The Five Element system is used in Chinese medicine to organize all natural phenomena into five groups. These five groups include wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

Each element has its own unique characteristics and associations such as a season, a color, a climate, an emotion, a flavor, an internal organ pair, and so on.

When we notice these patterns in nature, it allows us to better understand these same patterns within ourselves. Thus, these elements are frequently used in Chinese medicine to help diagnose and treat imbalances in the body.

Here are a few of the characteristics of each element:

WOOD: the liver & gallbladder organs, the spring season, the color green, the sour flavor, windy weather, the emotion of anger

FIRE: the heart & small intestine organs, the summer season, the color red, the bitter flavor, hot weather, the emotion of joy

EARTH: the spleen & stomach organs, the late summer season, the color yellow, the sweet flavor, damp weather, the emotion of worry

METAL: the lung & large intestine organs, the autumn season, the color white, the pungent flavor, dry weather, the emotion of sadness

WATER: the kidney & bladder organs, the winter season, the color black, the salty flavor, cold weather, the emotion of fear

We each tend to be dominant in one of the above elements. Do you know what your primary element is? Take this quiz to find out! Share your element in the comments below.

I recorded an IG Live with @lawofpositivism last week on Five Element Theory. Check out the video if you want to learn more about each element and how to balance them. We ended with a short five element breathing exercise: