It is the fire element within us that drives us towards creativity and love.
Our internal fire resides at the base of the spine. We call it Ming Men in Chinese Medicine.
When this internal fire is stoked, it blazes upwards to connect with the eternal fire of the pericardium and heart. This fire is what keeps us alive in instinct, and allows us to settle into creativity and desire.
The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine are living in all of us. We naturally embody some more than others. While we may be turned off or bothered by the others.
The Five Elements are:
- Fire (Summer)
- Earth (Late Summer)
- Metal (Autumn)
- Water (Winter)
- Wood (Spring)
Each element has associated organs, season, color, taste, cardinal direction, personality characteristics, and much more.
The Fire Element is associated with the Heart, Pericardium, San Jiao, and Small Intestine.
- Season: Summer
- Taste: Bitter
- Emotion: Joy
- Color: Red
- Sensory organ: Tongue
- Tissues: Blood vessels
- Cardinal direction: South
- Time of day: 11a-1p & 9p-11p
- System: Nervous system, parasympathetic and sympathetic responses
We can use these Five Elements to our favor. One of which is by living in accordance with each season.
These elements also teach us where our personality characteristics are strong and where they may need to be nurtured and honed.
A well-balanced and cared-for fire personality embodies:
Joy, passion, gratitude/appreciation for self and others, awareness of self, thoughts, and emotions, speaking their truth, balancing the need for movement (dance) with rest, and relaxation.
When the fire element is out of balance, there may be excess.
This can be seen by doing and experiencing too much such as overly talkative, social, and extroverted nature, and the overuse of stimulus, like phone, television, loud music, or excess activity.
To maintain and balance your fire element, schedule time for intentional rest, solitude that includes breathing, journaling, and meditation. Seek and maintain relationship with your inner calm.
My wood body type thrives off quick fast movements (fire). I’d rather sprint (fire) than run marathons (water). I prefer to do daily tasks in spurts with frequent breaks than go all day.
Great post. Where can i find more information on elements and personalities and foods with the seasons? SPecific books is what i would prefer to dive iN to. Also if the books are associated With Meridian lines too that would be Cool.
Thank you! Between Heaven and Earth is an excellent book with all the resources you mentioned. It’s written for the general public too. The Fertile Soul by Randine Lewis is also a beautiful read. It’s more about the personalities but has some food and meridian references. Have fun!