Spring & the Wood element

It’s a sunny, brisk day in the high desert mountains of New Mexico, and as I listen to the fire crackle inside our home, I’m thinking about the Wood element and the fascinating ways Chinese medicine is connected to the natural world.

Detailed writings on the cyclical patterns of nature - plants, animals, seasons, weather patterns, moon phases - can be found throughout the most revered ancient medical texts, and this connection to nature remains integral to the modern practice of Chinese medicine.

Five Element Theory is a diagnostic tool that brings together these natural world observations and associates each of the five elements - Fire, Earth, Wood, Water, and Metal - with a seasonal time of year, corresponding organ, color, emotion, smell, sound, taste, and environmental factor, along with a collection of symptoms that could arise when that particular element is out of balance.

As we turn toward Spring and life starts to shake up and change, it can be interesting to tune some of our attention to the elemental association for this time of year.

Spring & The Wood Element

Spring is the time of the Wood element - a season of rebirth and new growth. Think of asparagus, which shoots out of the ground in the earlier part of the growing season. This is the directionality and energy of Spring.

The Wood element is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder, the color green, anger, shouting, the sour flavor, and wind. Chinese medicine sees the Liver as the organ that enables us to plan and get things done, while the Gallbladder is related to our decision-making.

When the Wood element is balanced within us, we are more likely to feel at ease and have a go-with-the-flow attitude. We can accomplish what we set out to do. We make decisions and follow through. Life feels vibrant.

When the Wood element is out of balance, especially when there is a disharmony of Qi or energy of the Liver or Gallbladder, we may find ourselves feeling frustrated, easily irritated, and challenged to make decisions. Our minds are cloudy. We may doubt ourselves or feel hopeless about accomplishing our goals. What should I do next? Why isn’t this going my way? How will I get all of this done?

To lift ourselves up in this Spring season, we can look to the Wood element and all of its correspondences within us. Chinese medicine can guide the selection of herbs, foods, and everyday practices that can directly support the Liver and Gallbladder and help us to cultivate a sense of easygoing balance within.

I look forward to sharing more with you about Chinese herbal medicine and the endless ways nature informs this practice through this newsletter in the weeks to come.

Warmly,

Artemisia

innervillagehealth.com 

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Related Resources

• Andrew Sterman outlines some classical Chinese medicine dietary guidelines for Spring eating in this blog post.

• You can learn more about the anger patterns associated with the Liver through Chinese medicine pattern analysis in this 2020 lit review (open access paper available through scihub).