Wu xing, transformation of metal into water

[Tactile]

Hello Dao bums,

 

I have a back to basics moment and I'm pondering the wu xing. I'm looking for perspectives on how you look at / explain the relationship of metal and water in the sheng cycle. For every other element pair the generative aspect is very clear, but this has always seemed a bit opaque to me, so I'm wondering if there's something that I've missed. Any ideas?

[Uroboros]

One way of looking at is is that metal condenses moisture into water.

[Daeluin]

Nice question. I've come to look at this in several ways.

First, what is the Metal Phase? In cyclical momentum wood is growth (lesser yang), culminating with expression, fire (greater yang), withdrawing and condensing to return back to the origin, metal (lesser yin), and completing the return back to the origin and finding stillness, water (greater yin). Earth may be created by fire, but is also a central phase that helps all of the other transition between their phases.

When we draw a circle on a piece of paper, stand up and sit down, inhale and exhale, follow our day from wake to sleep, transition between spring, summer, autumn, and winter, or do anything at all, there are beginnings and climaxes, conclusions and returns that all follow the principles of this cyclical ebb and flow. Often all at once in wondrous orchestral overlapping of layers.

So Metal is governed by the principle of settling and returning this energy back to the origin.

Metal is how we discern things, how we judge things, how we use our senses to be selective in regards to the myriad details that have been presented to us. Metal is the filter that allows us to see things differently from others. Metal is the separation of the ripened fruit from the parent.

Conversation is a good place to get to the heart of what Metal really is. Someone opens the door with a new topic (wood), and that energy is explored and expressed (fire), it blossoms - from this blossoming we then go into the metal phase - we take what was opened up for us and change its course. Often we do not return it back to the origin, but instead take it into a new direction and open a new door. This is more of the rigid nature of metal that forces the situation to adapt to its needs rather than adapting itself to the situation. Much like roads that limit the direction we might travel in - we adhere to fixed and rigid structures of Metal, and these structures lack a sense of adaptability.

Liu Yiming speaks of the five phase interactions in terms of Virtues. He says when Metal rests upon the direction of the higher virtue of Fire, Social Harmony, then Metal is Just without bias.

When metal is directed by fire it, it stops being rigid in behavior, stops judging based on its own needs. Instead the fire softens it up and it adapts to the needs of the situation, accepting the situation in its entirety without needing to pick and choose. There's no "I hear you saying this but I think this." No, in order for the energy to return it needs complete acceptance - the Metal has to completely dissolve its judgments to become fluid.

So it is the fire that melts the metal that creates the water, or fluid phase.

It should also be noted that in situations where there is an excess of water or metal phase energies (yin) (think of an advanced calculus class), the metal is lacking any warmth to soften it and becomes very rigid in its judgments. In turn it actually has a freezing affect on the water phase. In turn wood has trouble using this frozen water as a resource to grow from. Perhaps this is why many people fall asleep in these advanced math courses - it takes a decent amount of passion and will power (fire) to balance out all that metal and avoid having all the excess metal freeze the life out of you.

The seasonal ripening of fruit is a good example. The Summer rules the expression of the flower which matures into the fruit, and then the Metal phase rules the gradual separation of that energy from parent and child until the fruit falls from the tree. As the fruit allows itself to rot or be digested, its shape is dissolve and its nutrients and energies surrender the shape of their ego to fluidly adapt to their new environments in total acceptance.

As a wanderer, we pick and choose what is of value for us to eat, taking some and leaving some, but are allowing ourselves to adapt to what is in front of us, which results in a fluid like behavior as we are constantly changing where we might find different fruits that are ripe enough to consume. But over time perhaps we learn to remember the locations of all the fruit trees in the area and come to rely on them. This is where the metal starts becoming more rigid and inflexible in its behavior. Over time perhaps these specific trees die and suddenly the rigid metal we've created is forced to reforge it's rigid patterns, which can only be done by undergoing the heat of a fire intense enough to melt the amount of rigidity created in the metal - the long period of starvation building up pressure and need as one gradually transcends the old pattern, wandering hungrily on and on until coming to a new fruit tree - perhaps now one will rely on this fruit tree, and thus the metal was forged, melted and reforged, but still eludes true and sustainable adaptability.

Taken to a further extreme modern beings will plant trees in fields so that no adapibility is needed. This is forging a very tough and hard piece of metal, one that does not adapt to the environment at all and may be used for a long time. But eventually it will break. Think of how the massive stretches of land covered in Orange trees have been attacked by various blights threatening their monotonous existence. Eventually they will need to be reforged into something else.

Or perhaps think of rule based justice systems. These metal type rules are very rigid and without flexibility. Principles have flexibility, adaptability; rules are fixed. These metal rules serve as fences to guide and shape behavior, but there are holes in the fence that are constantly attacked and exploited, and then new rules are forged to fill in those gaps. But as this continues the whole fence becomes unnecessarily heavy and constricting until it eventually restricts all manner of freedom for creation and is rebelled against. Better for these fence chinks to find some way to become more fluid and adaptable as directed by the given situation.

Metal that has returned to water remains as a seed within that water. The minerals and nutrients contained within water are part of what nourishes us.

In inner alchemy, the golden elixir is associated with the fluid in the lungs. Lungs are ruled by the metal phase. Gold is a metal that is pure and soft, malleable, easily adaptable. The color is yellow, like our Sun, and represents the Center of things. The fluid in the lungs takes on these qualities when imbued with certain other components and energies within, emerging as a light that has substance, a substance that is adaptable and pure, centered without need for rigid structure.

Hope this helps.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Daeluin

[soaring crane]

Metal provides the minerals that make water useful. Distilled water is good for your clothes iron and refilling old car batteries, but not much else. The phases don't "create" one another. They're all there all the time.

[Vitalii]

Hello Dao bums,

 

I have a back to basics moment and I'm pondering the wu xing. I'm looking for perspectives on how you look at / explain the relationship of metal and water in the sheng cycle. For every other element pair the generative aspect is very clear, but this has always seemed a bit opaque to me, so I'm wondering if there's something that I've missed. Any ideas?

 

This problem exists only if you consider that metal and water (and others) are physical things. Many people make mistake like that and then think how metal transforms into water.  

 

If to translate Wu Xing as five elements, it may misguide the understanding. Wu Xing is five phases, five different states. Wu Xing is not something stable like elements, Wu Xing is the dynamic states of yin and yang.

 

Therefore:

Wood - growing yang

Fire - strong yang

Earth - balance yang and yin

Metal - growing yin

Water - strong yin.

 

With some time, growing yin can become strong yin, that is how the metal transforms into the water, physical metal and water do not have anything to do with it. Metal and water are just names used for growing yin and strong yin. 

[Tactile]

 

This problem exists only if you consider that metal and water (and others) are physical things. Many people make mistake like that and then think how metal transforms into water.

 

If to translate Wu Xing as five elements, it may misguide the understanding. Wu Xing is five phases, five different states. Wu Xing is not something stable like elements, Wu Xing is the dynamic states of yin and yang.

 

Therefore:

Wood - growing yang

Fire - strong yang

Earth - balance yang and yin

Metal - growing yin

Water - strong yin.

 

With some time, growing yin can become strong yin, that is how the metal transforms into the water, physical metal and water do not have anything to do with it. Metal and water are just names used for growing yin and strong yin. 

 

Yes, I see what you are saying. But with all the other generating relationships the correspondence to their physical counterparts is quite obvious and with this relationship not so much - hence the question

 

One way of looking at is is that metal condenses moisture into water.

 

Yes, thank you! Metal = contracting / condensing movement --> condensation of water. Metal also is related to structure of things, so how about this: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/this-tower-pulls-drinking-water-out-of-thin-air-180950399/?no-ist - using the concept of metal to create water out of thin air

 

Metal provides the minerals that make water useful. Distilled water is good for your clothes iron and refilling old car batteries, but not much else. The phases don't "create" one another. They're all there all the time.

 

Thanks! That's also a very good point, in nature things don't exist in separation. Regarding your point about the phases not creating one another, how would you explain the sheng cycle then? Isn't that what it's about?

[soaring crane]

Thanks! That's also a very good point, in nature things don't exist in separation. Regarding your point about the phases not creating one another, how would you explain the sheng cycle then? Isn't that what it's about?

 

no, it's not really "creating", even though it's always referred to as the "creative" circuit. Think of it maybe more as passing the baton in a relay race. Each runner on the team has his strengths and weaknesses. That might be helpful, but isn't really accurate either, though, because:

 

An accurate Wuxing daigram isn't made of five big circles layed out in a pentagon. It's made of five groups of all five phases, with one of the phases displayed as clearly dominant, each in its turn. In the water phase, e.g., the water image would be largest, but the metal and wood would be maybe half as large while fire and earth half of that. Just as a visualization of the sheng circuit.

 

So, in a relay race with this constellation, all five members of the team are running together, with one of them being the lead runner while the others support him/her. Hmmm, kind of like road bicycle race teams, come to think of it.

[Daeluin]

Metal condenses steam into water, and water into ice. But even steam is in a condensed state relative to something else. And even ice may be condensed further. So it isn't so much about creation as it is transformation of shape. And even when one shape (or phase of shape) appears dominant relative to its environment, relative to potential it may still exhibit the opposite shape. Ice may appear condensed relative to water, but relative to phases within ice it may be relatively expanded. Supposedly at high enough pressures ice becomes a metal.

 

Haha, so perhaps it is fire that 'creates' water after all, not metal.

 

The whole point of the system is that none of these phases are static - they are all in some phase of transformation within change.

[Gerard]

It works as metal (son) being the minerals contained within the earth (mother), and those minerals generate water (rivers and streams).

 

"A river begins on high ground or in hills or mountains..." (River)

[Fazeng]

 

This problem exists only if you consider that metal and water (and others) are physical things. Many people make mistake like that and then think how metal transforms into water.  

 

If to translate Wu Xing as five elements, it may misguide the understanding. Wu Xing is five phases, five different states. Wu Xing is not something stable like elements, Wu Xing is the dynamic states of yin and yang.

 

Therefore:

Wood - growing yang

Fire - strong yang

Earth - balance yang and yin

Metal - growing yin

Water - strong yin.

 

With some time, growing yin can become strong yin, that is how the metal transforms into the water, physical metal and water do not have anything to do with it. Metal and water are just names used for growing yin and strong yin. 

 

If Metal is just growing Yin why it called Metal? Why not 'Stone' or something else?

[soaring crane]

If Metal is just growing Yin why it called Metal? Why not 'Stone' or something else?

There are a lot of reasons. One of them is that metal is for making slicing tools which we use to separate the good from the bad. Metal is among other things the ability to let go of things that are damaging us. Think about the large intestine. And also the way the lungs filter out bad influences at the other end of the chain.

[Taomeow]

Metal provides the minerals that make water useful. Distilled water is good for your clothes iron and refilling old car batteries, but not much else. The phases don't "create" one another. They're all there all the time.

 

You are describing the static state, wuji.  In the motion aspect of tao, they do create one another, but it's easier to understand if you don't think of "elements" but rather of "phases of qi" or "moments in the process."  The Metal moment is solid metal only for a fraction of the whole Metal phase of the cosmic process of qi-in-motion.  Melt it with Fire (Fire Controls Metal) and you have your liquid flow as a pattern of motion of this type of qi.  Metal does not generate physical water as readily for observation as Wood generates Fire, but Metal phase of qi generates the fluid-flowing-liquid manifestations of qi, the attributes that then find their full expression in the next phase, Water.   

[thelerner]

extra credit.

Can anyone talk about how this might work in our bodies? 

How internally in 5 element theory the organ/gods turn metal into water?

[Daeluin]

 

extra credit.

Can anyone talk about how this might work in our bodies? 

How internally in 5 element theory the organ/gods turn metal into water?

 

Zhong Lu Chuan Dao Ji, The Teachings of Immortals Chung and Lu, tl Eva Wong.

 

A rather arcane text about immortality and internal alchemy - has quite a bit on how the five phases operate in the body in different ways.

 

 

 

Lu asked:

 

"So, this is how the five elements interact with the seasons. May I ask how do they interact inside us?"

 

Chung said:

 

"The human head is round and the legs are angular. Therefore humans take on the shape of the sky and the earth. When yin descends, yang rises. The movement of the vapors of yin and yang within us parallels the workings of the sky and the earth. The kidneys are water, the heart is fire, the liver is wood, the lungs are metal, and the spleen is earth. When the five elements give birth to each other, water creates wood, wood creates fire, fire creates earth, earth creates metal, and metal creates water. That which gives birth is called the mother and that which is born is called the son. When the five elements tame each other, water tames fire, fire tames metal, metal tames wood, wood tames earth, and earth tames water. That which tames is called the husband and that which is tamed is called the wife."

 

[Note from dae: These days we tame each other mutually, but it helps to understand the symbolisms used in a patriarchal era.]

 

"In the mother-son relationship, the vapor of the kidneys strengthens the vapor of the liver, the vapor of the liver strengthens the vapor of the heart, the vapor of the heart strengthens the vapor of the spleen, the vapor of the spleen strengthens the vapor of the lungs, and the vapor of the lungs strengthens the vapor of the kidneys. In the husband-wife relationship, the vapor of the kidneys tames the vapor of the heart, the vapor of the heart tames the vapor of the lungs, the vapor of the lungs tames the vapor of the liver, the vapor of the liver tames the vapor of the spleen, and the vapor of the spleen tames the vapor of the kidneys. The kidneys are the husband of the heart, the mother of the liver, the wife of the spleen, and the son of the lungs. The liver is the husband of the spleen, the mother of the heart, the wife of the lungs, and the son of the kidneys. The heart is the husband of the lungs, the mother of the spleen, the wife of the kidneys, and the son of the liver. The lungs are the husband of the liver, the mother of the kidneys, the wife of the heart, and the son of the spleen. The spleen is the husband of the kidneys, the mother of the lungs, the wife of the liver, and the son of the heart.

 

"Internally the heart is manifested in the meridians; externally it is manifested as complexion. Its opening is in the tongue. It tames the lungs and is tamed by the kidneys. In this respect it follows the principles of the husband-wife relationship. When the heart encounters the liver, it is strengthened. When it encounters the spleen, its strength is diminished. In this respect it follows the principle of the mother-son relationship.

 

"Internally the liver is manifested int he tendons; externally it is manifested as the finger- and toenails. Its openings are in the eyes. It tames the spleen and is tamed by the lungs. In this respect it follows the principles of the husband-wife relationship. When the liver encounters the kidneys, it is strengthened. When it encounters the heart, its strength is diminished. In this respect it follows the principle of the mother-son relationship.

 

"Internally the lungs are manifested as the hollow organs; externally they are manifested as pores on the skin. Their openings are the nostrils. They tame the liver and are tamed by the heart. In this respect they follow the principles of the husband-wife relationship. When the lungs encounter the spleen, they are strengthened. When they encounter the kidneys, their strength is diminished. In this respect they follow the mother-son relationship.

 

"Internally the spleen is manifested as the viscera. It nourishes the heart, kidneys, lungs, and liver. Externally it is manifested as the skin. Its opening is the mouth, and during inhalation and exhalation, it tames the kidneys and is tamed by the liver. In this respect it follows the principles of the husband-wife relationship. When the spleen encounters the heart, it is strengthened. When it encounters the lungs, its strength is diminished. In this respect it follows the principle of the mother-son relationship. These are the ways in which the five elements nourish and tame each other inside the body. The ways in which vapor is transferred, strengthened, and weakened are all embodied in the relationships among the husband, wife, mother, and son."

 

Lu said:

 

The heart belongs to the element fire. How can we make the fire sink? The kidneys belong to the element water. How can we make the water rise? The spleen belongs to the element earth. Since earth is in the middle, the spleen will be strengthened when it receives the sinking fire. However doesn't this diminish the strength of the water below it? The lungs belong to the element metal. Since metal is on top, the lungs will be damaged when they encounter the fire below. How can they create water? The elements that can nourish each other are far away, thus making it difficult to bring them together. On the other hand, the elements that tame each other are near, thus making it difficult to pull them apart. If this is true, the five elements will mutually damage each other. How can we solve this problem?"

 

Chung said:

 

"The undifferentiated vapor directs the five elements to return to the origin. The primordial yang rises to give birth to the true water. The true water transmutes to give birth to the true vapor. The true vapor transmutes to give birth to the yang spirit.

 

"Right from the start, when the positions of the five elements are established, the husband-wife relationship emerges. The kidneys are water. In water is metal, and metal naturally gives birth to water. Therefore, when you begin your cultivation, you must recognize the metal within the water. Water is naturally tamed by earth. Therefore, when you gather the medicine, you must get water to obey earth. ...."

[Daeluin]

extra credit.

Can anyone talk about how this might work in our bodies? 

How internally in 5 element theory the organ/gods turn metal into water?

 

Somewhat more to point about metal and water....

 

Chung said:

 

...

 

The heart creates fluid. However, it cannot do it alone. In order for the fluid to emerge from the heart, the fluid of the lungs must descend to direct the fluid out of the heart. When the flow of the fluid follows the husband-wife relationship, it will first move up and then down to return to the lower tan-t'ien. This process is called 'the wife returning to the palace of the husband.' The kidneys create vapor. However, they cannot do it alone. In order for the vapor to emerge from the kidneys, the vapor of the bladder must rise to direct the vapor out of the kidneys. When the flow of the vapor follows the mother-son relationship, it will first move down and then up to gather at the middle tan-t'ien. This process is called 'the husband returning to the palace of the wife.' The vapor of the liver directs the vapor of the kidneys. The vapor first flows down and thenup toward the heart. The heart is fire, and when the two vapors interact, the lungs will be bathed in steam. When the fluid of the lungs descends to the heart, the fluid of the heart is created. When this fluid emerges and does not leak out of the body, it is called the true water. The fluid of the lungs directs the fluid of the heart. The fluid first flows upward and then down to the kidneys. The kidneys are water, and when the two waters interact, the bladder will be immersed in moisture. When the vapor of the bladder rises to the kidneys, the vapor of the kidneys is created. When this vapor emerges and does not escape from the body, it is called the true fire."

[soaring crane]

You are describing the static state, wuji.  In the motion aspect of tao, they do create one another, but it's easier to understand if you don't think of "elements" but rather of "phases of qi" or "moments in the process."  The Metal moment is solid metal only for a fraction of the whole Metal phase of the cosmic process of qi-in-motion.  Melt it with Fire (Fire Controls Metal) and you have your liquid flow as a pattern of motion of this type of qi.  Metal does not generate physical water as readily for observation as Wood generates Fire, but Metal phase of qi generates the fluid-flowing-liquid manifestations of qi, the attributes that then find their full expression in the next phase, Water.   

 

Thank you TM :-)

 

But I can't think of it as "creating" one another anymore. Affecting one another, yes, but not creating. As you said, they're there, in the wuji state, without movement. Five potentialites, or whatever is the best term for it. Five possibilities. Five states. And all five of them are there at every stage, just in different concentrations. Movement is the dynamic of them drawing and repelling one another according to their individual special properties and the way they react to one another (I feel like I'm describing living creatures, lol)

 

For me, the liquid flow of melted metal is more like an aid in visualizing the process. The heart and lungs are next to one another and the heart helps the lung qi to sink to the kidneys, yes, but the kidneys are already water and always have been, or better said, the water potentiality was there first and the kidneys formed around it. I guess I just like wuji

 

What really has to happen in the lungs is filtering out the bad qi and allowing the good qi to pass on into the system. Same as the LI that has the task of eliminating the bad and absorbing the last bits of good. Metal is discernement.

[Taomeow]

Thank you TM :-)

 

But I can't think of it as "creating" one another anymore. Affecting one another, yes, but not creating. As you said, they're there, in the wuji state, without movement. Five potentialites, or whatever is the best term for it. Five possibilities. Five states. And all five of them are there at every stage, just in different concentrations. Movement is the dynamic of them drawing and repelling one another according to their individual special properties and the way they react to one another (I feel like I'm describing living creatures, lol)

 

For me, the liquid flow of melted metal is more like an aid in visualizing the process. The heart and lungs are next to one another and the heart helps the lung qi to sink to the kidneys, yes, but the kidneys are already water and always have been, or better said, the water potentiality was there first and the kidneys formed around it. I guess I just like wuji

 

What really has to happen in the lungs is filtering out the bad qi and allowing the good qi to pass on into the system. Same as the LI that has the task of eliminating the bad and absorbing the last bits of good. Metal is discernement.

 

 

I do see you like wuji.   But wuxing is phenomenal only in Later Heaven.  In wuji, it's a potential. In taiji, it manifests.  The way it manifests is by creation, destruction, and control. 

 

OK, I gave an example of the yang end of the spectrum of Metal qi properties -- let me give you an example of its properties on the yin end of its spectrum, to better illustrate how it generates Water.  (Mind you, it doesn't mean that Metal comes "before" Water -- it's a continuous cycle, in which Water actually comes first -- but that's for another discussion, one that has already taken place.) 

 

One has to take certain foundational taoist concepts to heart -- of these, an important one, proclaimed many times, is that "external form does not matter," "external forms deceive," "external forms blind" and so on.  So, with this in mind, let's follow the reasoning behind the ancients including Air and Wind in the Metal category.  The form of the element Metal does not matter -- this phase of qi was dubbed Metal for convenience and for the fact that the element metal, objects made of metal, etc., that are part of this phase (and nowhere near all of it) is readily observable.  It's a mere memory aid though.  What we are dealing with when we talk Metal is a set of behaviors.  

 

So,  why is Wind "Metal?"  Because of the properties and behaviors of this phase of qi -- penetrating, piercing, cutting.  It has no form though.  Doesn't matter.  It behaves like Metal, so it is.  

 

Now Air.  It's a gas, right?  On the extreme yin end of the spectrum, you can get straightforward liquid by condensing it -- liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, etc..  Here, again, we observe the property of Metal "generating Water" in form.  But it contains this property, this behavior, albeit hidden by certain forms, in all its forms and all its formless manifestations, it's just that one has to push it to its yin or yang extreme to observe and perceive it with human senses.  But it's always there.

 

Properties of phases flow into each other in sequence -- that's what "generate" means.  Life on Earth, a Wood phase phenomenon, is generated by Water, and Water is readily observable within it.  But not in the external form of, say, an elephant or an oak tree -- even though their water content is comparable to that of a jellyfish. 

 

In general, taoism views all of creation as a family where "parents" generate "children" -- it's not a mechanical sequence at any stage, it is literally giving birth to what comes next and nourishing it.  The bagua (Eight Trigrams) are also a family.  Each trigram consists of "family members."  Yin and yang in their primordial state are progenitors -- Tai Yin and Tai Yang -- Great yin and Great yang -- whose posterity, Shao Yin and Shao Yang (Lesser yin and Lesser yang), proceed to generate whatever else comes into being.   And so on.  "Generate" is a very basic concept in relation to the cosmic process of Conception-Growth-Fruition-Consummation.  Bagua and wuxing are methods to analyze this process and its behaviors, and have very little to do with "elements" which its certain phases/moments/behaviors manifest.    

Edited March 11, 2015 by Taomeow

[Daeluin]

Edited March 11, 2015 by Daeluin

[Daeluin]

So,  why is Wind "Metal?"  Because of the properties and behaviors of this phase of qi -- penetrating, piercing, cutting.  It has no form though.  Doesn't matter.  It behaves like Metal, so it is.  

 

Wind certainly penetrates and pierces, but cutting? The essence of wind is ever connected and though it may bite at times, I don't think of it as having a separating aspect. The wind that penetrates and pierces tends to stir and mix things together rather than separating them. All of these behaviors of wind are very wood phase like. The more extreme activity of wind as it rushes between extremes of temperature is nothing but control by the Metal phase. And certainly Metal may condense what is expanded, stopping it short of its expansive endeavors, returning it to stillness. But I would say that Wind is Wood, and what you are describing is how Wood is controlled by Metal. The Wind itself is Yin Wood, it is receptive at heart. Funny this coming up as we've just entered the month of Yin Wood.

 

The descriptors definitely throw us off. Especially water, or even fluid.

Perhaps something more appropriate:

Expansion, Expression, Contraction, Incubation. With "Earth" facilitating the link between them all.

 

Whatever is expanded becomes part of the new layer of creation. Certainly some of this "water" may be left behind as a reserve - people will focus on what is moving and what it happens, untroubled by what is left in stillness.

 

Take a Mountain as the "Water Phase." It is a resource of stone, it is in stillness. Some masons turn the Mountain into a quarry and ship it off as blocks of marble. This is the Wood, expansion, movement phase. Then some artisans turn it into sculptures or palaces. This is the Fire, expression, creation phase. Then a rebellion takes place and the sculptures and palaces are torn down. This is the Metal, contraction, settling, dying phase. Over time the old pieces of marble settle deeper and deeper into the earth, returning to stillness and incubation. This is the Water phase. There is nothing water like or fluid like about this, but it follows the principles of the cycle.

 

The same can be applied to the rise and fall of the Sun and Moon. Dawn and Sunrise are a new awakening, a new beginning, an expansion and building and growing of Yang energy. The Sun reaches its zenith at the peak of Yang and as evening draws more near it begins to settle toward the horizon. The warmth of the day wanes and some things become very still. As midnight passes the cycle begins again.

 

Waking up, getting our bodies moving.

Fully awake, going about our day.

Overwhelmed, stressed out, tired, eventually we agree to settle down again.

Asleep and still we replenish our reserves.

 

So the Lungs help to settle the good air/qi into our body and return it to the source of energy reserves in the kidneys where the expansion cycle begins again. The air/qi is not Metal itself, but is controlled by the Metal phase dynamic of the Lungs.

 

The fluid state of water is expanded into vapor by the dynamic of heat (greater yang) and is condensed into ice by the dynamic of cold (greater yin). Lesser yang and yin are the beginnings of heat and cold. The established cycles of the 5 phases serve to maintain a equilibrium. In the body movement and expression (yang, wood, fire) urge the water to become vapor, qi. The contraction and stillness (yin, metal, water) condense the vapor back into fluid and allow it to return to the origin of the cycle.

 

This is merely a cycling system that revolves around fluid and vapor (and spirit). There are others that revolve around the ebb and flow of solid and fluid, or express dynamics within these states. So "Water" is only an appropriate term when water happens to fill the role of stillness in the cycle. Solid, Liquid and Gas are some of what the 5 phases change, but they are not the phases themselves.

 

The phase of earth, which I haven't spoken much on, is the most important. Earth holds all of these complex expansions and contractions together as a whole system, constantly maintaining and adjusting the system's balance. Even as it is placed in the center, it is directed by what expands, is nourished by what expresses, and even as what expresses fades to nourish earth, earth is fed what it needs to know to begin the settling and contracting, and directs the stilling. Without the "Earth" phase, things would be out of balance, like on most planets that are either gaseous or solid. But even they have their relative changes and cycles.

[Taomeow]

I've come across this take on Wind too, and upon contemplation deemed it erroneous.  It depends on how a particular school sees Wind and its behavior -- as a manifestation of Air or of what Air/Metal controls -- Wood.  I have seen wind control trees, so I side with the school that sees it as extension of Air-Metal. 

 

As for "cutting" action, in my native tongue there's even a word for this kind of wind -- literally "cutting wind," and you have to have experienced that climate to know that it does cut -- not as deeply as a metal knife, but it's exactly the same kind of impact, only of more diffuse nature.  Prolonged exposure of unprotected skin to such wind will indeed result in cracking and even bleeding.  Also the "cutting wind" leaves its mark on the landscape -- I've seen rocks and boulders and mountain ranges carved by such winds.  

 

The wind of Wind-Water, feng shui, is the Metal wind.  Carving and shaping, like a knife. 

[Taoist Texts]

叔器問：「經世書『水火土石』，石只是金否？」

曰：「它分天地間物事皆是四：如日月星辰，水火土石，雨風露雷，皆是相配。」

又問：「金生水，如石中出水，是否？」

曰：「金是堅凝之物，到這裏堅實後，自拶得水出來。」

 

《邵子之書》

 

The student asked: ‘The book of governing’ lists 4 elements as [water, fire, soil, stone], is the ‘stone’ here means ‘metal’ or not?

The teacher explained: this is a division of all things between the Heaven and Earth into 4 categories, just like [sun, moon, stars, constellations] or [water, fire, soil, stone] or [rain, wind, dew, thunder], these are all matching categories like that.

The student asked further: when they say ‘metal generates water’ is it  because ‘the spring water flows out of rock formations’?

The teacher explained: the metal is a solidified and congealed thing, after it  hardens and stiffens like that, its internal pressure squeezes the water out.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhu_Xi

Edited March 11, 2015 by Taoist Texts

[Enishi]

One has to take certain foundational taoist concepts to heart -- of these, an important one, proclaimed many times, is that "external form does not matter," "external forms deceive," "external forms blind" and so on.  So, with this in mind, let's follow the reasoning behind the ancients including Air and Wind in the Metal category.  The form of the element Metal does not matter -- this phase of qi was dubbed Metal for convenience and for the fact that the element metal, objects made of metal, etc., that are part of this phase (and nowhere near all of it) is readily observable.  It's a mere memory aid though.  What we are dealing with when we talk Metal is a set of behaviors.  

 

So,  why is Wind "Metal?"  Because of the properties and behaviors of this phase of qi -- penetrating, piercing, cutting.  It has no form though.  Doesn't matter.  It behaves like Metal, so it is.  

 

Now Air.  It's a gas, right?  On the extreme yin end of the spectrum, you can get straightforward liquid by condensing it -- liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, etc..  Here, again, we observe the property of Metal "generating Water" in form.  But it contains this property, this behavior, albeit hidden by certain forms, in all its forms and all its formless manifestations, it's just that one has to push it to its yin or yang extreme to observe and perceive it with human senses.  But it's always there.

 

If I could like this more then once I would, given that I have strong Metal (or Air in terms of Western systems), and I've spent a long time trying to understand what this means for me.

 

This explanation caused an immediate intuitive "click" in my awareness. The penetrating aspect of Air/Metal is something I've noticed before when doing certain kinds of focusing exercises.

[Taomeow]

If I could like this more then once I would, given that I have strong Metal (or Air in terms of Western systems), and I've spent a long time trying to understand what this means for me.

 

This explanation caused an immediate intuitive "click" in my awareness. The penetrating aspect of Air/Metal is something I've noticed before when doing certain kinds of focusing exercises.

 

Thank you for the validation.    Yes, people who are no strangers to various "know thyself" routines usually recognize their own proprietary phase (and the strongest dominant one too, which may or may not coincide with the "self" phase) on many levels of their makeup, sometimes instantly, the way you recognize yourself instantly when looking in a mirror.  One of the reasons I love wuxing analysis is that it usually aids self-discovery, self-acceptance, and when necessary, self-correction.  Makes it very easy to catch oneself being pulled/drawn/propelled in particular directions by very fundamental forces, much deeper than (though not excluding) psychological traits, social conditioning, habits, etc., and consciously decide if this particular drive is to be just acknowledged, accepted without judgment, or resisted.  I make at least half of my choices with my own wuxing phases being the deciding factor -- but if I was one hundred percent wise, I'd shoot for one hundred percent. 

 

In the human blood (as well as in the blood of all vertebrates), Metal is most prominently active as iron-containing oxygen, the transport metalloprotein known as hemoglobin.  It is in charge of carrying oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.  Taoist scientists who determined that Lungs, i.e. the whole organ-system-function in charge of respiration (metabolizing Air, in other words) is of the Metal phase, didn't have microscopes to see molecules of iron engaged in this function, but their own methods discerned it without fail.   

[Daeluin]

I've come across this take on Wind too, and upon contemplation deemed it erroneous.  It depends on how a particular school sees Wind and its behavior -- as a manifestation of Air or of what Air/Metal controls -- Wood.  I have seen wind control trees, so I side with the school that sees it as extension of Air-Metal. 

 

I suppose I'd answer that with this:

 

One has to take certain foundational taoist concepts to heart -- of these, an important one, proclaimed many times, is that "external form does not matter," "external forms deceive," "external forms blind" and so on.  So, with this in mind, let's follow the reasoning behind the ancients including Air and Wind in the Metal category.  The form of the element Metal does not matter -- this phase of qi was dubbed Metal for convenience and for the fact that the element metal, objects made of metal, etc., that are part of this phase (and nowhere near all of it) is readily observable.  It's a mere memory aid though.  What we are dealing with when we talk Metal is a set of behaviors.  

 

Here you say the form of the element Metal does not matter, and I would apply this to Wind as well.

 

Wind is part of the layer of 8 changing elemental forces, not the five.

 

This is my most favorite part of Taoism - when two schools conflict on one Layer, all we need to do is step back to an earlier Layer. One of the first Layers is simply duality, polarity - Yin and Yang. As creation unfolds new Layers arise, but Yin and Yang remain evident in any of those layers as well. This principle applies to all layers - the seed of the parent is expressed in the child, and within the child can be seen every possible layer.

 

So following this principle, any of the 8 bagua elemental forces will also contain the 5 phases.

 

In terms of Air, it is just a substance which the forces of the Layers act upon. The form does not matter - how it changes matters. A person isn't stupid, but they might express stupidity sometimes and brilliance other times. So Air/Wind is not "Metal," but at times it is guided by conditions to change according to the principles of Metal. And at times Wood.

 

We could descend up a layer to discuss why we feel Wind expresses more like Metal or Wood, but all in all that would be a very Metal discussion, full of discrimination as we articulate where the line in the sand should be. I won't call your School's perspective erroneous, I'll just step to where I can integrate with it harmoniously.

 

I've heard when Metal and Wood harmonize, they become love.

 

 

If I could like this more then once I would, given that I have strong Metal (or Air in terms of Western systems), and I've spent a long time trying to understand what this means for me.

 

This explanation caused an immediate intuitive "click" in my awareness. The penetrating aspect of Air/Metal is something I've noticed before when doing certain kinds of focusing exercises.

 

I began with an understanding of Western Astrology and its elemental system, and more recently I've been studying the Eastern Astrological systems and while I treat them as separate layers, I've been working to understand how these layers are linked.

 

Both layers observe the seasons and are timed according to the Solstices and Equinoxes. However Western Astrology sees the beginning of the Spring Equinox as a beginning, while Chinese Astrology sees it as the central point of an overall change. Western takes the month of Pisces as an ending, followed by a very profound change at the Equinox into the fiery new beginning of Aries.  But this begins to make sense in terms of Chinese understanding as we look at the whole cycle. In Winter, the phase of Stillness, a seed has been formed, and as the Yang energy slowly returns after the Winter Solstice, that seed absorbs the life energy, and in the month of "Ox" it sprouts. However it is still buried in the earth, and it takes this month to balance and orient itself in terms of its environment, discerning up from down and getting to know the overall shape of this heart of its beginning. Then when the "Tiger" month comes it enters a very active growing stage, but it is still buried. Then comes the month of Rabbit, which is centered around the Spring Equinox. The first part of the month is a noticeable change, as now the sprout is beginning to reach looser soils and doesn't need to use as much force, but it is still hidden beneath the surface - until on the equinox it reaches the surface and undergoes a major awakening. This same seasonal principle can be applied to the rising sun - the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes are as the moment of the sunrise and sunset.

 

The season of Metal is the three months centered around the Autumnal Equinox - Monkey, Rooster, Dog. In terms of Western Months this would be the last half of Leo, Virgo, Libra, and the first half of Scorpio. So please humor me as I explore this in terms of elemental expressions....

 

Leo is fire, and is positioned at the heart of the furnace. But Leo is also very egotistical, and Egoic attachment is a very Metal Phase expression. Coming from spring, our seedling has matured in terms of growth and came to express that culmination of growth in the summer through a flowering. As the summer wanes, that flower turns out to be the beginning of a fruit which begins to mature. This is the beginning of our journey into the Metal Season, although the actual inception and foreshadowing of this Metal Phase began within the month of Snake as part of the blueprint contained within the bud of the flower. As our fruit begins to mature, a separation is beginning. The energy of the parent is increasingly feeding the fruit - a sacrifice in terms of one's own life energy in answer to the needs of furthering the life of the species. Perhaps this is related to how Leo people are very self-centered in their focus - this self-centering is not their true self, but rather centered upon the maturation of the fruit of their Ego, amidst all of those glowing embers of the dying fire of Summer.

 

This maturation of the fruit continues through this second half of the Monkey month and the first half of Virgo. Now the heat is beginning to cool and a need for deeper structuring of the fruit occurs as the seeds form within. There is an interesting dynamic happening here in terms of purity and innocence that aligns with what we know of Virgo. We have to remember that a "Virgo Person" is someone born during this particular phase of seasons, who comes to interact with the outside world from this perspective. In this person's origin we have a transmission from parent to child, even as that child is still a part of the parent. The parent is sharing everything it feels the child needs to know about how to act in the outside world, which is a very pure and intimate exchange, if ultimately biased to a particular limited perspective on behalf of the parent. In terms of how a "Virgo Person" interacts with the outside world, they hold at their heart the love found within this transmission, even as they hold onto that attachment, which can be an Egoic based limitation from adaptation. In terms of the "Monkey Person" we are looking more at the last half of Leo and the first half of Virgo, and so in this container we have a more impulsive combination, but it returns to the same combination of influences in terms of the development and maturation of something - a fruit, or ego - and how that is expressed.

 

As we enter the Rooster Month, which is centered around the Autumnal Equinox, Virgo completes and we enter Libra. This moment of completion is like a separation - the transmission of parent to child is complete and the fruit has matured, and in absolute vulnerability it separates from the parent. This is the Harvest. Now as that fruit separates, it attains a sense of freedom, and perhaps this is our first hint at the Air like nature of Libra. This is also connected to the moment the sun sets behind the horizon. We still have light, and yet there is a feeling of urgency, of vulnerability. Everything is new, alive, from the perspective of the child, but what to do? Where to go? There are so many possibilities. At the heart lies the DNA of the parent, but it will take time for the child to gain enough strength to recognize this, and so the child is more focused on the surrounding environment and responding to the ever changing stimulus.

 

We can't really understand Libra's sense of urgency (blowing in the wind, so to say) without looking at the first half of the next month, Dog. Dragon and Dog are opposites, and are known as the months of Heaven and Hell. During Dragon the Wood energy is being positioned to how it can bloom in the Fire months. This is part of the Earth phase, even as it is part of the Wood phase. But during Dog we have a dying energy, the sun has already set, it is well into dusk. This is when things are not quite what they seem, when danger awaits at the watering hole to capitalize on the naturally dwindling alertness. Dog is half Libra, half Scorpio.

 

So let's return to Libra for a moment. I've gone into the dynamic at the heart - the separation of parent from child, the vulnerability present within as it is aware of the impending dying stage and is in a bit of a panic unless it is able to surrender, trust, accept. On the surface during this month we are faced with lots of decisions. The harvest needs to be brought in, and there are so many different things to harvest. What needs to be done when? All of it revolves around separation - where to cut the fruit from the parent, where to store it, decisions, decisions, and oh so so so much to do before the earth freezes.  For the Libran person, they are constantly aware of all these possibilities and do their best to flow with them, trying to stay relatively balanced without getting overwhelmed, which often means not going very deep, not questioning too much, especially not internally, even though it is totally fine to judge everything externally - it is a dynamic of constantly attempting to maintain surface level harmony amidst a rapidly changing environment. This is the heart of the Metal phase - discrimination. should we choose to look at everything around us as a choice that may be made, we are quickly overwhelmed - but should we accept everything simply as it is without needing to judge it, suddenly everything gets much simpler. But it's hard to surrender when you know death is coming.

 

As we enter more deeply into the Dog month and touch upon Scorpio, this resistance to death becomes intensely evident. Night is almost upon us and a critical juncture has been reached. This is the last opportunity during the Metal phase to control / decide how things are going to preserve life and avoid death. Alas, death is how Metal creates "Water." Death is how new life arrives. When one door closes another opens. As the fruit rots, the seed within settles more deeply into the ground where it will find stillness during winter and sprout  just before spring. Scorpio is deeply emotional, because it attaches to those emotions and buries them deeply to prevent them from being killed by others. Sharing an emotion is exposing it and allowing it to be changed by another's reflection - sharing is death. But death is life, life and death are change and evolution. So the real lesson to be taken away from the metal phase is how much trouble we allow ourselves to get into by resistance to death, resistance to change, resistance to our own transformation.

 

As we enter Sagittarius, that death has manifested, but not completely - until we pass the Winter solstice we are still very much focused on the previous year and all it had to share with us. And yet layers have been shed, the fruit has rotted and the seed lies beneath a layer of leaves and organic matter. It has nothing to do but reflect upon the past and come to big picture conclusions as to how it all fits together, even though that understanding will ultimately and radically change as it emerges from winter and new growth takes grip. Perhaps it will find deeper rest during the Rat month, but only if it allows itself to do so. In ancient times the Emperer would take measures to connect people to the stillness, so they could feel the hint of returning energy after the Winter Solstice, by closing down the markets and limiting traveling. See the stillness is still, and while the cold encourages it, these days we've learned to protect ourselves from the cold, and have discovered that we can use the stillness as a period of freedom where things don't get in our way as much, and so we have many celebrations and make much activity during the time of stillness, and this disconnects us from the natural cycles of the seasons.

 

 

Anyway, I have come to understand that the Western Elements and the Chinese Five Phases are not the same - you can't just line them up together. But through observation one can reason out the connection between them. It is pretty clear how Libra can be seen as Air like. The same extends to Gemini in its position between Snake and Horse, where expression is unfolding in myriad forms and to Aquarius in its position between Ox and Tiger, where the sprout is blindly and stubbornly proclaiming its freedom.  If anything, this Western "Air Trine" might be overlayed unto the Chinese "Fire Trinity" (Tiger/Horse/Dog). During the first half of Tiger (last half of Aquarius) Fire is created, is full during Horse (last half of Gemini), and is stored away during the first half of Dog (last half of Libra). This probably deserves deeper exploration.

[Daeluin]

If anything, this Western "Air Trine" might be overlayed unto the Chinese "Fire Trinity" (Tiger/Horse/Dog). During the first half of Tiger (last half of Aquarius) Fire is created, is full during Horse (last half of Gemini), and is stored away during the first half of Dog (last half of Libra). This probably deserves deeper exploration.

 

OK, getting right into this, we have:

 

The Chinese Fire Trinity, where Fire is created in the first half of Tiger, fully expressed in Horse, and where Fire is put into storage during the first half of Dog. This aligns with the Western Air Trine. Further this adds up - Fire is the most surface level, most expressive and dynamic of the Chinese Five Phases, and matches very well to the Western interpretation of Air.

 

There are 5 Phases, however in the Seasonal observation Earth is not expressed as a trinity, leaving us with 4 Chinese Trinities and 4 Western Trines. This also adds up.

 

So next we'd have the Metal Trinity - Metal is created in the first half of the Snake month, is expressed fully in Rooster, and is stored away in the first half of Ox. This would align with Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn - the Western Earth Trine.

 

Then we'd have the Water Trinity - Water is created in the first half of Monkey, is full in Rat, and is stored away in the first half of Dragon. This aligns with Leo, Sagittarius, Aries, the Western Fire Trine. Interesting.

 

And finally the Chinese Wood Trinity - Wood is created in the first half of Boar, is full in Rabbit, and is stored away in Sheep. This aligns with the timing of Scorpio, Pisces, Cancer.

 

On the surface this feels like a big stretch, but if we get deeper.... for example Wood, Movement, is Stored away in the final stages of Cancer, and Cancer is associated with emotional exploration within the self, that is not expressed outwardly but usually an internal only process.

 

So if we look at it on the surface it might not add up - but if we look at what is occurring on a deeper level, connections begin to emerge. At first glance it might be awkward aligning Fire with Water, as Water is associated with Stillness and Fire is associated with Activity. Yet if we study Hexagram 52, Mountain, we come to understand that within Stillness is Movement. As we are dealing with different layers, perhaps that adds up. But I'm out of time to explore at the moment, maybe more later!