THE LAW OF 5 ELEMENTS
The orthodox approach to treating disease normally concerns itself with
identifying and isolating the presenting symptom or symptoms, and
relieving them as far as possible. More often than not, the condition
will be considered 'cured' when such relief has been achieved. While to
the patient, the presenting symptoms are quite understandably what they
want resolving, it can be counterproductive to disregard the deeper
imbalances they arise from.
Symptoms are not the disease itself. My former mentor and one of the
most powerful influences on my career, Professor JR Worsley, Founder
President of The College of Traditional Acupuncture, regarded treatment
of symptoms alone as akin to 'switching off a fire alarm because you
can't stand the noise'. Through Five Element acupuncture we seek to
correct the disharmony in the basic life force of the patient through a
wonderful system of diagnosis and treatment grounded in the very laws
of nature itself.
To bring the patient back to a state of comfort, and true health,
the practitioner works with the intention of identifying the deeper
cause of illness. Through appropriate treatment, not only are we able
to deal with the presenting symptoms, but with the wider picture. Many
patients choose to attend my Practice even when the original condition
has been resolved, with continuing results. The system of healing I use
empowers the patient in all three spheres of body, mind and spirit, and
can also be effective as a form of preventive medicine.
What are the Five Elements?
Each of us has identified and observed, to varying degrees, the
energy of the seasons as the year takes its course. This is the process
of the movement of Yin and Yang, and in the same way is the move from
one element to the next. When in winter nature lies dormant, in summer
it flourishes. When in spring it rises up, in autumn it lets go. This
process of life is the same cycle of Universal Energy, more commonly
referred to as Qi (pronounced 'chee'), that the practitioner of Five
Element acupuncture sees presenting in the patient. I will be
describing later how this process of observation is applied when
approaching the treatment of disease, but in this instance, will be
introducing the five elements, and describing the qualities intrinsic
to each.
Overview
Each season changes nature's energy. An entire year comprising
entirely of summer, however pleasant it may sound, would not allow the
year to balance. There would be no way that the Universe could sustain
this zenith without burning out. In order to keep moving, the circle of
life passes through an eternal cycle of birth and rebirth. And
underlying each season, each fallen leaf and drop of rain, are the
forces of Yin and Yang known as the Five Elements.
 Wood
Picture the spring. Picture its power. See how the world has burst
into life. What Wood represents is the rise of Yang and the birth of a
new year. The ending of the darkness of Winter. The Wood element
displays an upward movement. It is the force beneath the shoots
emerging from still frosty ground. It is the decision made by nature to
grow once again.
 Fire
What rises in spring flourishes in summer. The Fire Element
manifests as the peak of nature's power. It is the culmination of work
done by the Wood Element and brings the celebration of wonder and
beauty in the world. On a gently warm day you can enjoy the wonderful
sparkle that all living things have to offer, and feel truly happy to
be alive.
 Earth
At the crest of summer, the balance moves past its peak and begins
to recede. At this time of year the change is subtle, but the maximum
influence of Yang begins to reduce giving way to the power of Yin. We
experience a ripening and sweetening of flora during late summer, a
time for harvest, and a final chance to enjoy the splendour of nature
before it moves towards winter.
 Metal
Autumn is a season of balance. In order to prepare for the long hard
winter nature must lose much of its baggage... but in order to allow
winter to store for the next year, it must keep what is most precious.
This period of rising Yin is a time for letting go. Even that which has
often been most beautiful, is left behind. It is no longer needed. The
summer has truly gone.
 Water
In stark contrast to Fire, Water underlies the fearsome stillness of
winter. When the forces of Yin are at their maximum the activity of
nature is at its minimum. Faint traces of life lie beneath the cold
unwelcoming surface, deep in their tomb, well away from the gaze of
even the most informed observer.
The gloomy depressing wastes of winter betray the frenetic hive of
activity that follows when spring starts. Likewise, the welcoming
glories of summer give no clue as to the onset of autumn, but each is
essential to the other. When there is balance between the seasons,
scarcely the case in recent years, there is greater harmony in nature.
How do the Five Elements Apply to us as People?
In much the same way that the elements can be observed in nature
they can in people. While the way they display in us is different, we
are manifestations of nature, so their importance is equal. All five
elements are present in every one of us. Balance between the elements
gives true health. Imbalance, results in disease.
How does the Practitioner come to a Diagnosis?
A diagnosis in Five Element acupuncture is not an orthodox diagnosis.
More often than not, the patient will know what they have got and will
sometimes have tried other forms of medicine. Others will not present
specific conditions, but the approach to diagnosis and treatment is
exactly the same.
The primary objective of the consultation, and to an extent early
treatments, is to ascertain which element in the patient is out of
balance with the others. This is known as the Causative Factor (CF) and
at such time this is identified, forms the basis for future treatment.
In essence, without it the practitioner is limited in terms of
treatment planning. Finding the CF can take anything from a few seconds
to several hours.
Through observing the behaviour of the elements as they manifest in
the patient this diagnosis will be reached. Each has characteristics
which display to varying degrees depending on the extent of the
imbalance. These ostensible revelations of the elements are the key to
working out the source of the pattern of disharmony from which the
presenting symptoms arise.
Wood
Characteristics akin to that of spring can be observed in the
patient when the Wood Element is out of balance. As practitioners we
recognise that Wood underlies the emotion of anger, the tendency to a
green colouration on the face and a shouting quality in the voice.
Although the nature of these can vary enormously, where such a pattern
is perceived it is indicative of the health of the patient's Wood
Element.
Fire
We all know somebody who seems to laugh at the smallest things.
Perhaps you spend time with people who have quite a red complexion, or
have that joyful tone in their voice and in their lives. As a
practitioner I see many people like this, and while I may enjoy their
presence, I also know that there is imbalance in their Fire Element.
The associations of fire can also display as deficiencies as well as
excesses, for example there could be a lack of red colour, or a lack of
laughing tone in the voice.
Earth
When out of balance, Earth gives the patient a yellow hue. While
yellow can indicate different things, a combination of this and a
singing tone provide clues as to the health of the patient's Earth. An
equally powerful clue is emotion. When a patient appears to demand
sympathy, or perhaps expresses the same emotion in excess we understand
that this should be considered as part of the wider picture. In many
cases a patient either does not want or does not appear to express this
emotion and to the same extent this is important information.
Metal
The natural emotion to feel when one suffers loss is grief, however
it is often the case that this emotion becomes dominant without
foundation. Sadness can stay with an individual and pervade their life.
This characteristic of imbalanced Metal is often observed together with
a white hue on the face, most especially round the eyes, and a weeping
quality in the voice. Metal characteristics also include the tendency
to hoard items, for example magazines.
Water
As winter contrasts summer, so too does Water contrast Fire. The
difference is not as clear, but when Water is the primary element out
of balance, there is considerably more stillness in the patient most
notably in the voice which has a groaning quality. Their dominant
emotion is fear, and we can identify a blue colour on the face.
What is the Relevance of the Five Elements to Treatment?
Quite simply the intention behind any course of treatment is to
balance the elements as far as possible. Acupuncture presents a number
of options (all of which merit deeper explanation than can be offered
in an introduction such as this) for treating the primary imbalance,
the CF, which will strengthen the patient's life-force and allow
rebalancing to take place. Let there be no doubt, the power of the
body/mind/spirit to self-heal is awesome! Appropriate treatment on the
Causative Factor empowers the system allowing such self-healing to take
place. When the primary imbalance is properly treated, things fall into
place.
Conclusion
In essence, justice cannot be done to the Law of Five Elements with a
basic overview. The system does have a certain simplicity, but only in
theoretical terms. Application in practice requires an enormous amount
of concentration and skill on the part of the practitioner, not least
when you consider it is combined with the parallel responsibilities to
treatment planning and patient care, and awareness of the disease
process. Nor is there anything straightforward about discerning colour
and emotion, not least as several combinations can present in the same
patient, at the same time.
Different practitioners favour different styles of acupuncture, or
different combinations of styles, and there is merit in each approach.
The Five Elements is a total system. It can be used to treat a range of
physical and emotional disorders, and in each case, the techniques are
the same.
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