One of the limitations of the 5 Element system

[Guest guest]

The 5 Element system uses a list of correspondences. You've started to

learn some of these from Dagmar's Letter From China newsletters.

 

You learned that the Wood meridians/ organs are the Liver and Gallbladder,

that Wind is the Pernicious Evil associated with Wood, its season is spring,

its emotions are anger and irritability (and frustration), its taste is

sour, its sound is a shout, etc.

 

You learned that Fire is associated with the Heart and Small Intestine,

Heat, the early summer, joy and mania,, the bitter taste, laughter, etc.

 

When she gets to Earth, you'll learn that it is associated with the Spleen

and Stoamch, Dampness, late summer, pensiveness and worry, the sweet taste,

song, etc.

 

Metal is associated with the Lung and Large Intestine, Dryness, autumn,

sadness, weeping, etc.

 

Water is associated with the Kidney and Bladder, Cold, winter, fear and

fright, the salty taste, and groans and sighs.

 

A lot of these associations do hold up and can provide insights into

diagnosis and treatment. The Liver is particularly vulnerable to Wind, and

the spring of the year does tend to be the windiest time of the year. But,

not all places follow the same weather sequence. Where I'm living (Arizona)

does. The spring does tend to be the windiest time of the year, early

summer (right now) is the time of our hottest weather, then the monsoon

starts in late June or sometime in July, and it's our dampest time of the

year. Then the monsoon stops sometime in September, and it gets dry again.

And winter is the coldest time of the year here.

 

But other places don't follow this sequence. Many places are quite damp in

early summer and have their worst heat in July and August.

 

Does this mean that there are no practical applications of these

associations. No. It means that the Spleen is particularly vulnerable to

Dampness regardless of when it occurs. The Lung and Large Intestine are

particularly vulnerable to Dryness regardless of the time of year it occurs.

Arizona tends to be dry most of the year except for the monsoon period and

in this area of the state, December. The Southeast of the U.S. tends to be

more damp than most places most of the time. What is considered a low level

of humidity (dryness) in say NC, VA, or TN would be considered very damp in

AZ. It's relative. Conditions of " dryness " in NC that would bring relief to

arthritis suffers who are used to so much worse in that damp area of the

country would bring pain to arthritis sufferers used to AZ's much drier

weather.

 

What you're looking at in TCM is the individual's response to a particular

weather condition. For example, many people who have lived in southern AZ

for some time are uncomfortably cold when daily temperatures only reach the

50s or 60s. Many of us require coats when it gets that cold. But at the

same time we're complaining of the cold, winter visitors from the northern

states and Canada are going about in shirt sleeves. They think it's balmy!

 

Individual problems also will affect people's response to weather. For

example, I consider the 70 degree range to be too chilly. Internal

Deficiency Cold (Yang Deficiency) makes me more vulnerable to External

" cold " than a lot of people, even fellow southern Arizonians are.

 

One thing to pay special attention to are unsual weather conditions. These

are the ones that often affect people the most. Like the summer colds that

come on after a summer cold snap. The problems that arise after

unseasonably warm days in the winter. Many people have trouble only when

their bodies are asked to adjust quickly to unseasonble weather conditions.

For example, most people can handle temperatures that rise gradually

throughout the spring, but not unseasonably hot days. BTW, because of the

great differences in altitude in the West, you can drive from one season

into another in the space of a couple of hours. People in Flagstaff may be

shoveling snow while people in Phoenix are cooling off in their pools.

Riding down the interstate between Flagstaff (at 7,000 ft above sea level)

in late September can be like riding from winter back through fall back into

summer when you reach Phoenix at 800 ft. This can be very hard on people

who are Protective Qi Deficient and who also suffer from Internal imbalances

like Internal Cold or Heat.

 

When considering the effects of weather on health, ask 1). what is normal

for that time of year and season, and 2). does the person have any Internal

imbalances that predispose him/her to being more sensitive than most people

to certain weather conditions. An example of the latter are people with

arthritis being more sensitive to cold, dampness, and/or wind than people

who do not have arthritis.

 

Victoria

 

 

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