In medicine, the Five Elements were used in a similar manner to the Yin-Yang theory. This was to determine the underlying causes of acute and chronic illnesses. We believe, however, that one of the Five Elements’ most successful uses lies in determining the patient’s deepest Elemental imbalance or ‘constitutional type’. This helps us to deal with chronic illness.
The way we, the authors, have been taught to determine constitutional type involves careful observation of the person’s emotional state and an understanding of the emotion associated with each Element. Hence the connection in this book between the Element types and the emotions. So where did this system of finding an underlying imbalance originate?
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE FIVE ELEMENT TYPES
Five Element types were first mentioned in an ancient Chinese book called The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine.6 People have changed since that time and the different types have been described in various ways throughout Chinese history.7 Five Element types have also been described in other oriental countries such as Japan and Korea.8
The types which we describe in this book were taught to us by an acupuncture teacher called JR Worsley over twenty years ago.9
There are different ways of establishing which of the Elements is the one which is primarily imbalanced. The system we use, and describe in this book, starts with the notion of one Element being the weak link in the chain of the Five Elements. Because all of the Elements are linked, the Element which was originally imbalanced will affect all of the others. It will, however, also create certain recognizable characteristics in a person. These are described in the individual chapters on each type.
Chinese medicine is an energetic medicine which means, among other things, that rather than just examining a person’s body, we look for the underlying or energetic cause of a patient’s problem.
We usually think that our everyday life is made up of a multitude of things, including events, thoughts, objects and people. On the other hand we can simplify a day’s events by considering our basic needs and asking ourselves if they were satisfied. We can forget all the details of what happened today and say, ‘Was today a good day?’ This is another way of saying ‘What’s underneath all my concerns? What’s important?’
The Chinese frequently look ‘underneath it all’ and ask what is happening to a person on a deeper level. For example, in Chinese medicine it is typical not only to address a patient’s symptoms, but also to look for the energetic cause which underlies the symptoms. This is often referred to as the deeper cause.
Chinese medicine teaches that our ‘Qi’ (pronounced ‘chee’) underlies all of our functioning. It is the force which warms, moves, transforms and protects everything in our bodies and minds. The Five Elements describe five important phases or variations in this underlying Qi.
THE ORGANS AND THE FIVE ELEMENTS
We mentioned earlier that each of the Five Elements has two Organs associated with it (apart from the Fire Element which has four). We’ll now take a deeper look at them. One of the Organs is a ‘Yin’ Organ and the other is a ‘Yang’ Organ and they are ‘paired’ together.
The quality of Yang is more active and external than Yin which is more still and internal. Consequently the Yin Organs lie deeper inside the body and are concerned more with storing or retaining. The Yang Organs have more to do with transformation, movement and elimination. Below is a list of the Yin and Yang Organs associated with each Element.
| Element | Yin Organ | Yang Organ |
| Wood | Liver | Gall Bladder |
| Fire | Heart | Small Intestine |
| Pericardium | Triple Burner | |
| Earth | Spleen | Stomach |
| Metal | Lungs | Large Intestine |
| Water | Kidney | Bladder |
We often refer to these Organs as an ‘Organ system’. By this we mean the Yin and Yang Organ as well as a number of other functions connected with each Organ. Because we are talking about the Chinese rather than the Western understanding of an Organ, which is similar but also very different in emphasis, we will also capitalize the name of an Organ or Organ system when we are referring to the Chinese understanding. These are discussed in greater detail in the individual chapters on each type.
HOW DID OUR ELEMENTAL IMBALANCE ORIGINATE?
It is believed that the Organs of one of the Elements is slightly imbalanced from the time we are born. We therefore call it our constitutional imbalance or type. The Organ system affects the healthy functioning of both our bodies and our minds. Where the Organs are constitutionally weaker, this will have an important effect on our personality as well as our physical health. A child born with weak Lungs will have a different life from one born with strong Lungs but weak Kidneys.
Because in this book, we are giving the greatest emphasis to the effect of the constitutional weakness on the ‘emotions’, it is important to say how the word ‘emotions’ is being used. We are using the word in its widest sense. It is more the predisposition to feel a certain way and take up certain attitudes to the world around us. We will talk more about what an emotion is in a few moments.
OUR ELEMENTAL IMBALANCE AND OUR EMOTIONS IN OUR EARLY LIFE
We have now described how one of our Organ systems is weaker from birth. The weakest one will create a tendency towards a different set of emotions experienced early in life. If it is the Heart, for instance, then the emotions we experience will be around joy and sadness. The Organs and the emotions associated with each Element are:
| Element | Emotion |
| Fire | Joy/Sadness |
| Earth | Sympathy/Worry |
| Metal | Grief/Loss |
| Water | Fear |
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