People are often surprised by how much attention Five Element acupuncture pays to emotions. In this tradition, each of the five elements is linked with an emotion, and a practitioner will notice how you express feelings as part of getting to know you.
I'm describing those links as tradition. None of this is a claim that acupuncture treats emotional difficulties, and if you're struggling with your mood or mental health, please talk to your GP. As a way of thinking about the natural ebb and flow of feelings, though, the five emotions have a lot to offer.
Where the idea comes from
The link between emotions and the organs goes back to the Huangdi Neijing, the classic text of Chinese medicine. In chapter 5 of its first part, the Suwen, people have five organs which transform five kinds of qi, producing joy, anger, sorrow, worry and fear (my own literal rendering of the Chinese).
The same chapter goes on to pair each organ with an emotion: anger with the liver, joy with the heart, si (thought or pensiveness) with the spleen, you (sorrow or worry) with the lungs, and fear with the kidneys. Each emotion, in excess, harms its own organ, and each can be tempered by another. Grief overcomes anger, fear overcomes joy, and so on around the cycle.
The five emotions in Five Element acupuncture
Five Element acupuncture, as taught by J.R. Worsley and the style I practise, uses a slightly different set of words.
- Wood: anger. In its healthy form, anger is the drive that moves us towards our goals.
- Fire: joy. Warmth, love and connection with other people.
- Earth: sympathy. Caring for others and being able to receive care ourselves.
- Metal: grief. The feeling that is right and natural when we face separation or loss.
- Water: fear. Healthy caution, the wariness that keeps us safe when there is real danger.
You'll notice that none of these is labelled good or bad. Every emotion has its place in this tradition. What matters is whether it fits the situation.
Balance, not suppression
In the Five Element view, an emotion becomes a sign of imbalance when it shows up too much or too little, regardless of what's going on. Anger that flares at everything is one picture. Being unable to feel any anger, even when you've been treated unfairly, is another. Both would interest a Five Element practitioner.
It's quite a gentle way to think about feelings. It doesn't ask you to be calm all the time, or cheerful all the time. Instead it suggests that a well person can feel all five emotions, each in its right moment, and then return to an even keel.
Emotions as part of a bigger picture
Emotion is one of four traditional signs a Five Element practitioner pays attention to. The others are colour, sound (the tone of the voice) and odour. In a 2015 article in the journal Medical Acupuncture, the teacher Neil Gumenick sets out how each element has its own colour, sound, odour and emotion, which become more noticeable when that element is someone's "causative factor", the element thought to be most out of balance.
So when I'm getting to know you, I'm not judging your feelings. I'm listening, in the traditional sense, for which element seems to be asking for the most support.
Noticing your own emotional seasons
You don't need to know your element to find this useful. Here are a few gentle questions, in the spirit of the tradition.
- Which emotion do you find easiest to express? Which is hardest?
- Do some feelings seem to hang around longer than the situation needs?
- Do you notice different moods in different seasons, such as restlessness in spring, sociability in summer, reflection in autumn and quiet in winter?
There are no right answers. Think of the five emotions as a mirror that many people find interesting to look into.
A calm hour
A Five Element acupuncture session is unhurried, and many people find it relaxing to be really listened to. If you'd like to explore the elements for yourself first, try my "which element are you?" quiz.