The 5 Elements: The table in clinic

The colour of the face

The tone showing under the skin, not the skin's own colour. Look in daylight and from a distance: up close it disappears. It is the fastest datum in the whole table.

Greenish

wood: stagnation or pain

Reddish

fire: heat

Yellowish

earth: damp or digestive deficiency

Whitish

metal: qi or blood deficiency

Dark under the eyes

water: Kidney deficiency

Common mistake: Judging colour in artificial light, or right after the patient has climbed stairs.

Match each phase with its flavour.

Match each phase with the opening it surfaces through.

A patient says that for months they cannot stop eating sweet things. How do you read that craving?

1. As a preference with no diagnostic value
2. As a sign that earth is asking for help, even though too much sweetness will damage it further
3. As proof that sweet foods should be increased in the diet

Sort each emotional state into its phase.

• Contained irritation that bursts all at onceWoodFireEarthMetalWater
• Elation that will not let them sleepWoodFireEarthMetalWater
• Turning the same thought over before bedWoodFireEarthMetalWater
• Old grief that still catches the breathWoodFireEarthMetalWater
• Startling at any noiseWoodFireEarthMetalWater
• Low spirits with frequent sighingWoodFireEarthMetalWater

Dry eyes, night cramps, ridged nails, a short temper and worse in spring. What do they share?

1. They are five columns of the same row: everything points to wood
2. They are independent symptoms that coincide by chance
3. They point to water, since the patient sleeps badly