Like Dionysus, Water  is associated with
the subconscious, primal forces of nature, whereas like Apollo,
Greek god of the sun, Fire symbolizes wakefulness and the
development of wisdom and compassion. This relationship between
Water  and Fire is expressed by Jill Purce in The Mystic Spiral :
Situated between the poles, on our journey through the
spherical vorte x, we see at either end our source and goal. We
are pulled in both directions, since the longing for the
womb  … has its counterpart in the passionate longing of the
mystic for union with God. THE ARCHETYPE FOR  FIRE: THE WIZARD
Fusion is the organizing principle for the Wizard , who seeks to
imbue the mundane with the extraordinary, mergin g human
aspirations with divine purpose. Just as the Fire of love unites male
and female to form new life, so the Wizard  wields a miraculous
power to overcome separation by welding divergent elements into
one. His excitement and enthusiasm generate the heat required for
the reaction of fusion to occur. With this tremendous catalytic
energy, he brings the transforming power of light, love, and
awareness into the world.Enchanting and persuasive, the Wizard  is a natural salesman,
selling not so much the product itself as the experience of possessing
an instrument of magic, a veritable talisman, that endows us with
the power to transcend our ordinary existence. The magic, however,
is in the Wizard , not in the merchandise. So when this awesome
barker of dreams vanishes, and the remarkable can opener that
would open up a whole new world becomes merely a practical
device, we are not dissatised or disappointed: the very experience
of astonishment and joy that the Wizard  inspires makes us glad. Using persona l magnetism and the gift of expression, he can
assemble a group of individu als into one body. Whether as a team,
chorus, classroom, audience, congregation, or political party, the
Wizard  gathers us up into a shared expanse of vision and feeling. Through this marriage with the hearts and minds of others, we
realize a virtue of our humanness. HECTOR:  EXEMPLAR OF  FIRE
Aectionate and expressive, Hector possesses a lively sense of
humor, a jovial, optimistic attitude, and a generosity of spirit. He is
genuinely concerned about the happiness of those around him, and
because of his openness, it’s easy for him to involve himself with the
needs and desires of friends, family, and even strangers. Hector is both imaginative and articulate and has a passion for
contact throug h touch and conversation. He is a good orator and
teacher becau se of his love of speech. Through his capacity for
communication, he reaches out to people and makes friends easily. Hector lives just below the surface. His thoughts and feelings are
readily exposed: he wears his heart on his sleeve and has a rich
inner life that is easily aected by other people. He has ready access
to his intuition  and is often considered by his friends to be a mind
reader because  he knows what’s happening without being told. He
scans his world with antennalike intelligence, receiving and
integrating a plethora of information and impressions.Constantly responding to stimuli, he may appear to quiver like a
hummingbird, simultaneousl y motionless and vibrating. He has a
rosy, almost ushed complexion and shining, darting eyes. Glowing
with warmth and energy, Hector easily attracts the attention of
others around him. Imbued with the hot, bright, magnetic quality of
Fire, he can be awesome and seductive as a performer or leader. Like the power of Fire to iname and transform , through his
charisma Hector stirs our yearning for transcendence. Playful and demonstrative,  Hector showers his family with
feelings and attention when he is around them. However, he is often
not at home when there is something more engaging  going on
elsewhere. Hector needs plenty of interaction to satisfy his
requirements for recognition, stimulation, and contact. Since Hector
thrives on intimacy and pleasure, and relishes the gamut of
experiences and sensations, he may seem like an insatiable hedonist. But Hector is not selsh with his pleasure; in freely exhibiting his
own delight, he shares it with others. Because Hector has trouble insulating himself from the constant
barrage of external inuences, his powers of discrimination and
discernment can be overloaded, resulting in anxiety and confusion. Sometimes he cannot separa te his own thoughts and feelings from
those around him. His confusion can develop into a sense of dread if
he feels bombarded by unwa nted and unpredictable events. He may
come to loathe surprises, which frighten rather than please him. Under stress, Hector can become hyperactive, nervous, and have
diculty focusing his attenti on. His hands become warm and moist,
and he perspires freely when he is excited or busy. Hector likes
things hot: spicy food, warm weather, and emotional fervor feed his
naturally heightened awareness, and he can “burn” with unbridled
intensity. But when Fire is blazing too ercely, it can burn out its own
source, turning into cold ashes. Overexcited or overexten ded, he is
unable to slow himself down or pull himself together. This can
result in an inability to rest, sleep, and replenish his resources. When he reaches the limit of his capacity, his heart could suer
arrhythmia, cramps, and enlargement due to the exhaustingdemands made  upon it. Shou ld his Fire burn itself out, Hector’s glow
will turn to pallor, and his warmth and intimacy will turn to
isolation and melancholy. In order for Fire to generate joy and
fulllment, it must remain within bounds. The re in a furnace
warms a house, whereas in the forest, out of control, it wastes and
destroys the land. Hector must contain his power or be consumed by
it. Hector gives and demands a lot. His friends, family, and
associates may feel that they become fuel for his needs and desires. Because of his charm, it is easy for people to become caught up in
Hector’s exhilarating world— they are attrac ted to his brigh tness like
moths to a ame. And when Hector “burns out,” he may leave a
trail of empty and exhausted people who have given him their all. Peacefulness of spirit and tranquillity of mind are the hallmarks of
the harmoniou s working of the Heart . When  the Heart  is disturbed
by confusion and sudden shifts of reality, it becomes unable to
maintain calmness and clarity. Anxiety, agitation, and fearfulness
ensue. Lucidity and security become turbidity and dread. Compassion becomes sentim entality, and speech and expression
become exaggerated, losing meaning and relevance. Senseless
babbling and disjointed thoughts are the outcome of this
disorientation and homelessness of the Spirit . Whereas the dissembling of the Water  type takes the form of a
shrinking of the self through isolation and diminution, the
dissembling of the Fire type takes the form of dissolution of the self
through mergi ng between the inner and outer world. There is a loss
of identity and the faculty to discriminate between self and other. When Fire is vigorous and contained, Hector is able to weather the
stress of success or failure, gains or loss, with relative equanimity,
maintaining individuality and relationship. HOW WE RECOGNIZE  HECTOR  AS A FIRE TYPE
Hector reveals the true nature as well as the exaggerated  and
collapsed  features of the Fire type. He is aectionate,  open,expansive, generous, intuitive, warm, and bright. When Hector is
overdriven by his own tendencies, he is disposed toward heat,
fervor, dryness, redness, and excitability. Unrestrained Heart Qi generates Heat and agitation, which can
produce mania , delusional behavior, and bizarre exper iences like
hallucinations, nightmares, and rushes of physical sensation. Hector’s whole body becomes ushed and feverish as he tries to rid
himself of excess metabolic heat through profuse sweating and
intense thermal radiation from the head, hands, and feet. Impassioned by the thrill of imagined pleasures, Hector feeds on
fantasy, sometimes generating unrealistic expect ations of
fulllment. The momentum  created by unanchored exhilaration
results in disappointment when actual life does not match dreams. When this happens, it can be dicult for Hector to recover his
buoyancy—he feels as if his spirit has been lost, like a high-ying
kite that a swift wind has ripped away. Hector’s emotional
pendulum swings between the ination of euphoria and the
deation of anguished discouragement—he can be alternately
frenzied or melancholic, gregarious or isolated, talkative or passive,
seductive or timid. When his Qi is exhausted, Hector becomes pale, subject to cold,
easily frightened and confused. Sensitivity turns to vulnerability,
and intuition becomes veiled with darkness and doubt. Withdrawn
and morose, he dwells on tales of unrequited longing and vivid
morbid images of suering. Hector is an incurable romantic whose
life can assume the maudlin qualities of a television melodrama. Whether exaggerated  or collapsed , Hector’s boundaries—his sense
of himself—are soft. They easily expand or shrink under emotional
stress; Hector merges, becoming everyone, or dissipates, becoming
no one. He is undone by his penchant for relinquishin g his self-
possession, his own self-sen se. His challenge is to maintain his
mooring, a clear, discrete identity without sacricing his sensitivity
and openness. His virtue is his compassion, the capacity to know,
feel, and understand what others experience.THE EVOLUTION OF  DISTORTED  PATTERNS OF  FIRE
For the Fire type the key relationships are between the Heart  and
Lung (Fire restrains Metal ) and between the Heart  and Kidney  (Water
inhibits Fire). When excessively strong, the Qi of the Heart  can attack the Lung. The Qi becom es too dispersed, leaving the envelope of the skin open
and loose, unable to guard the body and contain the Essence  and
Spirit . When Fire overcomes Metal  there is an excess  of Dryness  and
Heat, which  leads to problems such as dry cough, thirst, night
sweats, and sores in the nose and throat. Emotionally this person
becomes restless and sensitive—easily moved from laughter to tears
and prone toward melancholy and anxiety. Conict heightens
between the desire for expression and eusion (Heart ) and the need
to preserve boundaries, set limits, and maintain defenses (Lung). It
then becomes  dicult for the Fire type to make distinctions,
besieged by a fugue of intense feelings of pleasure and pain, grief
and happiness , which may overwhelm him and over which he has
little control. Dominated by the Heart , the Lung cannot adequately nurture the
Kidney . The Kidney  becomes weak, and Water  cannot properly
restrain Fire. When  this happens, the Heat generated by the Heart
Yang can damage the Yin of the Kidney , resulting in painful scantyurine, soreness of the back, and disturbances of libido and potency. Uninhibited Fire disturbs attention, expression, and sensation. Weak
Water  (depleted Kidney Essence  and Moisture ) disposes a person to be
easily distracted and doubtfu l. Stuttering occurs when the tempo of
thoughts and speech lose their synchrony. Accentuated and
magnied, impressions conveyed by the ve senses may become
unreliable and overwhelming. These altered states of perception in
which reality becomes plastic and uctuating may be familiar to
those who have used psychedelic substances, involved themselves in
intense spiritual practices, or suered sudden emotional or physical
shock. This kind of experienc e represents a stress on the integrity of
the Heart-Kidney  relationship, the interaction between Shen and Jing,
Spirit  and Essence . When Heart Qi is exaggerated , the Liver overheats and becomes
brittle like dry wood, and the Spleen  becomes scorched like parched,
sun-baked earth. The body and character lose their resiliency and
become sti, dry, and easily inamed. The muscle and joints may be
feverish and painful, eyes irritated, tongue sore, vision and hearing
distorted. This can devolve into a collapse  of Heart Qi , at which time
a person becomes hypersensitive, fragile, and close to the edge of
hysteria. The key problems for Fire are dehydration, perturbed circulation
of blood, and instability of mental function. The Heart  is the home
of the Spirit  (Shen), and the Blood  houses the mind. By perfusing the
body with Blood , consciousnes s pervades all realms of soma and
psyche. Heat generated by exaggerated Fire consumes the body’s
Moisture  and dries the Blood. Yang destroys Yin. Metabolic activity
as well as the pace of thoughts and impressions in the mind become
unpredictable with surges of energy and emotion alternating with
periods of vapid dullness. Not knowing how he will feel from one
moment to the next causes Hector apprehension and insecurity. In order to maintain uidity and steadiness, the Fire type requires
continual moisturization of the body and gentle inhibit ion of the
tendency toward extreme dissipation and excitation. When the
living sap of the body withers, life loses its softness, luster, and
juiciness. Hector needs to drink sucient liquids and avoidoverindulging in heating and drying foods such as curry, sugar,
alcohol, coee, tea, chili, and salt. He requires the time and space
for solitude and restitution , to regain inner calm and clarity. Developing powers of discipline and discrimination, his Metal
aspect, and cultivating the rootedness of Water  through
identication with family, ancestry, and history will help him with
the steadiness that enables him to thrive. MARIA: IS IT WARM IN  HERE OR  IS IT JUST ME? Wearing an anxious smile, Maria ops onto a chair. Her eyes dart
around the room like a came ra, registering every detail. She appears
both nervous and excited about her visit. As she removes her jacket
she comments, “Is it warm in here or is it just me?”Harmonic  and Dissonant Patterns
In the harmonic Heart  pattern, the Liver and Spleen  maintain stability
while the Lung and Kidney  provide the tension necessary for
movement and adaptation. In the exaggerated Heart  pattern, the Liver
and Spleen  become hyperactive and the Lung and Kidney  become
hypersensitive and erratic. In the collapsed  pattern, the Liver and
Spleen  become drained and weake ned while the Lung and Kidney
become overbearing and congested. Maria says, “I have a part in a lm right now, and I have itchy red
welts on my neck and face like hives. Can you do anything for that? I’ve been controlling it with Benadryl, but it’s not worki ng so well
and it makes me feel jittery.”Asked about her health and what sorts of problems she’s had in
the past, Maria replies, “I’ve had a recurring problem with cystitis,
for which I’ve taken a lot of antibiotics. I get canker sores in my
mouth, and around my period I become sensitive, have hot ashes,
my hands and feet swell up so I can’t wear my ring or my good
shoes, and I have bad dream s. It’s also the time I’m most likely to
get a bladder infection.”
Maria comments that she has a weakness for stimulants like coee
and chocolate, especially before a performance. She uses them to
feel “on” and likes being high. She comments that she’s particularly
thirsty while she’s working, craving ice water or other cold drinks. I
ask if she ever feels cold, and she says that after a hot ash she may
feel a chill. TREATMENT
Maria lies on her stomach and loosens her collar since the rst
acupuncture point is along the spine at the base of the neck. The
needle is inserted about three -eighths of an inch deep and is twirled
in place  for about fteen seconds. Maria reports when she feels a
sensation of fullness or heat at the point, after which the needle is
gently withdrawn. She turns over so that points above each wrist on the Pericardium
channel can be treated. This time she reports a sensation of warmth
and tingling, after which the needles are removed. Points are used
along the Large Intestine  channel on the hand, the Lung channel
above the wrist, and the Kidney  channel below the ankle, and a
special point is used above the bridge of the nose between the
eyebrows. These needles remain in place for twenty minutes. Maria volunteers that she felt more sensations than I asked her
about, not only tingling and heat, but also waves of vibrations going
up and down her back and legs. For a while she felt very hot and
her heart beat quickly; now she feels cool and her heart calm. She
wants to know if everyone has this experience and what these
feelings mean. Asked whether her sensations are pleasant orunpleasant, she replies that as long as it’s not abnormal, she likes it. I reassure her that it is not abnormal since acupuncture is
experienced idiosyncratically by everyone. Although Maria wants to
keep talking as she lies on the table, I suggest that she close her eyes
and rest quietly. INTERPRETATION AND  STRATEGY
Maria’s tongue  is red at the tip, and her pulse is soft, weak, and
rapid. Arising from hyperactivity of the Heart , the hives represent
Heat in the Blood  that is trying to escape through the skin, governed
by the Lung. This is an example of the Qi of the Heart  invading the
Lung, of Fire burning Metal . Red tongue, mouth sores, thirst, and hot
ashes are mounting evidence that there is too much Heat (Yang)
and not enoug h Moisture  (Yin). The fact that her pulse is also weak
and that she seeks stimulants to keep herself going indicate the
beginning collapse  of Qi. Normally the Fire from the Heart  descends to warm the lower
region of the body, including the Kidney . In Maria’s case, the excess
Heat causes irritation and inammation of the delicate mucous
membrane lining the bladder and urethra, causing cystitis. The Heat
causes Moisture  to evaporate and be held in suspension under the
surface of the skin, manifesting as puness of the hands and feet. Maria’s troubles reect the disturbed interaction between the
Heart-Lung  and Heart-Kidney . The dynamic of Fire and Metal , Heart
and Lung, organizes our boundaries. The secretion of the Heart ,
which is perspiration, appea rs on the outer surface of the body,
while mucus, the secretion of the Lung, softens and lubricates the
skin and its underside. The dynamic of Fire and Water , Heart  and Kidney , organizes the
continuum of our reality. The Heart  evokes our communication and
contact with the world, while the Kidney  processes our inner
impressions and establishes the root and substance of our individual
and ancestral identity. When the Heart  is dominant, the hot nature
of its Qi can damage the Yin of the Kidney  and Lung. It is necessaryto clear the excessive Heat and nurture Yin by generating Moisture—
Yin can be used to balance Yang. The acupuncture point on the spine clears Heat in general, and the
points on the Pericardium  clear Heat from the Heart Network  and
calm the Spirit . The point on the Large Intestine  channel is specic
for red, itching skin and promotes elimination of Heat via the
bowels. The points on the Kidney  and Lung channels tonify those
Organ Networks  and distribute Moisture  upward  toward the chest and
head. An herbal prescription to harmonize the relationship between
the Heart  and Kidney  will disperse Heat, tonify Moisture , tranquilize
the mind, and stabilize the will. Maria delights in the immediate transformation that occurs when
she connects with an audience, changing everyday reality into a
charged and intimate drama. She gravitates toward such peak
experiences. She is quick to share her feelings and give feedback
about her sensations. Eager to communicate and establish close
contact, she is open to forming a friendship in addition to receiving
help. When Maria says, “Is it warm in here or is it just me?” she is
articulating a conict between Fire and Metal . She feels a confusion
about boundaries, merges with her surroundings, and has diculty
knowing who she is as distinct from those around her. This dilemma
between fusion and separation characterizes the distortion of the
Heart-Lung  relationship. Maria may sometimes have a hard time
distinguishing herself from the role she is playing. She can’t tell
whether her subjective feelings are her own or a shared experience. Maria’s rapid pulse and red tongue also reveal Heat, which
evolves into an antagonism between Yin and Yang. As the Essence
(Yin) of the Kidney  degene rates under the overbearing inuence of
the Heart Fire  (Yang), more symptoms of Heat and weakness appear. Maria’s penchant for stimulants aggravates this. Maria’s exaggerated  condition has begun to devolve into collapse . The strategy at this stage is to disperse excess  and supplement
deciency , to clear Heat and generate  Moisture . For Maria it’s
important to appreciate the power of Fire to suddenly consumeinternal resour ces. When Fire gets out of control, the Yin of the
Kidney  and Lung can be quickly depleted. The Fire type easily becomes unstable, requiring a secure, peaceful
environment with a regular routine to balance overly expansive
tendencies. Squandering reserves for the sake of heightening
experience betrays a predisposition to distort the relationship of
Heart  and Kidney. Fire types need to be wary of melting the candle
by basking too long in the limelight without having a quiet
sanctuary in which to repleni sh the Yin necessary to keep their Yang
in check. With Yin restored and Yang steadied, the Spirit  is calm and
the root is secure. Maria needs to eat foods that moisturize and cool without
creating Cold or weakness. She is attracte d to fasting and cleansing
because it makes her tempor arily feel calm and comfortable. More
important than cleaning out, Maria will benet from juicy fruits and
vegetables, warm soups, and adequate liquid intake. She should also
have denser root vegetables , sea vegetables, and legume or sh
protein, which  will strengthen her Kidney Qi . Raw and cooked foods
can be used to balance her changing states of hyper- and
hypoactivity: warm, cooked foods will stimulate her metabolism
when she is tired, and cool or raw foods will slow down her
metabolism when she is overexcited. Minimal use of hot, spicy
condiments, ice cream, frozen yogurt, or iced drinks will preserve
stability and guard against extremism. With treatmen t twice a week for six weeks, the red, itchy welts
disappear and the hot ashes before her period also diminish. Cutting back on stimulants and reordering her life to include
cooling-o periods hastens Maria’s rate of recovery. Her tendency
toward chronic cystitis improves, though it requires more treatment. After six months of intermittent treatment, Maria continues to
have periodic episodes of mild itching and cystitis, especially after
strenuous performances or long tours away from home. She learns
to manage her occasional symptoms by regularly using an herbal
formula that harmonizes the Kidney  and Heart  and one that
disperses Moisture  and dispels Damp Heat. Every few months Mariacomes in for what she calls a “tune-up” or maintenance visit to
reevaluate what herbs to take and readjust her diet and habits. (see larger image)FIRE(see larger image)(see larger image)
SO, YOU THINK YOU’RE A FIRE TYPE
KEYS TO  UNDERSTANDING  FIRE
• relishes excitement and delights in intimacy
• keenly intuitive and passionately empathetic• believes in the power of charisma and desire
• loves sensation, drama, and sentiment
• likes to be hot, bright, and vibrant
TYPICAL  PROBLEMS
• anxiety, agitation, and frenzy
• bizarre perceptions and sensations
• nervous exhaustion and insomnia
• palpitations, sweating, hypoglycemia, rashes, palsy
• abuse of mind-altering substances
CRITICAL  TIMES
• exaggerated Fire—Heart  congestion: summer and fall, 11 A.M.–3 P.M.
and 3 A.M.–7 A.M.
• collapsed Fire—Heart  depletion: late summer and winter, 11 P.M.–3
A.M. and 3 P.M.–7 P.M.
A FRIENDLY  REMINDER
The power of Fire comes from the capacity to liberate heat and light
and realize joy and fulllment. Fire types need to temper their
chemistry and contain their fervor, conserving as well as sharing
their resources, withdrawing and separating as well as embracing
and merging. OceanofPDF.comCHAPTER TEN
EARTH
There is nothing which heaven does not cover, and nothing
which earth does not sustain. Chuang Tzu  
369–286 B.C. EARTH  IS AS MASSIVE AS A CRAGGY MOU NTAIN RANGE, AS GENTLE AS A rolling
grassy hill, as inviting as a verdant meadow, as absorbing as a rich
alluvial valley receiving rivers of sediment and rain. Parad ing across
boundaries, the Rockies, Appalachians, Andes, Himalayas , Alps, and
Caucasus encircle and unite territories and villages, tribes and
nations. In the sheltering hollows and crevices of the earth’s body,
creatures sculp t terraces, elds, and paddies and graze in marshes,
forests, and open plains. Earth  cradles and nurtures the life that
depends upon it. As summer wanes and fall approaches, there is a hiatus, a period
in which time seems to stop and the glory of summer hangs
suspended. Late summer marks the ascendance of the power of
Earth , the time of ripening, when all that has grown and matured
throughout spring and summer lies ready for harvest. Momentarilyfree of the cycle of birth, growth, decay, and death, this is a secure
time of peace and plenty during which we appreciate the owering
of our labor. The Spleen , like Indian summer, corresponds with the
Phase  of Earth . Receiving and sharing solid and liquid, perceptions
and ideas, the Spleen  incorporates food and experience into the
substance of who we are. Earth—the soil that feeds us and the ground that locates us in
time and space —imparts stability. A tree is as sturdy as the soil in
which it is rooted. A saplin g that grows out of gravel or sand is
easily uproote d, whereas one that wraps its roots around granite
stands sturdy,  almost impossible to dislodge. When Earth  is too
porous, the structure that holds us securely in place erode s, whereas
if too dense, we can become stuck in one spot, unable to move in
any direction. Earth ’s density and mass sustain  our momentum,
keeping us aligned in the direction of our desired goal. Just as a gyroscope spinning in place keeps an aircraft ying
steadily along a prescribed path, Earth  generates the capacity for
changing direction without losing balance. Earth  represents our
center of gravity, the point of reference around which all other
aspects of character and structure orient themselves, the axis around
which they revolve. THE ARCHETYPE FOR  EARTH: THE PEACEMAKER
Unication is the guiding principle of the Peacemaker . Through her
power to establish and sustain relationships, she nurtures and
promotes our connectedness with each other and our world. Focusing on what is mutu ally shared, she synthesize s what is
divided and antagonistic into what is unied and interdependent. The Peacemaker  values serenity and stability, mediating conict
with her gift for converting discord into harmony. She is the master
of positioning and leverage, able to alter her perspective, grasping
what is central to achieving the most cooperation with the least
sacrice. Chameleonlike, she can assume and enhance the attributesof those  around her, putting people at ease in an environment of
trust. The Peacemaker  embodies sympathy and caring, a ready advocate
for those in greatest need—of friendship, sustenance, and
recognition. Negotiating peace for its own sake, she tirelessly serves
humanity as the great balancer and equalizer, the preserver of
families and societies. DOROTHY:  EXEMPLAR OF  EARTH
Dorothy holds her world up and together with practical, down-to-
earth intelligence, anticipating and meeting the needs of her family,
friends, and co-workers. As the nucleus of her network she
constructs the matrix and context for the life that thrives around
her. Although Dorothy can be readily diverted to help another, she
keeps her own quandaries to herself, hiding worry behind a
congenial, cheerful front. Dorothy is sweet; she has an amiable
disposition, an engaging smile, and a sweet tooth. She respects one
maxim in particular:
Kind hearts are the garden
Kind thoughts are the roots
Kind words are the blossoms
Kind deeds are the fruits
Popular, accommodating, and grounded in herself, Dorothy can
aord to give and take with ease. Contributing her advice with
diplomatic craft, she eagerly organizes other people’s lives with a
facility for resolving their personal or social dilemmas. Dorothy is eshy and stron g rather than sinewy or tight. Her
power is in her mass, carried in a round body with solid hips and
thighs planted rmly on the ground. Although Dorothy does not
move quickly, she is ecient, accomplishing tasks with deliberationand focus. A patient listener, she draws people out in conversation
so that even a stranger feels comfortable. Dorothy’s home functions as her center of operations, the place
where she contentedly mixes work, recreation, and domestic life. She has a territorial attachment to her household as a locus and
extension of herself. Protecti ve and loyal, her identity is tied in the
knot of her family. As a spider spins a web, Dorothy builds familial
relationships, mothering and incorporating friends into an extended
social network. Dorothy is the glue that binds groups together. Being indispensable fullls her need to be useful and stay
connected. In a busy, indierent world, she creates an oasis of
caring, risking  the loss of herself if she becomes completely
immersed in others. Dorothy has diculty saying no, often compelled to take on more
than her share of other people’s projects or predicaments. This extra
weight increases her own mass, and she becomes prone toward
languidity and sluggishness. Like oversaturated soil, Dorothy can
feel thick and heavy, as if caught in a muddy quagmire. When this
happens immobility engulfs her, and even rising from a chair
becomes an arduous task. Caught in the labyrinth of her own
commitments, inertia and a loss of perspective defeat her attempts
to nd a way out of her entanglements. Just as silos full of harvested grain engender a feeling of abundant
prosperity, Dorothy feels enriched and complete when she is lled
to her limit. Similarly, her impulse is to be generous—her deepest
wish is that everyone have as much as they need and want. She
resists change that she anticipates might jeopardize security and
stability. Attac hed to plenty and threatened by scarcity, she is
willing to add to but reluctant to relinquish or replace relationships,
positions, locations, resources. As a squirrel collects acorns in his
nest, she stores away surplus to assure that needs are met. The inherent capacity to absorb makes Dorothy vulnerable to
becoming overburdened and overweight. Just as the Spleen
incorporates and then distributes Nutritive Essence  in order to
diminish or augment body mass, Dorothy’s physical form uctuates,
reecting the constant reorga nization of her social and material life.Dorothy uses her body by pulling herself together, gathering herself
up, and then spreading herself out. Pleasing other  people, something utterly important to Dorothy,
can leave little room for fullling her own desires, creating an
empty feeling in the midst of a life that seems replete. Because she
sometimes confuses her hunger for satisfaction with a craving for
food, eating becomes a means of lling up. Being continually full
slows her metabolism and assimilation of nutrients. Food sits
undigested in her stomach, uncomfortably inating her abdomen
with stagnant uid and gases. Lacking sucient energy from the
food she ingests, she eats more and prots less. Retarded diges tion engenders an urge for the quick x of sugar
and starch. Unable to benet from the longer-lasting nourishment
derived from complex carbo hydrates, vegetables, and proteins, she
seeks the support of easily digested vitamins and other concentrated
food supplements. She seesaws between the urge to ll up and the
discomfort of being overfu ll. Rarely feeling right, she opts for
strenuous weight-loss regimens in hopes of attaining the natural
balance of eating only when truly hungry. She tries both fasting and
the lavish consumption of raw vegetables and fruits. Raw foods and
juices have a cold, wet nature that contribute to greater attrition of
her digestive power, which eventually makes a strategy of dieting
ineectual. If Dorothy’s environment is constant and generous, she functions
optimally. With social, emotional, and physical nourishment
unsteady and unpredictable, like feast and famine, she can be
greedy and acquisitive in the face of opulence, fearful of deprivation
and impoverishment in sparse times. When Dorothy loses her
stability, she oscillates between being empty and full, indulgent and
renunciatory, self-centered and self-deprecating, grandiose and
defeated, meddling and apathetic, bingeing and starving. If she can
restrain herse lf from overcompensating, Dorothy’s instinctive
proclivity for poise and balance return. Just as the Spleen  forms and reconstitutes the internal  milieu,
Dorothy generates our social medium—she designs the space, casts
the players, and sets the mood so that everyone can do their part. Itis not always clear exactly what it is that Dorothy does—her role is
amorphous and undened, soft like her body, curved without edges,
spilling over into the sometimes unrecognized work of mothering
the world. Dorothy may feel herself unformed or underdeveloped,
inseparable from her project, her family, her environment, shaped
by it as much as the sculptor of it. Her work is to serve, to connect,
to raise awareness, and to facilitate action. Without her instinct for
arrangement and harmony and her zeal for togetherness, the human
arena would be considerably more lonely, desolate, and austere. HOW WE RECOGNIZE  DOROTHY  AS AN EARTH TYPE
Dorothy has a sociable, sunny disposition and is supportive, pliant,
reliable, and politic, infusing balance, consistency, and focus into
her extended network of relationships. She has a way of deliberately
insinuating herself in other people’s aairs that gains people’s trust
and appreciation. Like Earth , she is always there, permeating and
inltrating her social environment, serving and providing. Obsessed, Dorothy becomes entangled in a web of details and
complexity. She overperforms her role as interme diary and
caretaker so that what was moderating becomes overbearing and
inhibiting and what was nurturing becomes intrusive and
overprotective. When the inuence of the Spleen  is too pervasive,
there is more absorption than transformation, more density than
activity, more mass than energy. Thoughts, feelings, uids , and food
are amassed, settle, and congeal rather than amble freely. When concern and involvem ent become worrisome burdens, she
loses her ability to hold herself up and together. Collapsing into a
lugubrious inertia, she is engulfed by self-pity and dissatisfaction. Dramatic uctuations in appetite, weight, and self-esteem are a
consequence of her loss of poise. Dorothy’s easy, relaxed manner
takes on an nebulous quality, and she vacillates, scattered and
wishy-washy without self-condence or clarity. She can be so
consumed with wondering what she should do that she doesnothing. This overwhelming ambivalence defeats her attempts to
rescue her self or even ask for help. Being called upon to bring people together rouses Dorothy to
action and rescues her the way an incoming tide frees a beached
whale from the sand, returning her to a buoyant and uent milieu. Just like the mammals of the sea, Dorothy is a tribal, social animal. As important as it is for Dorothy to maintain her network for
herself, it is essential to the group’s survival that she be there for
them. THE EVOLUTION OF  DISTORTED  PATTERNS OF  EARTH
For an Earth  type, conict tends to develo p between Earth  and Water
(Spleen-Kidney ) and Earth  and Wood  (Spleen-Liver ). Earth  restrains
Water , and Wood  restrains Earth . Together the Spleen  and Kidney
organize the distribution and storage of Moisture , whereas the Spleen
and Liver govern the allocation and supply of Nutritive Essence  and
Blood . Disturbance of these relationships creates stagnation of Qi,
Moisture , and Blood . When an overbearing Spleen  restrict s the Kidney  too harshly, the
Kidney’s function of dischar ging unnecessary uids and metabolic
wastes diminishes, causing Dampness  to accumulate in the lower halfof the body. Edema and swelling occur in the abdomen, hips, legs,
and ankles, and urination is scanty or inadequate. The joints of the
ankles, knees, and hips suer because of the added weigh t, and the
back becomes weak. Swelli ng of the intestines and cysts of the
ovaries may develop because of this stagnation of uids. Too much
Moisture  trapped in the body produces spongy, tender esh and
muscles. The Qi and Blood  do not circulate freely, and other organs,
deprived of Moisture  and nourishment, get dry, irritated, and weak. When tissue is saturated with uids, secretions become gelatinous
and sticky. A paradox emerges: Dryness  and Wetness  coexist because
water is present but not accessible. Dorothy feels dry but not thirsty. Her membranes and joints are swollen, while her abdomen, back,
and limbs stay cold and damp. There is an intrinsic tension between Earth  and Water . Earth  wants
to share (distribute) and accommodate (absorb), and Water  wants to
withhold (store up) and harden (consolidate). When Earth  is
exaggerated  this manifests behaviorally as meddling interference, too
much arranging and enveloping, and not enough distance and
relinquishment—letting things be. With collapsed Earth  there is too
much softness, receptivity, and being enveloped and not enough
rmness, resoluteness, and connement—“staying in your own
space.”
Tension betwe en the Spleen  and Liver becomes a problem when
stagnation of Spleen Qi generates congestion of Blood  and Qi in the
Liver. Stagnation of Blood  can manifest as heavy menstrual ow with
viscous clotted  blood and the growth of broid tumors in the uterus. Lack of circulation of Spleen  and Liver Qi also causes poor digestion
in the form of intestinal gas, distension, constipation and diarrhea,
and abnormal appetites. Earth-Wood  coni ct revolves around  the polarity between
continuity, security, and predictability on the one hand and change,
risk taking, and spontaneity on the other. The need to ease social
and emotional discomfort is pitted against the urge toward freedom
and arousal. Dorothy’s emotions become heavy and intense when
her Liver is too weak to stimulate and disperse the muddy energy of
Earth . She then falls prey to soppy sentimentality and irasciblesensitivity—everything feels so weighty and earthshakin g that her
reactions are disproportionate to the situation. Like tropical air laden with humidity, things get sticky and turbid. Dorothy’s complexion and eyes turn murky and her thinking
muddled as a generalized stasis makes it impossible for her to take
action on her own behalf. When the Spleen  accumulates excessive
Moisture , the Heart  becomes congested: the heart enlarges, blood
pressure rises from excess uids, and awareness becomes hazy. Edema results from uid oozing into the intercellular spaces of the
limbs and leaking into the cavities of the abdomen and chest. Obesity due to this overaccumulation further undermines the
physiologic capacity to bear the burden and cope. The therapeutic goals for Dorothy are to redistribute Moisture ,
mobilize stagnant Qi, and improve digestion. Learning to recognize
whether she is too “dense” (static and congested) or too “porous”
(scattered and dissipated) will prompt her to rearrange her
commitments, activity, and appetites according to her inner state. She requires a routine that activates her physically and diverts her
mentally. Regular and appropriate nourishment, emotional and
intellectual, is a means of avoiding “feast and famine” cycles that
promote stagnation—which leads to deprivation—which eventually
leads to diminished metabolic eciency and emotional
despondency and discouragement. EARTH: Spleen  Patterns
HarmonicCollapsed
Exaggerated
Harmonic  and Dissonant PatternsIn the harmonic Spleen  pattern, the Heart  and Lung maintain stability
while the Kidney  and Liver provide the tension necessary for
movement and adaptation. In the exaggerated Spleen  pattern, the
Heart  and Lung become hyperactive and the Kidney  and Liver
become hypersensitive and erratic. In the collapsed  pattern, the
Heart  and Lung become drained and weaken ed while the Kidney  and
Liver become overbearing and congested. Fluids, starches, sugars, fats, and sticky glutinous foods are
Dorothy’s undoing, particularly in the form of confections and
pastries, pastas, milk, cheese s, and rich sauces made with butter or
oil. Dorothy needs ample roughage and ber to move the more
glutinous foods that she likes through her system. Warm, dry
condiments (ginger, pepper , parsley, and cardamom) help her
eliminate excess gas and moisture. She should also avoid
refrigerated or iced foods because the Cold engenders Dampness  and
depresses the “digestive re” of Stomach  and Spleen . Relieving
stagnation through mobilization of Qi and Moisture  can be
accomplished through exerci se that requires muscular eort coupled
with moveme nt. Herbal and acupuncture treatment is helpful
because it activates Qi, eliminates Dampness , and regulates
digestion. Being the consummate arranger that she is, Dorothy needs to
organize patterns of continuous, predictable changes in activity and
attention, protecting herself against becoming stuck due to a lack of
options or scattered because  of a lack of structure. Dorothy must
stay grounded yet maintain her ability to move and change—
focused yet free to detach and reorient herself so that she may
juggle poise and mobility. RICHARD:  JOIN MY TEAMRichard saunte rs leisurely into the clinic, even though he is late. He
explains casual ly, “I took a wrong turn and got lost on the way here;
I hope you can still make room for me. I’m looking forward to
having you join my health team.” He makes himself comfortable
and with a winning smile agrees to wait until I am free. Richard engages me in his story in the waiting room. Pointing
under his ribs on the right side, he says, “I’ve been having pains
here, and they won’t let up. My doctors says it’s not hepatitis,
though I’ve had that before, and he doesn’t know what to do. I’m a
fund-raiser; my work is helping people give their money away, so I
spend a lot of time socializing. That doesn’t bother me, but two or
three times a year my back goes out and I get laid up in bed. My
doctor says my prostate might need surgery, but I don’t  fancy the
knife, not yet, at least. Besides bad gums and some loose teeth, I’m
in ne fettle.”
“What about the hepatitis?” I ask. Richard says, “The rst time I got it I was in the navy. Second
time I was on vacation in Mexico and ate at a bad street stand. It
took six months before I pulled myself together. Ever since then I
seem to react poorly to more than a couple of drinks or too many
French fries. If I overdo it, I wake up with a foggy, heavy feeling in
my head, like I can’t see straight, and a dull, swollen pain under my
ribs. Then my prostate kicks in. Fact is, even too much coee can
make that worse. It’s ironic that only the things I love are a
problem: good food, good liquor, and strong coee with plenty of
cream and sugar.”
TREATMENT
Richard’s abdomen is soft, distended, and cool below the navel. His
tissue is not rm but yielding, with a layer of fat where there used
to be muscle. His tongue is pale and abby with a thick,  sticky fur,
and his pulse is weak, full, and spongy like his tissue. All this
suggests too much uid and congestion: the Spleen  is not doing the
job of transforming and distributing food or liquid.“Do you get cold easily?” I inquire. Richard replies that cold, rainy weather makes his back hurt and
that he relies on hot coee to warm him up in the morning. Treatment will be aimed at dispersing stagnation by activating
circulation and elimination. Because Richard’s belly is cool, moxa is burned on a site below
the navel called the Sea of Qi. This region is the reservoi r of life
force, of inherited and acquired Essence , and the origin of all the
channels. Moxa here warms and arouses the Qi of the entire body,
especially of the Kidneys  and Intestines . A point on the Liver channel below the ribs, at the site of
Richard’s disco mfort, relieve s stagnation in the Liver and Spleen . A
point on the Spleen  channel above the ankle harmonizes the
interaction between the Liver, Spleen , and Kidney , dispersing
accumulated Dampness  and congestion, relieving the swelling in the
prostate for that reason. It also has the general eect of tonifying
the Spleen  and improves its ability to transform and distribute
Moisture . Another point just above the ankle on the Kidney  channel
strengthens the Kidney  and promote s diuresis, eliminating excess
uid from the tissue. On the top of the foot, between the rst and
second toe, a point on the Liver channel mobilizes Qi, stimulating
and regulating  the Spleen  and Stomach . Altogether this treatment
harmonizes the Liver and Spleen , strengthens the Kidney , and
invigorates metabolic heat (the Yang of the Spleen  and Kidney ). Richard luxuri ates in the freedom that nothing is required of him,
and he thoroughly enjoys the treatment process. INTERPRETATION AND  STRATEGY
Richard distinguishes himself by his sympathetic, easygoing manner,
a talent for organizing people , his pleasure at savoring food, and the
soft, comfortab le form of his body. He uses himself to create and
maintain contacts within an extensive circle. He becomes  a medium
through which people share their economic harvest.The accid quality of his esh, tongue, and pulse all indicate the
collapse of Spleen Qi. The feeling of heaviness and distension in his
head, abdomen, and prostate results from chronic stagnation of
Moisture . Soreness and swelling in the hepatic region reects
obstruction of the Liver Network , while deterioration of the teeth and
aching in the lumbar region reect debility of the Kidney . Earth  transforms, and Wood  mobilizes. The Spleen  generates Blood
and Qi, and the Liver stores Blood  and regulates Qi. Together the
Spleen  and Liver organize the production and distribution of the
nutritive substance that becomes blood and tissue. Earth  absorbs,
and Water  consolidates. Surplus Nutritive Qi created by the Spleen  is
collected and preserved as acquired Essence  by the Kidney  for
lubrication, reproduction, and regeneration. Together the Spleen  and
Kidney  govern the perfusion and storage of Yin substance, Moisture ,
and Essence . The rst issue to deal with for Richard is the stagnation of Qi and
Moisture  that results in congestion and weakness of the Liver and
Kidney . Digestion and assimilation are less the issue than the excess
accumulation that arises from inadequate circulation and
elimination. Therapy will also emphasize correcting Kidney  and Liver
deciency  by tonifying Qi and Blood  while maintaining circulation of
Qi and Moisture . As Liver and Kidney  function improve, the prostate
problem will resolve itself since it will no longer be needed by the
body as an overow deposi tory of uid wastes. As Qi and Yang
grow, Richard’s metabolism will function more eciently, and he
will lose weight. His decreas ed mass will relieve some of the stress
on his lower back and circulatory system. A healthier Liver will
circulate the Blood  and Qi throughout the body, and a stronger
Kidney  will eliminate unnecessary Moisture . Richard reluctantly agrees to reducing his consumption of coee,
alcohol, pastry, and bread, all of which generate Dampness  and
promote swelling of the liver and prostate. Warm, cooked foods will
minimize his need for the quick energy provided by stimulants and
rened carbohydrates. The pain under Richard’s ribs is gone after the second treatment,
and the swelling of his liver subsides after the fourth visit. Hisprostate and urinary function  improve enough to obviate his present
concern about surgery. Although Richard’s symptoms have cleared,
he is advised to remain on herbal supplements for a year because of
the chronic weakness of his Liver and Kidney . Pleased that his
condition is so amenable to this form of therapy, Richard  begins to
spread the word about his success and encourages many others to
try Chinese medicine. (see larger image)EARTH(see larger image)(see larger image)
SO, YOU THINK YOU’RE AN EARTH TYPE
KEYS TO  UNDERSTANDING  EARTH
• wants to be involved and needed• likes to be in charge but not in the limelight
• agreeable and accommodating: wants to be all things to all people
• seeks harmony and togetherness
• insists upon loyalty, security, and predictability
TYPICAL  PROBLEMS
• worry, obsession, and self-doubt
• meddling and overprotective
• overextended and inert
• lethargy, indigestion, unruly appetites, water retention, muscle
tenderness
• unrealistic expectations and disappointment
CRITICAL  TIMES
• exaggerated Earth—Spleen  congestion: late summer and winter, 7
A.M.–11 A.M. and 3 P.M.-7 P.M.
• collapsed Earth—Spleen  depletion: fall and spring, 7 P.M.–11 P.M. and
11 P.M.–3 A.M.
A FRIENDLY  REMINDER
The power of Earth  comes from the capacity to link, nurture, and
sustain. Earth  types need to balance their devotion to relationship
with solitude and self-expression, developing self-reliance as well as
building community. OceanofPDF.comCHAPTER ELEVEN
METAL
Autumn  
 
Wind passes over the lake. The swelling waves stretch away
Without limit. Autumn comes with the twilight,
And boats grow rare on the river. Flickering waters and fading mountains
Always touch the heart of man. I never grow tired of singing
Of their boundless beauty. The lotus pods are already formed,
And the water lilies have grown old. The dew has brightened the blossoms
Of the arrowroot along the riverbank. The herons and seagulls sleep
on the sand with theirHeads tucked away, as though
They did not wish to see
The men who pass by on the river. Li Ch’ing Chao  
A.D. 1081–1143
 
METAL  IS AS AUSTERE AS A VAST ARID PLAIN BEFORE WINTER RAINS, AS sharp as
a high mountain peak slicing  through mist into a clear empty sky. This Phase  embodies the power of restraint, separation, and
renement. Autumn is a time of withering and decay. Fallen  leaves
decompose, returning to the soil as the remains of crops are plowed
under. Expired blossoms and fallen fruit fertilize the soil for next
year’s growth. The sap of trees settles into the interior, sinking down
toward the roots. It is time for eliminating what is unnecessary,
storing up only what is needed for winter. As the trees shed foliage,
creatures prepa re their shelters for the stark hibernation of winter as
life slows down, collapsing inward. Corresponding to the
temperament of this season, the Lung, the organ of Metal , sucks in
and renes the Qi, sending it downward to nourish our roots with
pure Essence . Ruling the skin, the outer limit of the human body, the
Lung protects against external invasion and safeguards internal
resources. Metal , derived from the earth, is a pure substance generated by a
process of reduction. Deriv ed from the concept in alchemy of
turning base metals into gold, this Phase  represents the
transformation of the gross materials of nature into pure “essence.”
Fall is a time for evolution through reduction. Matter returns to its
source in preparation for its later re-creation—the rotting fruit
leaves behind its seeds, and this corroding matter nourishes the
kernels that multiply in spring. With fall come s a sense of gathering in, stocking up, ming led with a
sense of loss as the light begins to fade and the air chills. Yin waxesas Yang wanes. This is another season of change, but as spring was
an expansive time of breaki ng through and proliferatio n, fall is a
contractive time of pulling in and dying back. The life cycle
completes itself in autumn. The Nei Jing says that the energy of fall
is the “killing energy”—sharp, retracting, and nishing. THE ARCHETYPE FOR METAL: THE ALCHEMIST
Transmutation is the guiding principle for the Alchemist , who
seeks the perfection of form and function. Through his power of
discernment, he distills what is good and pure from what is coarse
and primitive. In his striving to extract order from chaos , he molds
situations so that people perform their tasks with elegant precision. Dening and rening, the Alchemist  is the keeper of standards and
measures, the source of aesth etic and moral values, the defender of
virtue, principle, and beaut y. He is the master of ceremony and
discipline. Like an abbot ensconced in his sanctuary, serene,
detached, unappable, he instructs us in the meaning of ritual and
doctrine, providing the structure that enables people to apply the
metaphysical to the mundane. LOUIS: EXEMPLAR OF  METAL
Immaculate, impeccable, and well organized, Louis has a place for
everything and keeps everything in its place. Methodical, ecient,
and discipline d, he is a man who lives according to principle. Applying his analytic and critical mind, Louis derives satisfaction
from taking things apart and putting them back together. It suits his
sense of order and control. His gift is in designing systems. By
pruning concep ts, protocols, and objectives, he insures that a family
aair, political campaign, factory, or corporation runs according to
schedule. Although Louis may not inspire passionate devotion, he is
well appreciated for his integrity and commitment to reason. With smooth skin draped over a slim frame, Louis has ne,
angular features. Sensitive to all aspects of his internal and external
environment, he has a particularly keen sense of smell. His self-awareness is bounded by a well-developed talent for detachment
and discrimination: he is adept at separating his own ideas and
desires from those around him. Skilled at carving distinctions, Louis
cuts through ambiguity. Everyone knows exactly where they stand with Louis. Neither
gullible nor easily rued, Louis remains aloof, dicul t to know
intimately. He prefers not to take work home with him and doesn’t
mix business with pleasur e. Louis maintains some emotional
distance from his spouse and children yet is always corre ct and fair,
providing equal time and favor in meeting his family’s needs. He
dislikes con ict and disorder, preferring conformity over
strangeness, composure over excitement. Pleased when others are
satised with their role and obligations, he expects his life to be
agreeable and sensible. His patience persists as long as people do
their share and follow established practices, insuring that events
transpire according to plan. Louis judges right and wrong, success or failure, according to how
closely actions match principles. He sometimes overidenties with
standards, methods, and schedules and covets his own authority and
expertise, disinclined to relinquish any part of it. When the
execution of his carefully rendered schemes is derailed, he can fall
back on a rigid adherence to rules and regulations in an eort to
reassert contro l over disturbingly uctuating circumstances. His
striving for perfection can be a source of disappointment, since no
one may be able to meet his standards, including himself. Emotionally this translates into his reluctance to share himself with
others. Disillusioned with his eorts to make the world awless and
good, Louis sometimes resorts to reinstating order by means of
punishment and prohibition. In the face of having the righteous and
reasonable denied him, he is willing to sacrice the pleasures of
spontaneity and intimacy for the sake of safety and control. This pattern of constant inhibition interferes with rhythmic
activity. When the cadence of respiration and elimination is
interrupted in his lungs, skin, and intestines, this may lead to
problems such as asthma, constipation, lack of perspiration, and
dryness of skin or mucous  membranes. Louis can also developincreased sensitivity to odors and changes in temperature and
humidity, which trigger sneezing, sinus congestion, and headaches. Increased skin sensitivity predisposes him to dryness or itching from
irritants like poison oak or exposure to wind and sunlight. Asthma and constipation are somatic expressions of his inability
to exhale, release, and go with the undulating ow. Louis resists
tumult by tightening down, so that his chest may become
overdeveloped, swollen with stagnant air that he cannot expel,
reducing his capacity to inhale fully. He could become like the
caricature of a Prussian ocer with sti neck and spine, barrel
chest, tight pelvis, and a fundamental unyielding rigidity. This stiening also appears as suppressed emotional expression
and xed mental attitudes. When insecure, Louis becomes at and
mechanical in his responses in order to protect against the inuence
of intangibles such as feelin gs or personal tastes. His penchant for
correctness can easily slip into self-righteousness and a subservient
reliance on experts, leaving no room for innovation and
independent thought. In this way Louis armors himself against
irrationality and change, disappointment and disillusionment. Faced
with an insoluble conict practically or morally, he breaks down
like the intelligent machine that can no longer compute, having lost
touch with his own intern al standards and principles . His self-
reliance shattered, the resulting insecurity leads to meek ness and a
desire to be ruled and molded by those whom he fears and admires. He mimics his superiors, those more powerful than he, alternating
between snobbish arrogance and obsequious deference. Because of his yearning for and admiration of the human
potential for conscience, reason, and virtue, he is often able to rise
above the apparent corrupt ion and disarray of mundane life, to
appreciate the symmetry and beauty of all forms and the goodness
of all souls. HOW WE RECOGNIZE  LOUIS AS A METAL TYPELouis’s true nature expresses itself through his sense of symmetry,
self-discipline, purity of ideals, and logical mind. It is important to
him that people fulll their obligations and act equitably. Louis
prefers that things have shape, sequence, and denition,  and he is
most comforta ble in a setting in which he can determine how events
should unfold. As the Wood  type was expansive and potentially chaotic, like a
“bull in a china shop,” the Metal  type is contra ctive and potentially
overstructured, like a pued-up military ocer. When Louis’s
tendencies become exaggerated , perfectionism , authoritarian ism, and
dogmatism replace exibility, self-discipline, and critical thinking. The single-minded focus on control causes inhibition of peristalsis,
restricted breathing, a attening of aect, and a blunting of
sensation and perception. Persistence of this internal stiening can also trigger a collapse
into internal disorder: a decay of personal values and self-denition. Inner resolve is replaced by reliance upon outer constraints. Unable
to adapt to changing circumstances, plagued by disappointment and
sorrow, Louis vacillates between credulousness and morbi d cynicism
as he searches  for external answers for internal doubts and grief. It
is an irony that the Metal  type, ordinarily a paragon of rationality
and self-control, can become rudderless, without substantial
denition, bewildered by internal forces and grasping at external
rules to anchor his reason. What was a xation upon an inexible
set of standards and values becomes a morass of moral confusion
and doubt. The tendency toward personal cleanliness, household
order, and careful expressi on can stand on its head as Louis
collapses and surrenders to sloppy dress, domestic disarray, and a
cacophony of impulses that elude his control. When the stability of Metal  is undermined, the need to
dierentiate and order things intensies. Devotion to correct
behavior and thinking, and adherence to xed distinctions between
good and bad, right and wron g, arise from the need to be in control. Peace becomes dullness, openness is stultied, and order becomes
ritualized routine. Critical, judgmental, and perfectionistic behaviorcompensates for inner feelings of ambivalence, ambig uity, self-
doubt, and the lack of moral conviction. Having “the courage of your convictions” describes the
harmonious synthesis or resolution of the opposition between Metal
and Wood. Metal  provid es the standard or measure, the moral
values, and Wood  gives the impulse and power to realize these
values in action—in other words, ethical behavior. Metal  and Wood
represent a complementary set of relations: contra ction and
expansion, inhibition and excitation, reduction and proliferation,
restraint and striving. Wher eas the Wood  type can explode like a
volatile time bomb with a short fuse, the Metal  personality can
shrink inward, like old Jell-O, sti on the surface and gooey at the
core. Between Metal  and Fire exist the polarities of tight and loose,
analytic and intuitive, sensitive and sensual, and distinct and
merged. As Fire reveres passion and empathy, Metal  esteems
mindfulness and right action. When these are joined together, a kind
mind prevails. Wedding virtue with love describes the harmonious
synthesis between Metal  and Fire. Whereas the Fire type becomes
dispersed throu gh excitemen t and euphoria, the Metal  type becomes
stuy through suppression and tedium. Yet when Louis is at his best, he interacts easily with other
people, secure  within, easily distinguishing his own thoughts,
feelings, and values from those around him. He feels neither
vulnerable to outside inuences and opinions nor compelled to
impose his standards or sensibilities on others. True to himself, he
feels protected and receptive, articulate and inspired, righteous and
sure. THE EVOLUTION OF  DISTORTED  PATTERNS OF  METAL
The polarities between Metal  and Wood  (Lung and Liver), and Metal
and Fire (Lung and Heart ), characterize the Metal  type. The Lung and
Liver govern the upward and downward, inward and outward,
circulation of Qi. The Lung and Heart  aect the perimeter of thebody, opening and closing, tightening and loosening, pores, sweat
glands, and vessels. When the Lung is overly stron g, the Liver and Heart  are relatively
weak. Since the Lung commands the Qi, it is easy for it to inhibit the
function of other Organs . In particular the Liver becomes too
subdued, with a consequent suppression of feeling and
expressiveness. By comparison, Wood  or Fire types have less
command over their impulses, whereas a Metal  type is capable of
exerting such complete self-control that he becomes reserved and
remote. When the Lung excessively restricts the Heart, Fire diminishes,
causing the person to become chilly and emotionally closed. Through contraction of the skin and depression of peripheral
circulation, the Lung connes warmth and Moisture, Qi  and Blood , to
the body’s core. This suppre ssion of Qi can cause lack of motility,
and the connement of Heat can cause Dryness  from the evaporation
of uids, both of which may contribute to constipation or asthma. Entrapped Heat might also cause inammation or irritation as in
laryngitis, sinusitis, dermatitis, ileitis, colitis, and urethritis. A Fire
type, in whom  Qi is always  at the surface, is ushed, warm, and
perspires readily. The Metal  type is the opposite. His energy is
contained beneath the surface, his complexion wan, his skin cool,
tight, dry, and he rarely perspires. It is dicult for someone likeLouis to discharge and rid himself of toxicity or negativity. Retention of physical or mental wastes can accumulate on the one
hand, congealing into tumors , or constrict the emotional eld on the
other, resulting in a diminished capacity for feeling and
responsiveness. The Spleen , mother of the Lung, becomes depleted after prolonged
constriction of Qi, which interferes with the digestive and
assimilative activities of the stomach and intestines. Consequent
deciencies  of Moisture  and Nutritive Essence  escalate into a condition
of severe Dryness , the signs of which may be a lack of secretions,
emaciation, anemia, poor appetite, and a ghostly, ethereal
appearance. As the succulent moisture of life shrivels, the body becomes xed,
callused, and inanimate. Because his skin is tight and his
perspiration is as scarce as rain in the desert, Louis rarely catches
colds. But if his defenses are overwhelmed, an infection may
penetrate quickly to the interior of the body, giving rise to high
fevers without the evaporati on of perspiration to cool the intense
heat. Under such circumstances, what would otherwise be an
ordinary u could develop into a severe bronchitis or pneumonia. When the Lung is exhausted, the rhythmic functions of the body
lose their regularity and synchronicity. This is manifested by
alternating heat and chill, dryness of mucous membranes and
clamminess of the skin, itching and numbness, constipation and
diarrhea, short ness of breath and hyperventilation, intermittent and
rapid heartbea t, sadness and giddiness, indierence and sensitivity,
blandness and frenzy. Vascular congestion in the legs and bladder
weakness result when the Lung no longer draws the Qi from the
extremities to the core or from the pelvis to the chest.
_OceanofPDF.com_Between_Heaven_and_Earth_-_Harriet_Beinfield.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Like Dionysus, Water  is associated with
the subconscious, primal forces of nature, whereas like Apollo,
Greek god of the sun, Fire symbolizes wakefulness and the
development of wisdom and compassion. This relationship between
Water  and Fire is expressed by Jill Purce in The Mystic Spiral :
Situated between the poles, on our journey through the
spherical vorte x, we see at either end our source and goal. We
are pulled in both directions, since the longing for the
womb  … has its counterpart in the passionate longing of the
mystic for union with God. THE ARCHETYPE FOR  FIRE: THE WIZARD
Fusion is the organizing principle for the Wizard, who seeks to
imbue the mundane with the extraordinary, mergin g human
aspirations with divine purpose. Just as the Fire of love unites male
and female to form new life, so the Wizard  wields a miraculous
power to overcome separation by welding divergent elements into
one. His excitement and enthusiasm generate the heat required for
the reaction of fusion to occur. With this tremendous catalytic
energy, he brings the transforming power of light, love, and
awareness into the world. Enchanting and persuasive, the Wizard  is a natural salesman,
selling not so much the product itself as the experience of possessing
an instrument of magic, a veritable talisman, that endows us with
the power to transcend our ordinary existence. The magic, however,
is in the Wizard, not in the merchandise. So when this awesome
barker of dreams vanishes, and the remarkable can opener that
would open up a whole new world becomes merely a practical
device, we are not dissatised or disappointed: the very experience
of astonishment and joy that the Wizard  inspires makes us glad. Using persona l magnetism and the gift of expression, he can
assemble a group of individu als into one body. Whether as a team,
chorus, classroom, audience, congregation, or political party, the
Wizard  gathers us up into a shared expanse of vision and feeling. Through this marriage with the hearts and minds of others, we
realize a virtue of our humanness. HECTOR:  EXEMPLAR OF  FIRE
Aectionate and expressive, Hector possesses a lively sense of
humor, a jovial, optimistic attitude, and a generosity of spirit. He is
genuinely concerned about the happiness of those around him, and
because of his openness, it’s easy for him to involve himself with the
needs and desires of friends, family, and even strangers. Hector is both imaginative and articulate and has a passion for
contact throug h touch and conversation. He is a good orator and
teacher becau se of his love of speech. Through his capacity for
communication, he reaches out to people and makes friends easily. Hector lives just below the surface. His thoughts and feelings are
readily exposed: he wears his heart on his sleeve and has a rich
inner life that is easily aected by other people. He has ready access
to his intuition  and is often considered by his friends to be a mind
reader because  he knows what’s happening without being told. He
scans his world with antennalike intelligence, receiving and
integrating a plethora of information and impressions. Constantly responding to stimuli, he may appear to quiver like a
hummingbird, simultaneousl y motionless and vibrating. He has a
rosy, almost ushed complexion and shining, darting eyes. Glowing
with warmth and energy, Hector easily attracts the attention of
others around him. Imbued with the hot, bright, magnetic quality of
Fire, he can be awesome and seductive as a performer or leader. Like the power of Fire to iname and transform, through his
charisma Hector stirs our yearning for transcendence. Playful and demonstrative,  Hector showers his family with
feelings and attention when he is around them. However, he is often
not at home when there is something more engaging  going on
elsewhere. Hector needs plenty of interaction to satisfy his
requirements for recognition, stimulation, and contact. Since Hector
thrives on intimacy and pleasure, and relishes the gamut of
experiences and sensations, he may seem like an insatiable hedonist. But Hector is not selsh with his pleasure; in freely exhibiting his
own delight, he shares it with others. Because Hector has trouble insulating himself from the constant
barrage of external inuences, his powers of discrimination and
discernment can be overloaded, resulting in anxiety and confusion. Sometimes he cannot separa te his own thoughts and feelings from
those around him. His confusion can develop into a sense of dread if
he feels bombarded by unwa nted and unpredictable events. He may
come to loathe surprises, which frighten rather than please him. Under stress, Hector can become hyperactive, nervous, and have
diculty focusing his attenti on. His hands become warm and moist,
and he perspires freely when he is excited or busy. Hector likes
things hot: spicy food, warm weather, and emotional fervor feed his
naturally heightened awareness, and he can “burn” with unbridled
intensity. But when Fire is blazing too ercely, it can burn out its own
source, turning into cold ashes. Overexcited or overexten ded, he is
unable to slow himself down or pull himself together. This can
result in an inability to rest, sleep, and replenish his resources. When he reaches the limit of his capacity, his heart could suer
arrhythmia, cramps, and enlargement due to the exhaustingdemands made  upon it. Shou ld his Fire burn itself out, Hector’s glow
will turn to pallor, and his warmth and intimacy will turn to
isolation and melancholy. In order for Fire to generate joy and
fulllment, it must remain within bounds. The re in a furnace
warms a house, whereas in the forest, out of control, it wastes and
destroys the land. Hector must contain his power or be consumed by
it. Hector gives and demands a lot. His friends, family, and
associates may feel that they become fuel for his needs and desires. Because of his charm, it is easy for people to become caught up in
Hector’s exhilarating world— they are attrac ted to his brigh tness like
moths to a ame. And when Hector “burns out,” he may leave a
trail of empty and exhausted people who have given him their all. Peacefulness of spirit and tranquillity of mind are the hallmarks of
the harmoniou s working of the Heart. When  the Heart  is disturbed
by confusion and sudden shifts of reality, it becomes unable to
maintain calmness and clarity. Anxiety, agitation, and fearfulness
ensue. Lucidity and security become turbidity and dread. Compassion becomes sentim entality, and speech and expression
become exaggerated, losing meaning and relevance. Senseless
babbling and disjointed thoughts are the outcome of this
disorientation and homelessness of the Spirit. Whereas the dissembling of the Water  type takes the form of a
shrinking of the self through isolation and diminution, the
dissembling of the Fire type takes the form of dissolution of the self
through mergi ng between the inner and outer world. There is a loss
of identity and the faculty to discriminate between self and other. When Fire is vigorous and contained, Hector is able to weather the
stress of success or failure, gains or loss, with relative equanimity,
maintaining individuality and relationship. HOW WE RECOGNIZE  HECTOR  AS A FIRE TYPE
Hector reveals the true nature as well as the exaggerated  and
collapsed  features of the Fire type. He is aectionate,  open,expansive, generous, intuitive, warm, and bright. When Hector is
overdriven by his own tendencies, he is disposed toward heat,
fervor, dryness, redness, and excitability. Unrestrained Heart Qi generates Heat and agitation, which can
produce mania, delusional behavior, and bizarre exper iences like
hallucinations, nightmares, and rushes of physical sensation. Hector’s whole body becomes ushed and feverish as he tries to rid
himself of excess metabolic heat through profuse sweating and
intense thermal radiation from the head, hands, and feet. Impassioned by the thrill of imagined pleasures, Hector feeds on
fantasy, sometimes generating unrealistic expect ations of
fulllment. The momentum  created by unanchored exhilaration
results in disappointment when actual life does not match dreams. When this happens, it can be dicult for Hector to recover his
buoyancy—he feels as if his spirit has been lost, like a high-ying
kite that a swift wind has ripped away. Hector’s emotional
pendulum swings between the ination of euphoria and the
deation of anguished discouragement—he can be alternately
frenzied or melancholic, gregarious or isolated, talkative or passive,
seductive or timid. When his Qi is exhausted, Hector becomes pale, subject to cold,
easily frightened and confused. Sensitivity turns to vulnerability,
and intuition becomes veiled with darkness and doubt. Withdrawn
and morose, he dwells on tales of unrequited longing and vivid
morbid images of suering. Hector is an incurable romantic whose
life can assume the maudlin qualities of a television melodrama. Whether exaggerated  or collapsed, Hector’s boundaries—his sense
of himself—are soft. They easily expand or shrink under emotional
stress; Hector merges, becoming everyone, or dissipates, becoming
no one. He is undone by his penchant for relinquishin g his self-
possession, his own self-sen se. His challenge is to maintain his
mooring, a clear, discrete identity without sacricing his sensitivity
and openness. His virtue is his compassion, the capacity to know,
feel, and understand what others experience. THE EVOLUTION OF  DISTORTED  PATTERNS OF  FIRE
For the Fire type the key relationships are between the Heart  and
Lung (Fire restrains Metal ) and between the Heart  and Kidney  (Water
inhibits Fire). When excessively strong, the Qi of the Heart  can attack the Lung. The Qi becom es too dispersed, leaving the envelope of the skin open
and loose, unable to guard the body and contain the Essence  and
Spirit. When Fire overcomes Metal  there is an excess  of Dryness  and
Heat, which  leads to problems such as dry cough, thirst, night
sweats, and sores in the nose and throat. Emotionally this person
becomes restless and sensitive—easily moved from laughter to tears
and prone toward melancholy and anxiety. Conict heightens
between the desire for expression and eusion (Heart ) and the need
to preserve boundaries, set limits, and maintain defenses (Lung). It
then becomes  dicult for the Fire type to make distinctions,
besieged by a fugue of intense feelings of pleasure and pain, grief
and happiness, which may overwhelm him and over which he has
little control. Dominated by the Heart, the Lung cannot adequately nurture the
Kidney. The Kidney  becomes weak, and Water  cannot properly
restrain Fire. When  this happens, the Heat generated by the Heart
Yang can damage the Yin of the Kidney, resulting in painful scantyurine, soreness of the back, and disturbances of libido and potency. Uninhibited Fire disturbs attention, expression, and sensation. Weak
Water  (depleted Kidney Essence  and Moisture ) disposes a person to be
easily distracted and doubtfu l. Stuttering occurs when the tempo of
thoughts and speech lose their synchrony. Accentuated and
magnied, impressions conveyed by the ve senses may become
unreliable and overwhelming. These altered states of perception in
which reality becomes plastic and uctuating may be familiar to
those who have used psychedelic substances, involved themselves in
intense spiritual practices, or suered sudden emotional or physical
shock. This kind of experienc e represents a stress on the integrity of
the Heart-Kidney  relationship, the interaction between Shen and Jing,
Spirit  and Essence. When Heart Qi is exaggerated, the Liver overheats and becomes
brittle like dry wood, and the Spleen  becomes scorched like parched,
sun-baked earth. The body and character lose their resiliency and
become sti, dry, and easily inamed. The muscle and joints may be
feverish and painful, eyes irritated, tongue sore, vision and hearing
distorted. This can devolve into a collapse  of Heart Qi, at which time
a person becomes hypersensitive, fragile, and close to the edge of
hysteria. The key problems for Fire are dehydration, perturbed circulation
of blood, and instability of mental function. The Heart  is the home
of the Spirit  (Shen), and the Blood  houses the mind. By perfusing the
body with Blood, consciousnes s pervades all realms of soma and
psyche. Heat generated by exaggerated Fire consumes the body’s
Moisture  and dries the Blood. Yang destroys Yin. Metabolic activity
as well as the pace of thoughts and impressions in the mind become
unpredictable with surges of energy and emotion alternating with
periods of vapid dullness. Not knowing how he will feel from one
moment to the next causes Hector apprehension and insecurity. In order to maintain uidity and steadiness, the Fire type requires
continual moisturization of the body and gentle inhibit ion of the
tendency toward extreme dissipation and excitation. When the
living sap of the body withers, life loses its softness, luster, and
juiciness. Hector needs to drink sucient liquids and avoidoverindulging in heating and drying foods such as curry, sugar,
alcohol, coee, tea, chili, and salt. He requires the time and space
for solitude and restitution, to regain inner calm and clarity. Developing powers of discipline and discrimination, his Metal
aspect, and cultivating the rootedness of Water  through
identication with family, ancestry, and history will help him with
the steadiness that enables him to thrive. MARIA: IS IT WARM IN  HERE OR  IS IT JUST ME. Wearing an anxious smile, Maria ops onto a chair. Her eyes dart
around the room like a came ra, registering every detail. She appears
both nervous and excited about her visit. As she removes her jacket
she comments, “Is it warm in here or is it just me. ”Harmonic  and Dissonant Patterns
In the harmonic Heart  pattern, the Liver and Spleen  maintain stability
while the Lung and Kidney  provide the tension necessary for
movement and adaptation. In the exaggerated Heart  pattern, the Liver
and Spleen  become hyperactive and the Lung and Kidney  become
hypersensitive and erratic. In the collapsed  pattern, the Liver and
Spleen  become drained and weake ned while the Lung and Kidney
become overbearing and congested. Maria says, “I have a part in a lm right now, and I have itchy red
welts on my neck and face like hives. Can you do anything for that. I’ve been controlling it with Benadryl, but it’s not worki ng so well
and it makes me feel jittery. ”Asked about her health and what sorts of problems she’s had in
the past, Maria replies, “I’ve had a recurring problem with cystitis,
for which I’ve taken a lot of antibiotics. I get canker sores in my
mouth, and around my period I become sensitive, have hot ashes,
my hands and feet swell up so I can’t wear my ring or my good
shoes, and I have bad dream s. It’s also the time I’m most likely to
get a bladder infection. ”
Maria comments that she has a weakness for stimulants like coee
and chocolate, especially before a performance. She uses them to
feel “on” and likes being high. She comments that she’s particularly
thirsty while she’s working, craving ice water or other cold drinks. I
ask if she ever feels cold, and she says that after a hot ash she may
feel a chill. TREATMENT
Maria lies on her stomach and loosens her collar since the rst
acupuncture point is along the spine at the base of the neck. The
needle is inserted about three -eighths of an inch deep and is twirled
in place  for about fteen seconds. Maria reports when she feels a
sensation of fullness or heat at the point, after which the needle is
gently withdrawn. She turns over so that points above each wrist on the Pericardium
channel can be treated. This time she reports a sensation of warmth
and tingling, after which the needles are removed. Points are used
along the Large Intestine  channel on the hand, the Lung channel
above the wrist, and the Kidney  channel below the ankle, and a
special point is used above the bridge of the nose between the
eyebrows. These needles remain in place for twenty minutes. Maria volunteers that she felt more sensations than I asked her
about, not only tingling and heat, but also waves of vibrations going
up and down her back and legs. For a while she felt very hot and
her heart beat quickly; now she feels cool and her heart calm. She
wants to know if everyone has this experience and what these
feelings mean. Asked whether her sensations are pleasant orunpleasant, she replies that as long as it’s not abnormal, she likes it. I reassure her that it is not abnormal since acupuncture is
experienced idiosyncratically by everyone. Although Maria wants to
keep talking as she lies on the table, I suggest that she close her eyes
and rest quietly. INTERPRETATION AND  STRATEGY
Maria’s tongue  is red at the tip, and her pulse is soft, weak, and
rapid. Arising from hyperactivity of the Heart, the hives represent
Heat in the Blood  that is trying to escape through the skin, governed
by the Lung. This is an example of the Qi of the Heart  invading the
Lung, of Fire burning Metal. Red tongue, mouth sores, thirst, and hot
ashes are mounting evidence that there is too much Heat (Yang)
and not enoug h Moisture  (Yin). The fact that her pulse is also weak
and that she seeks stimulants to keep herself going indicate the
beginning collapse  of Qi. Normally the Fire from the Heart  descends to warm the lower
region of the body, including the Kidney. In Maria’s case, the excess
Heat causes irritation and inammation of the delicate mucous
membrane lining the bladder and urethra, causing cystitis. The Heat
causes Moisture  to evaporate and be held in suspension under the
surface of the skin, manifesting as puness of the hands and feet. Maria’s troubles reect the disturbed interaction between the
Heart-Lung  and Heart-Kidney. The dynamic of Fire and Metal, Heart
and Lung, organizes our boundaries. The secretion of the Heart,
which is perspiration, appea rs on the outer surface of the body,
while mucus, the secretion of the Lung, softens and lubricates the
skin and its underside. The dynamic of Fire and Water, Heart  and Kidney, organizes the
continuum of our reality. The Heart  evokes our communication and
contact with the world, while the Kidney  processes our inner
impressions and establishes the root and substance of our individual
and ancestral identity. When the Heart  is dominant, the hot nature
of its Qi can damage the Yin of the Kidney  and Lung. It is necessaryto clear the excessive Heat and nurture Yin by generating Moisture—
Yin can be used to balance Yang. The acupuncture point on the spine clears Heat in general, and the
points on the Pericardium  clear Heat from the Heart Network  and
calm the Spirit. The point on the Large Intestine  channel is specic
for red, itching skin and promotes elimination of Heat via the
bowels. The points on the Kidney  and Lung channels tonify those
Organ Networks  and distribute Moisture  upward  toward the chest and
head. An herbal prescription to harmonize the relationship between
the Heart  and Kidney  will disperse Heat, tonify Moisture, tranquilize
the mind, and stabilize the will. Maria delights in the immediate transformation that occurs when
she connects with an audience, changing everyday reality into a
charged and intimate drama. She gravitates toward such peak
experiences. She is quick to share her feelings and give feedback
about her sensations. Eager to communicate and establish close
contact, she is open to forming a friendship in addition to receiving
help. When Maria says, “Is it warm in here or is it just me. ” she is
articulating a conict between Fire and Metal. She feels a confusion
about boundaries, merges with her surroundings, and has diculty
knowing who she is as distinct from those around her. This dilemma
between fusion and separation characterizes the distortion of the
Heart-Lung  relationship. Maria may sometimes have a hard time
distinguishing herself from the role she is playing. She can’t tell
whether her subjective feelings are her own or a shared experience. Maria’s rapid pulse and red tongue also reveal Heat, which
evolves into an antagonism between Yin and Yang. As the Essence
(Yin) of the Kidney  degene rates under the overbearing inuence of
the Heart Fire  (Yang), more symptoms of Heat and weakness appear. Maria’s penchant for stimulants aggravates this. Maria’s exaggerated  condition has begun to devolve into collapse. The strategy at this stage is to disperse excess  and supplement
deciency, to clear Heat and generate  Moisture. For Maria it’s
important to appreciate the power of Fire to suddenly consumeinternal resour ces. When Fire gets out of control, the Yin of the
Kidney  and Lung can be quickly depleted. The Fire type easily becomes unstable, requiring a secure, peaceful
environment with a regular routine to balance overly expansive
tendencies. Squandering reserves for the sake of heightening
experience betrays a predisposition to distort the relationship of
Heart  and Kidney. Fire types need to be wary of melting the candle
by basking too long in the limelight without having a quiet
sanctuary in which to repleni sh the Yin necessary to keep their Yang
in check. With Yin restored and Yang steadied, the Spirit  is calm and
the root is secure. Maria needs to eat foods that moisturize and cool without
creating Cold or weakness. She is attracte d to fasting and cleansing
because it makes her tempor arily feel calm and comfortable. More
important than cleaning out, Maria will benet from juicy fruits and
vegetables, warm soups, and adequate liquid intake. She should also
have denser root vegetables, sea vegetables, and legume or sh
protein, which  will strengthen her Kidney Qi. Raw and cooked foods
can be used to balance her changing states of hyper- and
hypoactivity: warm, cooked foods will stimulate her metabolism
when she is tired, and cool or raw foods will slow down her
metabolism when she is overexcited. Minimal use of hot, spicy
condiments, ice cream, frozen yogurt, or iced drinks will preserve
stability and guard against extremism. With treatmen t twice a week for six weeks, the red, itchy welts
disappear and the hot ashes before her period also diminish. Cutting back on stimulants and reordering her life to include
cooling-o periods hastens Maria’s rate of recovery. Her tendency
toward chronic cystitis improves, though it requires more treatment. After six months of intermittent treatment, Maria continues to
have periodic episodes of mild itching and cystitis, especially after
strenuous performances or long tours away from home. She learns
to manage her occasional symptoms by regularly using an herbal
formula that harmonizes the Kidney  and Heart  and one that
disperses Moisture  and dispels Damp Heat. Every few months Mariacomes in for what she calls a “tune-up” or maintenance visit to
reevaluate what herbs to take and readjust her diet and habits. (see larger image)FIRE(see larger image)(see larger image)
SO, YOU THINK YOU’RE A FIRE TYPE
KEYS TO  UNDERSTANDING  FIRE
• relishes excitement and delights in intimacy
• keenly intuitive and passionately empathetic• believes in the power of charisma and desire
• loves sensation, drama, and sentiment
• likes to be hot, bright, and vibrant
TYPICAL  PROBLEMS
• anxiety, agitation, and frenzy
• bizarre perceptions and sensations
• nervous exhaustion and insomnia
• palpitations, sweating, hypoglycemia, rashes, palsy
• abuse of mind-altering substances
CRITICAL  TIMES
• exaggerated Fire—Heart  congestion: summer and fall, 11 A. M. –3 P.
Fire symbolizes wakefulness and the development of wisdom and compassion.
What is the symbolic meaning of Fire in the context of the text?
Hector is aectionate, open, expansive, and intuitive, with a tendency to be overly excited and lose himself in his surroundings.
What are some characteristics of Hector, the Fire type?
The text does not explicitly state the health issues associated with the Fire type, but it does mention that Hector may experience anxiety, agitation, and fearfulness when his Fire gets out of control. To address this, it is suggested that Hector should maintain a peaceful and quiet environment, avoid overheating, and find a balance between his own desires and the needs of others.
What are some common health issues associated with the Fire type, and how can they be addressed?
The text explains that an imbalance in the relationship between Fire and Metal can lead to problems such as dryness, thirst, and heat, and that an imbalance in the relationship between Fire and Water can cause issues like cystitis and an inability to digest food.
What is the relationship between Fire and the other elements, and how can it lead to problems?
The text does not explicitly state the key to recognizing the Metal type, but it does mention that the Metal type may experience issues such as asthma, constipation, and lack of emotional expression. It suggests that the Metal type should focus on self-reliance, self-discipline, and critical thinking to address these issues.
What is the key to recognizing and addressing the issues of the Metal type, and how can they be resolved?