Classical Chinese medical symbolism: Wood, Metal and Spring
Today I am featuring the first part of a two part guest post by my friend and colleague at NCNM, Michael “Delli” Dell’orfano. His article is a fine elaboration of the ideas I briefly presented in my post about Rest and Activity in the Year of Sagely Living. I will post the remainder of the article over the next few days. It will be followed up by another series that I’ve authored myself concerning treating external invasions with Classical Chinese Medicine. Before I get on with the article, a few housekeeping announcements. First, if you haven’t read through the comments on the last post, “Does Chinese Medicine Cure Disease,” I definitely recommend you do so. Second, if you have interest in following my progress in the Year of Sagely Living, be sure to visit that page and scroll down a bit where you can read my somewhat frequent updates. Third, if you haven’t already subscribed to the RSS feed or email newsletter, why don’t you take the time to do so now? Without further ado…
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As the vernal equinox approaches we find ourselves situated in the season of spring according to the Chinese calendar, yet the organ systems clock tells us that this time of year corresponds with the Lung and Large Intestine organ systems. How does one make any sense of this?
The relationship of the Wood organ systems and the Metal organ systems of Chinese Medicine can be understood through the use of Yin Yang theory. Yin Yang theory is one of the fundamental principles upon which our medicine was founded, and so I think it is worthwhile to explain a bit about the Taiji (太極) symbol (often called the Yin Yang symbol) and how it originated. It is important to keep in mind that ancient Chinese medicine is a science of movement and energy consisting of symbols. Symbols are bridges between matter and consciousness since they have the potential to resonate at the same frequency. The quality of the frequency can reveal to us similarities between the physical world and the holographic world. On one level, symbols are meant to be a simple way to convey an idea, but at the same time these symbols contain vast amounts of information that we must first comprehend in order to use them effectively.
Upon observation of the symbol we can notice the contrast in color. Light and dark are contained within it, but do not disregard the fact that a dark circle exist within the light area and vice versa. The fact that Yin always exists within Yang, and Yang within Yin, tells us that nothing is purely Yin or purely Yang, but rather that all life is a mixture of Yin and Yang. In my opinion, this clue leads us to reason that the two are mutually dependent on one another for the continuation of life. The shape of the Taiji is a circle, which tells us that it relates to infinity or completeness. We also get a sense of movement when we look at the way the dark and light shades are drawn in. These clues turn out to be very important because the Taiji is telling us that yin yang theory can be used to explain the movements of nature, because it is based on the movement of the seasons, and thus the Wu Xing (五 行, five elements, five phases, five phase movements) are closely related to it.
The Taiji symbol originated from the ancient sages who observed the cycle of the Sun using an eight foot long pole posted in the ground at a right angle to record the position of the Sun’s shadow throughout the year. They found that the length of the year was 365.25 days and then divided the year up into twenty-four segments including the solstices and the equinoxes using the sunrise and Big Dipper positions. They used six concentric circles, marked twenty-four segments points, divided the circle into twenty-four sectors, and then recorded the length of the shadow each day. After connecting the lines and dimming the portion between the solstices they created a picture that looked like the modern day Taiji symbol.
The Taiji symbol is actually a diagram charting the movement of the Sun so that the ancients could then use this information to better understand the world. This scientific breakthrough would allow the ancient sages to better understand our relationship to time and space and give them a starting point for classifying different types of energies.
The yin yang theory background is pertinent to understanding the Wu Xing (五 行, five elements, five phases, five phase movements) because they resonate on many levels. Both the wu xing and yin and yang move in cycles throughout the seasons. One interpretation/understanding of the Wu Xing I came across stated that the elements are not five distinct things, but are one cosmic force, differentiated into five appearances by time and space. Maybe this is good way to think about them because when first learning Chinese medicine many students tend to think of Jin (金, metal) and Mu (木, wood/flora) as being enemies since “Metal chops down Wood”. It is better to think of them as having a complementary relationship, because truly they balance one another out in a physiological state. When the relationship is in balance, Jin/metal works along the Ke (control) cycle to keep Mu in check since wood/flora can become relentless. If Jin over controls
Mu, then our internal “forest” would be destroyed and a pathological process would be underway.
Nature can also be described by Tian Gan Di Zhi (天幹 heavenly stems and 地支 earthly branches). Together, the ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches create the energy of the time and space continuum. Chinese think of the year as energy moving in a circular motion, while in the Western civilization we think of time as linear. The stems and branches were originally a counting system used to keep track of hours, days, months, and years by the ancients after they had discovered the world moves in circles or cycles as proven by the Sun diagram. In the seasons, Jin/metal represents fall and relates to the Tian Gan (heavenly stems) Geng 庚 and Xin 辛, while Mu/wood represents spring and relates to the Tian Gan Jia 甲 and Yi 乙. Jia is the first Tian Gan, and it is classified as yang wood in character, while Yi, the second Tian Gan, is considered yin wood in character. Both are associated with the springtime.
Jia 甲 is picture of a very hard tree with scales or armor around it. The traditional Chinese etymology is the idea of a helmet on a big man. It also had the meaning of a claw gripping tightly on to something, meaning very great strength and protection. Yi 乙 represents the idea of a seed of a plant which is breaking through the earth. Together Jiayi means the movement of life as it bursts open. The spring season represents the movement of Heaven and Earth coming together after being separated in the fall and winter.
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Editors note: I regret having to cut off Delli’s article here, there were really no great stopping points. However, the whole article would be too long to digest on the web in one sitting! In the next part of this article, we will learn more about metal and the interplay between the symbolism of both metal and wood.
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Tags: autumn, Character, classical-chinese-medicine, etymology, fall, five phases, guest-post, Organ systems, Seasons, spring, symbolic-thinking, symbolism, taiji, yin yang symbol, yinyangRelated posts
Rest and activity in the Year of Sagely Living
You might wonder why you haven’t yet seen a post from me about March’s Year of Sagely Living goal. Fittingly enough, I was at a Qigong retreat all weekend in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been with some of the greatest people I know. It was a good way to start off my contemplation of the rhythm of relaxation and focused work in my life! It reminds me that my program, while rigorous and sometimes quite difficult, does try to build in time for rejuvenation - we have a retreat every term! A luxury, no doubt about it.
When conceiving the Year of Sagely Living we decided to focus March, the time of first real visible manifestation of spring, on the balance between activity and rest. This is such a wide topic, there are a variety of possibilities within it. Originally, I explained:
Lung, Yin 寅 (Tiger)- Activity/Rest: This category will contain practices having to do with appropriate cycles of rest and activity in daily life - for instance, appropriate waking times throughout the seasons.
I am reminded to consider the Lung and everything we learned about that organ system in our classes with Heiner Fruehauf . When I read back through all the symbols associated with Lung I see a lot of contrasting elements. This makes sense given the “tension between opposites” that the actual physical Lung deals with. It interfaces between liquid and gas, it is part of what oversees the interchange between carbon dioxide and oxygen… One of the interesting contradictions we’re asked to ponder as we study the Lung organ system is the fact that while the Lung is most often referred to in terms of metal - as per the Neijing Suwen (and many other places) on the organ clock it is solidly placed in the spring! What can this mean?
I have thought of it in many ways over the last couple of years. First, the Lung/metal is in charge of descending the Qi of the body and the wood is responsible for ascending movement. This vital pillar of human physiology serves as the mechanism by which rhythm is maintained in the body. The Lung is readily associated with rhythm - along with the heartbeat our breathing rate is one of those regular things that happen all day, every day, without our even thinking about it.
Another way to look at it is simply by assuming there is something about the Lung which is Fall and something which is Spring. What parts of Lung function are similar to Fall? The Fall is crisp and cool, it is a time when the Yin energy begins to dominate strongly over the Yang. The Lung, too, is a Yin-like environment as an organ and as one of the six conformations. The Taiyin damp aspect of the Lung creates an organ that likes to be relatively cool (though not cold) and wet (though not filled!). There are other similarities, but I will move on. What parts of Lung function are in resonance with Spring energy? I think the best way to understand this is to take a few minutes and do some really deep breathing. See how the light returns to your eyes? See how your energy rebounds?
I will be thinking about the tension and similarity between Fall and Spring as I enter March and this phase of the Year of Sagely Living. I have a few ideas of what one might consider as practices to learn about rest and activity.
1. Chinese organ clock and its application: I have spoken many times on the blog about the Chinese organ clock. One of the pieces of information associated with the clock that most everyone has heard about is the two hour periods associated with each organ system. Here’s a quick rundown of the associations:
- Lung - Fèi 肺 : 3-5 am
- Large Intestine - Dà Cháng 大腸 : 5-7am
- Stomach - Wèi 胃 : 7-9am
- Spleen - Pí 脾 : 9-11am
- Heart - Xīn 心 : 11-1pm
- Small Intestine - Xiǎo Cháng 小腸 : 1-3pm
- Bladder - Páng Guāng 膀胱 : 3-5pm
- Kidney - Shèn 腎 : 5-7pm
- Pericardium - Xīn Bāo 心包 : 7-9pm
- Triple Burner - Sān jiāo 三膲 : 9-11pm
- Gall Bladder - Dǎn 膽 : 11-1am
- Liver - Gān 肝 : 1-3am
While the organ clock is vitally important and often eerily accurate, it is still something we must look at through the lens of individual experience, cultural application and the normal seasonal changes. Regarding individual experience - this is simply recognizing the changing terrain of the human body. While I believe the human body is essentially the same as it was thousands of years ago, certainly the introduction of many human created chemicals and conditions have altered our bodies in some way. Perhaps some are more resistant to these changes than others. Regarding seasonal changes - in most parts of the world the Yang or light parts of the day are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. This means that the organ systems located on the “Yang” or daytime side of the clock will have, comparitively, more time in those months.
As an aside - if you have a Mac running OSX (anything before Leopard) you might want to go over to the site of my colleague, Brandon Brown. He has skillfully and artistically created a widget that takes into account these seasonal changes. At this point, it is somewhat limited in that it is focused on the West coast of the United States. He says he’ll work on a more robust version someday. :) Regardless - the main lesson of the organ clock is to remember that all energy isn’t in all places at all times naturally. Everything in its time, in its season. Regarding all this organ clock business, one possible March practice would be to pay close attention to the flow of energy through my organ systems and consider how I might best organize my time to take advantage of the flow.
2. Appropriate amounts of sleep. In the Neijing Suwen, there are some important discussions about the importance of sleep - in particular, the optimal seasonal variations for sleeping and waking. In general, we understand that sleeping is important to bring the Shen back to be housed in the Heart and to allow the Wei Qi to descend into the organs to begin the process of rejuvenation. Sleep is vital! So, when should I wake? How long should I sleep at night? A natural goal here would be to try to achieve my mythical optimum and see how it affects my life. Another would be to try some kind of artificial sleep schedule, something outside of my optimum, and see how that affects my life.
3. Regulating relaxation. We are all told that we need to take time to relax. But, this means many different things to different people. In Chinese medicine school, we learn a lot about the taxing effect that continuous work has on both the Spleen and the Heart organ systems. Depletion of the Qi and Blood leads to what is often jokingly called “Exhausted Student Syndrome.” On my Qigong retreat, I found myself contemplating whether it is better to work very hard with little time for “relaxation” and then take a stretch of time COMPLETELY off or whether it’s more advantageous to work continuously, but with small regular breaks. Further, what is true relaxation? Watching television? Hiking? Playing a sport? Meditating? It’s a variety of things, to be certain, but what is it for me?
A subset of the relaxation question concerns the importance of taking microbreaks while doing sit down work, especially at the computer. Repetitive strain injury is something all Chinese Medicine students and bloggers should think about. One quick note - some recent software programs help you avoid long stretches at the computer with no break. One simple practice I could incorporate into my daily life is simply to use a program like that and to review my ergonomics at my desk.
I’d be interested to hear how other people think about rest, relaxation and work in their own lives. Please leave your thoughts in the comments. In my next article, released shortly, I will declare my March Year of Sagely Living goal.
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, autumn, fall, focus, human physiology, lung, organ-clock, Seasons, spring, symbolic-thinking, symbolism, Year of Sagely LivingRelated posts
Living in Harmony with the Seasons: Part III - Thriving in Autumn
Tags: autumn, Classical Texts (general), dietary-therapy, fall, seasonal-living, SeasonsRelated posts
Living in Harmony with the Seasons: Part II - The essence of Autumn
This is the second part of a ten part series on living in harmony with the seasons. Read Part 1: Introduction to living in harmony with the seasons.
In the sheet of announcements and farm stories included in my family’s weekly vegetable share from our local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share from Wintergreen Farm the author struggles to understand when she knows that Fall has arrived in the Willamette Valley. In the end, she was talking about the energy of the season. Which got me to thinking about writing the article you’re reading right now. When I conceived of this series on living with the seasons according to Chinese medicine, I knew I really wanted to provide something of value. It would be too easy to throw up a set of traditional correspondences, make some vapid suggestions about eating squash instead of tomatoes and just leave it at that. But, this living with the seasons thing is too important to me for that. Although it is commonly neglected by patients and practitioners alike, seasonal living is a clear command of the ancients. It is a primary pillar in the prevention of disease, and certainly plays a part in the rectification of illness already underway.
I am going to list and explain below what I believe to be the most important pieces of symbolic information commonly associated with Autumn in Chinese medicine. These relatively concrete items represent nodes in a web of representation - they do not complete the picture, they begin it. In the next article, I will expand on these slightly but mostly I will share how these symbols can be used to align yourself with the energy of the season so that you might live more healthfully and appreciate this ever changing world of ours.
Tags: autumn, Classical Texts (general), fall, neijing, Organ systems, seasonal-living, symbolism, theory-to-practice
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