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What are Yin and Yang?
Oriental medicine is based on the philosophy of Yin and Yang. Yin/Yang is a description of the way that the universe works and it is also a way of thinking. It is cyclical, complementary and opposite; there are no absolutes, everything is part of the whole, objects and phenomena are seen in relation to the universe and to each other. The original meaning of Yang was ‘the sunny side of the valley’; Yin was ‘the shady side of the valley’. Yin therefore was associated with darkness, coldness, resting, and quietness. Yang was the opposite: light, heat, activity and movement.
Of course, everything changes, and so – the shady becomes sunny, and vice versa.
By the further association of Yang with Heaven, and Yin with the Earth, a whole series of qualities were assigned to each category. Yin and Yang mutually create each other; there can be no concept of hot without an idea of what cold is, there is no down without a concept of up, etc.
Calligraphy by Chungliang Al Huang
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What are the Five Elements or Phases?
The Five Elements or Phases represent a further classification of Yin and Yang into different forms of Ki, described by the qualities of Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire. These Elements are descriptions of Ki in different stages and processes of change. Fire is the ultimate Yang; Metal is more solid, more structured, colder; Water is to do with fluidity and flexibility, it is cold and is the ultimate Yin; Wood is more active, creative. The cycle of the Five Elements shows how each element is constantly being transformed from one into another throughout the natural world. Water creates Wood, Wood creates Fire, Fire creates Earth, Earth creates Metal and Metal creates Water. The names of the elements are convenient labels, or images to help us understand their function, but their meaning goes far beyond the label. In humans, for example, Wood energy is responsible for growth, decision-making and creativity, but if it is allowed to get out of balance it can lead to impatience, frustration and anger. Metal represents clarity, precision and incisiveness, but if unchecked it can lead to depression and grief. The five elements are interrelated in a complex way, so that an excess of one type of energy can over-control or deplete another: Earth controls Water, Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal, Metal controls Wood and Wood controls Earth.
Five Element Diagram
Five Element Correspondences
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