The Five Elements Theory originates from both Ayurveda, the classical Indian medicine system, and traditional Chines medicine, which are the forbears of holistic health dating back more than 4000 years. Even the Caquetios and Arahuac indigenous cultures of Aruba used some form of the holistic health system. In fact, it is only recently, in the last 80 years, that medicine has treated the disease rather than treating the whole person. Like all wisdom traditions, both Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine are inspired by the natural world and teach us how to harmonize our bodies in order to reach our naturally balanced state.
As Gail Reichstein writes in Wood Becomes Water, Chinese Medicine in Everyday Life: “The Five Elements Theory encompasses all the ways in which we exist in the world and the way in which the world exists within us.” It is a way of making you truly present and aware of yourself, your experiences, your emotions, and your environment. It is the realization that all things in the world have energy, including our bodies, that can be explained thru the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These elements represent a cycle or stage of transformation in the moving circle of life.
It encourages us to discover ourselves and find our balance while understanding our interconnection with everything around us: the cosmos, nature, our senses, and emotions, our body and organ systems, and the seasons. “The Five Elements cycle is a beautiful way of harmonizing our bodies and reconnecting with ourselves in a nurturing relationship with the environment.”
It is inherently simple and yet we have forgotten to use our own self-empowerment and inner core to understand how we feel, the foods that fuel us, and what gives us joy to truly thrive.
The Five Elements represent the movement inherent in all life and creation processes
- Wood represents the cycle of birth and early growth, and is reminiscent of the renewal of spring. It is illustrated by the color green, linked to the organ of the liver and gallbladder, which corresponds to the emotion of anger.
- Fire pertains to the height of development, the color red, and is tied to the warming season of summer, pertaining to the organs of the heart, small intestine, and pericardium while connecting to the emotion of joy.
- Earth describes transition and grounding balance and takes the stage in late summer while in alignment with both the solstice and equinox. It represents the organs of the stomach and spleen and when unbalanced, anchors on the emotion of worry.
- Metal governs decline and slowing down and is akin to the changing cooling season of Autumn. It is symbolic of the color white or silver and related to the organs of the lungs, and large intestine, and the emotion of grief.
- Water is symbolic of serenity, stillness, and repose, and eventually renewal by turning back to Wood. Water represents purity while representing the end and beginning of life. It pertains to the kidneys and bladder and when not balanced, it embodies the emotion of fear.
