Five phase theory and its use in medicine
CORRESPONDENCES OF THE FIVE PHASES
| Correspondence | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water | Wood |
| Yin Organ COS | HT,PC | SP | LU | KI | LV |
| Yang Bowel COS | SI,TH | ST | LI | BL | GB |
| Body fluid,Secretion | Sweat | Phlegm, saliva | Mucus | Saliva, urine | Tears |
| Orifice & sense organ controlled | Tongue, speech, words | Mouth, taste | Nose, smell | Ears, genitals, anus, urethra, hearing | Eyes, vision, foresight |
| Manifests externally or expands into | Face, complexion | Lips, mouth, throat, flesh | Skin & body | Hair on the head | Nails |
| Nourishes or Governs | Blood vessels, arteries, blood cir- culation | Fatty tissue, muscles | Skin & body hair; mucous membranes | Bones, teeth; bone marrow; brain | Tendons, ligaments, muscles |
| Main Temperament, emotions | Joy, happiness excitability manic depressive extrovert | Obsession, worry meditation sympathy, depression greedy | Anguish, grief, melancholy negativity, sympathy | Fright, fear, timidity, phobias, introversion | Anger,irr-itability, depression unstable |
| Verbalisation emotional sound | Laughter, grieving, stuttering excessive speech | Singing, sing-song voice | Weeping, Sobbing, lamenting | Groaning, moaning, humming, yawning, snoring | Shouting, crying out, bossiness |
| Stores or controls the non-material energies of | Conscious-ness; spirit, the will to live, psychic energy | Thoughts, ideas, inspirationsopinions, physical energy | Life energy (Qi) Animal spirit, vital energy | Willpower, ambition | Soul, spirit, Spiritual faculties "First cure the spiritthen cure the body",blood, energy |
| Body flavour, likes or dislikes | Bitter | Sweet | Hot, spicy, pungent | Salty | Acid, sour as in vinegar |
| Creates (->) (via Sheng Cycle) | Earth HT -> SP SI -> ST | Metal SP -> LU ST -> LI | Water LU -> KI LI -> BL | Wood KI -> LV BL -> GB | Fire LV -> HT GB -> SI |
| Destroys (X) (via Ko Cycle) | Metal HT X LI SI X LU | Water SP X BL ST X KI | Wood LU X GB LI X LV | Fire KI X SI BL X HT | Earth LV X ST GB X SP |
| Governs (via reverse Ko Cycle) | Water KI, BL | Wood LV, GB | Fire HT, SI | Earth SP, ST | Metal LU, LI |
| Exertion (which weakens) | Too much walking | Too much sitting | Too much lying down | Too much standing | Too much use of eyes |
| Body Time | 1100-1500h 1900-2300h | 0700-1100h | 0300-0700h | 1500-1900h | 2300-0300h |
| Face Colour | Red | Yellow | White | Blue-Black | Green |
| Climate (Good/bad) | Heat | Damp, Humidity,Late Summer | Dryness | Cold | Wind |
| Season | Summer | Late Summer | Autumn | Winter | Spring |
| Growth/development | Growth | Transformation | Reaping | Storing | Germination |
| Direction | South | Centre | West | North | East |
| Dreams | Fires,blazes, looking for fire; fear & laughter hills; mountains towns, streets | Hunger,no food/drink, buildings walls and houses, playing music; chanting; ruined buildings; body heavy; can't rise; hills; marshes; storms | White objects, cruel; killing of people crying; flying in the air; strange metal objects; fields; country-side; landscape, frightful dreams | Water, drowning, ships; fright; fears; back & waist feeling open & split apart, ravines walking & excursions | Being trapped, mushrooms; lying under tree ; afraidto get up; trees in mountain forest; battles & fight; cutting open one's body |
| Meat | Mutton, lamb dog | Beef | Horse | Pork, fish | Fowl,chicken |
| Vegetable | Coarse greens | scallions | onions | leeks | mallows |
| Fruit | Plum | apricot | chestnut | dates | peaches |
| Grain | Millet | millet,rye | rice | beans, peas, wheat | |
| Note | Chih | Kung | Shang | Yu | Chio |
| Number | 7 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 8 |
In the Ko Cycle, there are two types of Qi transfer (a) Therapeutic Qi transfer and (b) Pathological Qi transfer.
a. In the Ko Cycle, transfer of Therapeutic Qi is always from Yin to Yang or Yang to Yin only. This will be discussed later.
b. In the Ko Cycle, transfer of Pathological Qi is always Yin to Yin or Yang to Yang, as follows (X = weakens or damages or controls), i.e. Kidney disease can damage the Heart and Heart disease can damage the Lung; Gallbladder disease can damage the Stomach:
| Ko Cycle | Fire | X | Metal | X | Wood | X | Earth | X | Water | X | Fire |
| Yang to Yang transfer | SI | X | LI | X | GB | X | ST | X | HT | X | SI |
| Yin to Yin transfer | HT | X | LU | X | LV | X | SP | X | KI | X | HT |
The distinction between pathological transfer of Qi (Yin -> Yin; Yang -> Yang) and the therapeutic transfer (Yin -> Yang; Yang -> Yin) is most important in diagnosis and therapy.
In the Five Phase Cycle the term Heart, HT etc refers not only to the heart organ but to all attributes of HEART (i.e.) Function, COS and Correspondences. This principle is applied to all COSs. Thus, when a master acupuncturist diagnoses a Deficiency in HT or Excess in LI, it does not necessarily mean physical weakness of the heart organ or hyperactivity of the colon organ. Rather, it means that the functions of HT are Deficient or that the functions of LI are Excessive. (There may be physical changes in the respective organs also). If the condition is not treated, physical changes will almost certainly occur in due course.