Five-element acupuncture has its roots in pre-Communist Chinese medicine. This tradition was born out of a cultural viewpoint that embraced the powerful reality of the invisible world and the effect that Qi and the emotions can have on our physical health. According to the five-element model, every human being has a constitutional type that is created at the moment of conception that is aligned with one of five elements: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. Each of these elements has within them specific associations that are found throughout the natural world. As such, there is a color, sound, odor, emotion, season, and belief system ascribed to each of the elements. Below is a basic chart that will help you to understand the associations of each element:
EARTH
Emotion: sympathy, rumination, obsession
Color: yellow
Season: late summer Sound: singing Odor: fragrant
Distorted belief: ‘I am not enough; therefore, I must put others or myself first in all situations.’
Earth in Balance: Feeling complete right now, genuine selflessness, balance between giving and receiving.
METAL
Emotion: grief, longing Color: white
Season: fall Sound: weeping Odor: rotting
Distorted belief: ‘Life has no value and is meaningless; therefore, I must attach to the material world or renounce it altogether.’
Metal in Balance: Inspiration, value, poignancy, being present to life
WATER
Emotion: fear, anxiety
Color: blue
Season: winter Sound: groaning Odor: putrid
Distorted belief: ‘My purpose is not powerful enough to change the world. I am subject to the whims of fate.’
Water in Balance: Purpose and potential fulfilled, feeling the fear and doing it anyway, power.
WOOD
Emotion: anger, frustration
Color: green
Season: spring Sound: shouting Odor: rancid
Distorted belief: ‘Life isn’t fair. I am resigned to a life of injustice.’ Wood in Balance: Creativity, broad perspective, benevolent, visionary
FIRE
Emotion: sadness or lack of joy Color: red
Season: summer Sound: laughing Odor: scorched
Distorted belief: ‘Life isn’t safe. It’s impossible to find real intimacy.’ Fire in Balance: Charisma, joy, connection, compassion.
According to the five-element model, every one of us is predominantly affected by one of these elements and their associations.
Using the wise guidance of this model, we can see how there are precise psychological dynamics at work that perpetuate our physical health problems. As these psychological dynamics are allowed to persist, the five-element model clearly shows us how physical pathology will eventually result.
Clearing Shock
The first priority in treatment using five element acupuncture is taking the patient out of a state of shock. While most of us think of shock as an overt trauma or accident that would lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or something of the like, shock can be much more subtle in its cause and manifestation. From this perspective, we can define shock as the loss of awareness of present-moment reality. This kind of shock leads to many chronic health problems, as the body will eventually mirror the mind. Using various five-element acupuncture protocols, the blocked energy of shock can usually be cleared either instantly or within a few weeks of treatment. When this happens, the patient will typically say something like, ‘I feel like my old self’ or ‘I feel like I have myself back.’ These are classic statements that show the shock has cleared.
Five-element acupuncture suggests that the majority of the people in our society are in this kind of low-grade shock. We are surviving, but we are not thriving. We are able to function and make it through the day, but we are not deeply connected with our purpose and living from a place of spirit. This is why 40 million Americans have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and why countless more carry chronic and extreme amounts of stress, pain, insomnia, and hormonal imbalances. In addition to acupuncture, click here to check out my 5 Element Sound Healing Project.
