lack of worth in life itself. This tends to yield the out of balance Metal symptom of withdrawing from life or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, living dangerously without thought of consequence. To foster a healthy Metal element, many people use spiritual practices from a particular tradition. One might also use simple breathing meditations, such as "Breathing in, the Spirit/The Lord exhales, Breathing out, the Spirit/The Lord inhales". No matter what tradition or practice we make a part of our lives, spirituality is considered in the Five Element system to be a part of healthy living. From the perspective of healthy Metal, our walking through life is the fulfillment of something bigger than ourselves.


Here is a list of correspondences associated with the Metal element:
On the physical level, the metal element in correlated with the skin, immune system, nose and sinuses, and with the lungs and large intestine. On the mental level, the metal element is correlated with self-worth, letting go, inspiration, values, spirituality, meaningfulness, the capacity to grieve, resilience, strength, endurance, and purpose. On the level of the spirit, the metal element is correlated with values, self-worth, and accepting of death and impermanence.

Click here to read more on The Season of Metal from the Institute of Classical Five Element Acupuncture.