Echoes of Ancient Wisdom: The Earth Element

The Shortest "Season" in Five Element Theory of Chinese Medicine

Even though we are transitioning to Fall, it is worth mentioning the Element of Earth (Season of Late Summer) before we dive into the Element of Metal (Season of Autumn.) We will explore the correspondences that make up this Element and talk about the significance and uniqueness of this Element in harnessing the middle and anchoring the energy of holding everything together.

The Correspondences of the Earth Element

All of the Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal & Water) govern yin/yang meridians (organ systems and their collateral channels and deep pathways,) Direction, Season, Weather, Outward Manifestions, Inward Manifestions, Color, Emotions, Spirits, Activities or Labors, Tastes, Tissues, Spiritual Growth Themes, Smells, & Sounds.

The Earth Element governs all things in the Center of something else. It's Yin/Yang Meridians are the Spleen (Pancreas) and Stomach: the Origin of Fluids in the body and the impetus for the transformation of our food into Us! It's Direction is the Center of the body and therefore it's focus is on harmonizing the way we feel inside of our bodies. It's season is the shortest of all. Labeled as Late Summer, it encompasses the energetic shifts of equinoxes and solstices as well...though this is rarely mentioned in educational settings for this material. This is the energy of Transformative Times.

The weather of Late Summer is DAMP...and that damp can wreak havoc in our bodies in a multitude of ways. We feel this in all of the embodied correspondences it governs. We feel this in our flesh, in our mouths and lips, and especially in our muscles as the heat combines with the damp and makes us slower to move and often affected by heat rashes on our bodies and in the soft tissues that we first take in the world with: our sense of taste through our mouths and lips.

Its color correspondence is yellow, like the sun that we receive nourishment from. It's taste is sweet like the ripe fruit falling from the trees at this time. It's smell is also sweet, harmonizing the Stomach and Spleen and can be found in the smell of many of the foods we put on our plate (sweet is found in way more than sugar, and makes up the bulk of the flavors we put on each plate.) The sound of Earth is Singing, which you can hear throughout the late Summer and in those who are Constitutionally resonant with this Element. (Earthy people often sing as they talk...and in pathology, they often whine when they cannot find support.)

The Spirit Earth governs is that of the Yi (Thought) and the emotion it governs is that of Worry. This is different than Fear (which sinks us into fight, flight or freeze mode) and is more circular in nature. We worry about our lives in circular ways, often when we lay down to let go of the day and are unable to stop the runaway circular thoughts. While Chinese Medicine acknowledges the importance of the brain in processing our thoughts, it gives special credence to the processing we do when we feel our emotions and use our intuition to make decisions. Gut decisions often render the most effective actions.

The labor of this Element: Sitting. I can honestly say these transformative times often move me to only be able to sit with my thoughts,

The spiritual growth it governs is one of Transformation. We take in food and transform it. We take our circular thoughts of worry and transform them into solutions. We exercise our bodies and engage in self-care techniques to transform our aches, pains, and embodied suffering into healthy ways of being. And finally, we transform the circles of community we belong to by providing support, understanding and balance in our belonging to said community.