Five Elements Flashcards
How can the elements effect each other within the cycle?
Each Element can Generate the following Element. Each Element can Over-act on the Element it controls. Each Element can Insult the Element that controls it.
Describe the Sheng/Generating cycle
Wood creates Fire by burning
Fire creates Earth from ashes
Earth creates Metal by hardening
Metal creates Water by containment Water creates Wood by nourishment
Describe the Ke/Controlling cycle
Fire controls Metal by melting Metal controls Wood by cutting Wood controls Earth by covering Earth controls Water by damming Water controls Fire by extinguishing
Name the 5 Element associations for Wood
Zang Organs: Liver
Fu Organs: Gall Bladder
Colour: Green/qing
Sound: Shout
Emotion: Anger
Odour: Rancid
Seasons: Spring
Climate: Wind
Powers: Birth
Movements: Expansion outwards
Tastes: Sour
Bodily Parts: Sinews and tendons
Residues: Nails, residue of sinews
Fluids: Tears
Orifices: Eyes
Senses: Sight
Spirits: Hun (ethereal soul)
Yin numbers: 8
Yang Numbers: 3
Directions: East, Left
Name the 5 Element associations for Fire
Zang Organs: Heart, Pericardium
Fu Organs: Small intestine, Triple burner
Colour: Red
Sound: Laugh
Emotion: Joy
Odour: Scorched movement
Seasons: Summer
Climate: Heat
Powers: Mature
Movements: Upward
Tastes: Bitter
Bodily Parts: Blood and blood vessels
Residues: Hair residue of blood
Fluids: Sweat
Orifices: Tongue
Senses: Taste
Spirits: Shen (spirit)
Yin numbers: 2
Yang Numbers: 7
Directions: South, Front
Name the 5 Element associations for Earth
Zang Organs: Spleen
Fu Organs: Stomach
Colour: Yellow
Sound: Sing
Emotion: Sympathy
Odour: Fragrant
Seasons: Late summer
Climate: Damp
Powers: Harvest
Movements: Neutrality, Stability
Tastes: Sweet
Bodily Parts: Muscles and flesh
Residues: Fat, residue of flesh
Fluids: Saliva
Orifices: Mouth
Senses: Form and touch
Spirits: Yi (thought)
Yin numbers: 10
Yang Numbers: 5
Directions: Centre, Centre
Name the 5 Element associations for Metal
Zang Organs: Lung
Fu Organs: Large intestine
Colour: White
Sound: Weep
Emotion: Grief
Odour: Rotten
Seasons: Autumn
Climate: Dryness
Powers: Decrease
Movements: Contraction, inwards
Tastes: Pungent
Bodily Parts: Skin and fascia
Residues: body hair, residue of skin
Fluids: Nasal mucus
Orifices: Nose
Senses: Smell
Spirits: Po
Yin numbers: 4
Yang Numbers: 9
Directions: West, Right
Name the 5 Element associations for Water
Zang Organs: Kidney
Fu Organs: Bladder
Colour: Blue/black
Sound: Groan
Emotion: Fear
Odour: Putrid
Seasons: Winter
Climate: Cold
Powers: Storage
Movements: Downward movement
Tastes: Salty
Bodily Parts: Bone and bone marrow
Residues: Teeth, residue of bone
Fluids: Sputum
Orifices: Ears
Senses: Hearing
Spirits: Zhi (will)
Yin numbers: 6
Yang Numbers: 1
Directions: North, Back
What does facial colour mean?
Facial colour reflects the state of our Qi and Blood and is closely aligned to imbalances in each of the 5 Elements.
What are the specific areas for facial colour?
What does a red or lack of indicate?
Element: Fire
Manifests as: Most commonly a lack of red, but can also be too much red. Area: under and beside the eyes, in the laugh lines or around the mouth.
N.B. Red in other areas of the face may indicate an excess of Heat and has nothing to do with an imbalance in the Fire element (whole face red indicates Full Heat and a malar flush indicates Empty Heat).
What is a lack of red? An absence of the normal pink that should be present in someone’s face. It is a rather dull, bloodless colour, which in extreme cases may even be ashen or grey.
What does a yellow colour indicate?
Element: Earth
Manifests as: an earthy, yellow colour, more similar to ploughed soil than, for example, the colour of a lemon. Like the colour of a field of grain ripe for harvesting.
Area: under or beside the eyes.
N.B. Yellow around the mouth and on the cheeks indicates Dampness. Although this is often a result of an imbalance in the Earth element, to diagnose someone as an Earth CF we would expect to see yellow beside or under their eyes too.
What does a white colour indicate?
Element: Metal
Manifests as: a white, often shiny colour appearing almost as if it is off the face. It is a distinct colour, compared with a lack of red which is just a paleness.
Area: Under and beside the eyes.
N.B. Qi and Yang deficiency may also manifest as a bright white colour on the face. Shock can mean someone suddenly goes white. To diagnose someone as a Metal CF we would expect there to always be some whiteness under and beside their eyes.
What does a Green/QIng /Blue-green indicate?
Element: Wood
Manifests as: may be a blue-green, yellow-green or a bottle green.
Area: under or beside the eyes, around the mouth.
N.B. a green colour also indicates Qi stagnation. This is commonly seen around the mouth when a person is, for example, hung over or when a woman is pre-menstrual. We would expect to see this colour by the eyes too in order to diagnose someone as a Wood CF.
What does a Blue/Blue-black indicate?
Element: Water
Associated with Water Element. This is usually black or dark blue, but occasionally appears as a lighter sky or powder blue.
Manifests as: usually a black or dark blue colour, but may occasionally be a lighter sky or powder blue. Area: under or beside the eyes, around the mouth.
N.B. a dark colour on the face may also be due to lack of sleep and a period of overwork, as well as kidney disease. Blood stagnation also sometimes manifests as a dark colour.
