The Five Elements
Introduction to Five Elements
Qi

Qi (pronounced "chee") is the life-force that flows through you. Just as water courses through and upon the surface of this planet, so qi moves silently through the body, the emotions and the thoughts, linking mind, body and feelings to the higher realms. Qi flows through and around all of us, spinning gifts of beauty and magic. It is the creative and generative force that keeps life flowing through the seasons and through each one of us in all the seasons of our own lives. Qi is everywhere and fuels the natural world of which we are a part, including our own bodies, thoughts and emotions. We arise from nature and are deeply receptive to the flows and changes in the natural world that plays its tune in and around us. We can all enjoy the effects of healthy qi, which brings a sense of vigour and good health. It supports both action and rest, and creates the pathways towards living a fulfilling and happy life.

Qi and the Phases of the Elements 

Patterns and phases of qi are eloquently communicated and through the changing cycles of the seasons. Each season has its own feeling and resonance. We know when it’s summer or spring, just by the energy and the feeling around. Much as we exist in relation to each other, so each season exists in relation to the other seasons to create the full cycle of a year. Each season has its own particular gifts in the cycle of life and death that are wonderfully expressed through the phases of nature. Each season also relates to - and resonates with - a particular element, that acts as a spirit of the season. 

Ancient Chinese Masters learned from nature by acute observation and experience, and began to deeply understand the phases of growth and decay that flow, one into the other, to create the cycles of life. They recognised five distinct phases, which they linked to the seasons, thus naming five seasons in all, with late summer, or harvest, being recognised as a separate season that sits between summer and autumn. In this way, the philosophy of the Five Elements was born.

Thus we have five seasons, each with a presiding element which represents a flow of qi. Click on the links below to find out more about each element to see which resonates with you!

Spring is the Wood element

Summer is the Fire element

Late Summer (or Harvest) is the Earth element

Autumn is the Metal element

Winter is the Water element

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