The 5 Elements: The four cycles

Generation: mother and child

相生 xiāng shēng

Each phase feeds the next one clockwise. From that comes the most used clinical rule in the system: if the child is deficient, tonify the mother.

Wood feeds Fire

wood burns

Fire feeds Earth

ash makes soil

Earth feeds Metal

ore comes out of the ground

Metal feeds Water

metal condenses dew

Water feeds Wood

water waters the shoot

Common mistake: Reciting the chain without using it. Its point is deciding whom to treat when the complaining organ does not respond.

Control: the star inside

相剋 xiāng kè

Besides feeding the next phase, each one restrains the phase two places on. It draws a star inside the circle and it is what keeps generation from running away.

Wood controls Earth

roots hold the soil

Earth controls Water

the bank contains the water

Water controls Fire

water puts fire out

Fire controls Metal

fire melts metal

Metal controls Wood

the axe prunes

Common mistake: Reading control as something bad. Without it each phase would grow until it smothered the rest.

When control breaks down

Control can fail in two ways and both have names. If the controller overdoes it, it crushes; if the controlled one gets bold, it rebels against the phase that should restrain it.

Over-acting

the restrainer presses too hard

Insulting

the restrained one pushes back

Over-acting example

a tense Liver attacking the Spleen

Insulting example

overflowing fire drying the water

Common mistake: Treating only the organ that complains. In over-acting, the one with symptoms is the victim, not the culprit.

A patient with heavy digestion and diarrhoea that always follow an argument. Which cycle explains it?

1. Generation: the mother is not feeding the child
2. Over-acting: wood presses too hard on earth
3. Insulting: earth rebels against wood

Which cycle describes each situation?

• Tonifying the Kidney so a dry Liver improvesGenerationControlOver-actingInsulting
• The Lung descending and restraining a rising LiverGenerationControlOver-actingInsulting
• Sustained stress that ends in gastritisGenerationControlOver-actingInsulting
• A very high Heart fire that exhausts Kidney waterGenerationControlOver-actingInsulting
• Strengthening the Spleen so the Lung stops relapsingGenerationControlOver-actingInsulting
• A huge Spleen dampness that smothers the breathingGenerationControlOver-actingInsulting

Order the generating cycle starting from the Kidney's phase.

1. Water↑↓
2. Wood↑↓
3. Fire↑↓
4. Earth↑↓
5. Metal↑↓