Introduction to the 5 Elements
All of life can be seen through the lens of the five elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and Air. Let’s take a look!
The Five Element Theory is foundational to many Eastern traditions such as Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, Ayurveda, Feng Shui, the Chakras, astrology, and more.
When I started studying JSJ, I was already familiar with the concept that all of life is made up of one or more of the five elements, and that we each have all five elements within us, just in differing amounts and combinations.
The elements are always in relationship to one another. Fire boils (energizes) water. The sun heats up the air which then condenses into rain clouds. You can see that Fire is crucial to Water in this way.
Fire enriches the soil, and soil nourishes new plant growth. Water also nourishes the earth and makes plants (wood) grow. Here you can see that Fire supports Earth and Water supports Wood.
Now, please allow me to geek out a little more!
Chinese medicine refers to Air element as Metal element. How are these two names, air and metal, equivalent in any way? Well, Earth stores metals deep within its crust and air makes up Earth's atmosphere. These two elements are all around us and within us. So we could say that both Air and Metal are supported by Earth!
While we're on the subject of Metal, we all know that plants (Wood) cannot grow without air (or water, or sun light), but it's easy to forget that essential metals like iron, copper, zinc, and molybdenum are also vital for plant growth. Wood naturally contains trace amounts of various metals and other inorganic minerals from the earth. These are absorbed from the soil through the plant’s root system and are essential micronutrients for the plant’s health, growth, and survival.
The last point I want to make about Air and Metal has to do with structural integrity. Metal has a lot of structural integrity. Air pressure can also provide structural integrity to inflatable structures (think of a balloon, raft, bouncy house, etc.). Hopefully the similarities between Metal and Air now make even more sense.
Now let's move on.
Trees (Wood) clean our air! They take in carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen into our atmosphere. Humans and animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. There is definitely a symbiotic relationship happening there! Wood nourishes Air.
Air fans the flames of Fire, energizing it. Water smothers the Fire, controlling it.
The elements represent the circle of life and the relationships between them is best illustrated using a circle.
Another way to look at the elements is to think of the seasons. Summer (Fire) turns to Indian summer (Earth) which then changes to Fall (Air) which becomes Winter (Water) that then becomes Spring (Wood) which becomes Summer again.
In the posts that follow, we will be looking at the qualities of each element. Understanding the quality of each element is fascinating. You will begin to notice these elements/qualities of nature in everything… the physical body, human and animal personalities, in moods and emotions, the flow of life, and even the planets themselves!
I've drawn most of this information from my JSJ and astrology class notes. I also reference a great book by Dondi Dahlin. If you are interested in learning more about the elements in the personality, I highly recommend her book, which you can find here. It's a fun and enlightening read!
Enjoy!
Read the Entire 5-Part Series on the Elements:
