Five Elements

According to Chinese philosophy, all things are manifestations of the Tao; the Eternal, the Infinite, which breaks apart into two opposing and complementary forces known as Yin and Yang. These are the inside and outside of everything, the pairing of all opposites, and they divide further into five phases known as the Five Elements. These are given the names Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. These Five Elements are within us in our Body-Mind-Spirit and around us in all of Nature.

Each Element creates the different organs or Officials of our body and, in Nature, the seasons of the year. They also create the deeper levels within us, those of our psyche and our Spirit. They are the phases through which all things must pass from their beginning to their end.

Each branch of Acupuncture has its own approach to diagnosis. In Classical Five-Element Acupuncture, diagnosis is based upon an understanding that each one of us has a particular relationship with one element, our constitutional or guardian element, our Causative Factor. This element gives our life a certain emphasis, making some of us more serious or light-hearted, others more determined or anxious. It is this element which takes the brunt of the stress we are suffering, revealing its unease through physical and emotional signs of imbalance.
Our health, happiness and prosperity depend on a balance of these Five Elements within us and with our environment and relationships.