The Wood Element — the liver

Wood is what evolves from universal matter (water); all that grows is wood.

It is our intimate aspiration towards continuous personal, psychic and spiritual development.

The direction of wood energy is upwards.

Climate-wise, wood is associated with the wind, and the wind heralds change.

Wind energy conceives a goal and brings the courage of conviction, appropriate action and the ability to stand one’s ground.

The colour of wood is green, the taste is sour, the smell is rancid; the organs are the liver and the gallbladder, the sense organ is the eye, the sense is sight, tears are the body fluid, its lustre shows in the nails, and the body tissue is the muscles. The wood element is also connected to the right shoulder and the sides of the body.

The liver is responsible for the harmonious flow of qi, blood and emotions.

In the cycle of human life, wood extends from birth to childhood. Babies and children transform energy into matter every day.

In the menstrual cycle, the wood element corresponds to the period in which the uterus prepares to welcome the fertilised egg, from the 7th to the 14th day, after the end of the flow.

At the level of the soul, the wood phase brings about the formation of consciousness as an individual.

Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor, wrote:

The supernatural forces of spring create wind in the sky and wood on the earth. In the body they create the liver and tendons; they create the colour green and give voice to the ability to make a shouted sound… they create the eyes, the sour taste and the emotion of anger.

The liver stores blood. The liver controls the tendons and manifests itself in the nails. The liver opens into the eye. The liver absorbs what cannot be digested. The liver controls the immune response.

The gallbladder governs decisions; it produces and stores bile, which contains a large amount of energy.

The liver regulates sexual energy, potency and premenstrual syndrome.

The liver is the place of the soul.

Wood can be deficient or in excess.

Foods that help strengthen wood energy: green vegetables; sour foods (lemon, yoghurt, sauerkraut, rose hips); stem vegetables such as asparagus, wheat, thistle and celery; berries — strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.

The liver heals itself by resting.

The five internal organs are related to the virtues, so the disease of an element is related to the lack of a kind of virtue. The virtue of wood and the liver is benevolence.

The alternative cure for the liver: theatre!

Acting, playing music, singing, dancing, writing, cooking new recipes, painting, sculpting… anything that expands your creativity. This is the best medicine for the liver: intelligent and playful creativity. Your wood element will find space and peace. The wood element is all about expansion: expand your life and your soul, and all problems will find a solution.