The Five Flamingos?

Parnassus [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Quite a few people have asked me to teach them a bit about the five elements of Chinese philosophy. That’s a lot to unpack, so I’m going to start with a post explaining what the Wu Xing (the five steps/movements/phases/transformations/actions) are and are not.

For anyone reading this who has no interest in philosophy, please bear with me til next week. I’ll explain how this can actually be relevant to everyday life, even in our modern world.( I hoped to get to that today, but this post just got too long.)

So, first and foremost, did you notice that the list of words I used to approximate ‘Xing’ above did not include ‘element? That is because element is just about the worst word that could have been picked to translate Xing.

As in, ‘flamingo’ would have been closer. At least flamingos grow, develop and form relationships with other flamingos.

The most often used term among students and practitioners of Chinese medicine is ‘phases’, so I’m going to use that for the duration of this post.

At opposed to the four (or five) elements of Greek philosophy/natural science, which were believed to be the actual building blocks that make up all the stuff in the universe, the five phases of Chinese philosophy and medicine describe different processes of change, and different kinds of relationships that exist.

For an example of different types of change, we can look at the timeline of a human life:

When we are children, we change like sprouting plants, unfolding, growing larger and taller, putting down roots that will support us throughout life. The changes we experience can be slow or abrupt, but they are full of strength and unstoppable.

When we hit puberty, our bodies and minds change like fire converting wood into heat and light. We are no longer just getting bigger and stronger, but are transforming into adults, in fast, unpredictable jumps, and are becoming able to effect the world around us and cause changes in others.

When we reach the adulthood we become earth-like. We change gently over the course of this period. At this stage we are the home base providing support and grounding for others as they go through their own changes.

In old age, we are metal; the sword, the ax, the plough. We help those around us make decisions, we learn how to let go of what is not useful to us, and prepare the ground for more growth.

The timelessness after death and before birth are described as water, formless and endless, but powerful and connected to everything.

Relationships

We can also use the five phases to describe relationships between things. There are a number of relationships within the circle of the phases.

The first set of relationships is called the creative cycle:

• Water enables Wood to grow
• Wood is the fuel of Fire
• Fire is the mother of Earth (ash, coal, forest fires regenerating the soil)
• Earth holds the Metal
• Metal produces Water (shovels dig wells, pipes carry water)

For example, a parent’s relationship with their child can be compared to water for a tree. (‘Wood’ is actually another bad translation, the Wood phase represents the growth and change of living things).

In a healthy relationship a parent is like a gentle rain, giving their offspring what they need at the right times to help them grow. But a parent can also be a flood, overwhelming their child, or a drought, or unable to provide what is needed.

The next is the controlling cycle:

• Water puts out Fire
• Fire softens Metal
• Metal constrains Wood (chopping trees, nailing boards, fencing in gardens)
• Wood works Earth (wooden ploughs break up the ground, sprouts grow through the soil)
• Earth contains Water

The controlling cycle is sometimes seen as negative, but in reality, everyone needs constraints to help them develop and evolve.

In China the grandparents are supposed to be the Metal to their grandchildrens’ Wood energy, guiding them away from danger, correcting unhealthy behavior, providing boundaries and guidelines to help them feel safe and supported.

End part one

I have been informed by my beta readers that this post is ridiculously long, and needs to be mercilessly cut down (Metal editing restrains Wood creativity).

Hope to see you next week for part 2 of it-turns-out-I-have-no-idea-how-many posts about the five whatsits.

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Leave a comment or send me a message if you have any questions about the phases you would like to see answered in future posts.

If you were sent this post by a friend and have no clue what’s going on, Hi! I’m Havva Mahler, practitioner of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, herbs, tuina, reflexology, massage and stuff like that. You can normally find me at one of my clinics in Be’er Sheva or Sderot, or reading something about health and/or motivation. You can find out more about me here. Get in touch with me here. See an elephant get acupuncture here! (Don’t worry, the needles used on humans aren’t nearly that long.)