Sheffield Five Element Acupuncture

Emotion: Anger and Frustration. Season: Spring. Struggle with: Flexibility. Need: Justice. Strength: Assertiveness and Leadership. Organs: Liver and Gall Bladder. The nature of Wood is growth. It is expansive, determined, and always reaching for the light. Its energy is strongest in Spring, when shoots break through the soil, filled with potential and the promise of new life and the warmth of summer ahead. Spring carries hope, vitality, and enthusiasm, all qualities of Wood. Yet, like new shoots, those strongly influenced by this element can be fragile. The Liver share this expansive energy, radiating outwards to meet the world. When this energy flows freely, it is optimistic and assertive. But in today’s fast-paced world, it is often blocked or rejected, forced back into the body where it stagnates, giving rise to frustration and anger—the emotions of Wood. Everyone experiences this stress, but for Wood types it is especially challenging. This difficulty stems in part from the Liver’s link to the eyes. Woods often have clarity and vision of the path ahead. They are natural benevolent leaders, guided by justice and fairness. When their expansive energy is obstructed, however, it can erupt explosively. When a tender shoot meet a rock in its path, its instinct is to keep pushing, because it knows only to grow toward the sun. In the same way, Wood types persist with determination long after others would step back. But this persistence often leads to anger and frustration as their natural flow becomes blocked. What they need most is perspective. The shoot need not shatter the rock—it can simply bend and grow around it. Flexibility is Wood’s greatest lesson. The tree that bends with the wind endures more easily than the one that resists. Wood types must also accept that change is constant. While they crave structure and routine, Wood is the only element that is not eternal. Fire, Water, Metal, and Earth remain, but Wood is defined by its cycle of growth, transformation, and decline. Learning to embrace this movement is essential. Because of this, physical activity is especially important for Woods. Exercise helps shift stagnant energy, restoring its natural flow, with flexibility training being particularly helpful. And just as Spring teaches patience—that lush growth follows the stillness of winter—Wood types must remember that not all progress comes through action. Sometimes, the wisest choice is to wait. When they learn these lessons—flexibility, patience, and the courage to pause—Woods become inspiring leaders, defined by vision, integrity, and passion.

Emotion: Joy and Lack of Joy. Season: Summer. Struggle with: Appropriateness. Need: To be Loved. Strength: Receptivity and Openness. Organs: Heart, Pericardium, Small Intestine and Triple Burner. Fire corresponds to Summer, the season of warmth, joy, and connection. Its nature is expansive, light, and warming. It can protect us or illuminate the way, or burn and consume us. Like flames, Fire types are vibrant and captivating, but also delicate and unpredictable. They are often intuitive and receptive to others’ energies, but just as a freshly fuelled fire roars then dies down Fire types are prone to rapid emotional highs and lows, often due to external forces such as an offensive or confusing comment. They are often very emotionally open and this leaves them vulnerable. Fire’s energy peaks during Summer, the season of peak Yang. The long days of light and warmth reflect Fire’s own qualities. The beautiful flowers that blossom in summer are beautiful and captivating, but also fragile and exposed, much like Fire types who tend to be trusting and appear innocent or naive. They are ruled by their Hearts, strongly attached to their truth and purity but if their sense of self is lost then they can easily spiral into despair. The purpose of a flower is to attract attention so that they eventually reproduce. Similarly, Fire types often seek love and connection, and when they fall in love they do so completely, yet it can often be overwhelming. Their biggest fear is that they are not truly loveable, and so their determination to find ‘the one’ is to disprove this doubt, though their desperate desire to be loved can result in neediness and difficulties with relationships. An important lesson for Fires is to not internalise every glance or word from others. Otherwise their openness may turn inward, magnifying doubt and feeding a spiral of self-criticism. They must accept that, just as they do not love every person they meet, not all will love them—and that this is natural. Although romance burns brightly in their lives, friendships are also important to Fire personalities. They are naturally social, generous, and quick to help their friends. Yet, like the flame that requires fuel to burn, Fires need companionship to feel whole. Loneliness dims them, though if they become imbalanced within then even the company of others may be unbearable. The emotional role of the Small Intestine mirrors its physical job of digestion: to separate the pure from the impure. It is tasked with discerning right from wrong, friend from foe. For Fires, this sorting can become impaired and lead to difficulties with decision-making. The Heart, seen as the Emperor in Chinese Medicine, embodies purity, love, and higher ideals. As the Supreme Controller there is the fundamental desire to be a good person. Anatomically, the Pericardium it is the fluid-filled sac that surrounds and protects the heart, and emotionally it filters what reaches the Emperor, allowing necessary information through but protecting it from being hurt or overburdened. Unfortunately for Fires this shield often falters. Too open, and they become overly vulnerable; too closed, and the Heart grows lonely and withdrawn. This imbalance can also skew their sense of propriety—causing them to over-share with strangers, or struggle to express themselves with loved ones. The more their Heart values the exchange, the harder words can be to find. The Triple Burner, unique to Chinese Medicine, acts as a regulator—like a thermostat for both body and spirit. In Fires, it often overheats, especially if sleep is neglected. Sleep replenishes cooling Yin, balancing Fire’s innate Yang. Without it, they become Yin deficient which manifests as restlessness, sleep disturbances and palpitations. Yin deficiency disturbs sleep and so this self-feeding cycle, much like an out of control fire, can lead to mania and a sense of being out of control. As with each element, Fires must come to know themselves. Their gift lies in their sensitivity, but this same gift can throw them off balance if left unchecked. By listening inwardly, learning when to slow down, and tending to their own flame with rest and care, they can shine as intuitive, insightful, and radiant companions. Though their Hearts may lack protection, this very openness makes them a source of inspiration, touching others with the insightfulness and clarity of a flame in the dark.

Emotion: Sympathy and Worry. Season: Late Summer. Struggle with: Worry. Need: To be heard. Strength: Sympathetic and Giving. Organs: Stomach and Spleen. The nature of Earth is supportive and nourishing. It sustains life, providing abundance and stability. In Chinese Medicine, Earth corresponds to late summer, the harvest season, and is linked to the Stomach and Spleen—organs that transform nourishment into energy and sit at the centre of our being. Earth types reflect these qualities. They are generous, compassionate, and dependable, often the ones others turn to for comfort, advice, or even a home-cooked meal. Their nurturing nature can feel maternal, protective, and loyal—but when unbalanced, it may become overbearing or suffocating. A common challenge for Earth types is worry. In the same way that the Stomach and Spleen digest food, these organs are responsible for digesting our thoughts. When Earths worry too much, their concerns can churn endlessly, especially when they are about others and outside their control. Their selflessness also makes them vulnerable to depletion, particularly when their care is not reciprocated. The key lesson for Earths is to extend compassion to themselves as much as to others. When unappreciated, Earth types may feel resentful, needy, or even reject sympathy altogether. Yet with self-reflection, they often grow through these challenges, sometimes becoming deeply knowledgeable about health and well-being—which they then share generously. At their best, Earths bring stability, kindness, and inclusion. They thrive when they feel valued and when their giving nature is balanced with self-care. In harmony, they embody abundance itself—a steady, nurturing presence that enriches everyone around them.

Emotion: Grief and Loss. Season: Autumn. Struggle with: Arrogance. Need: Respect. Strength: Honest and Reliable. Organs: Lungs and Large Intestine. In Chinese Medicine, Metal is linked with the Lungs and Large Intestine—the only organs in direct contact with the outside world. The lungs draw in the air from the Heavens, while the large intestine releases what is no longer needed. This exchange makes Metal types both physically and emotionally vulnerable. Just as the lungs guard the body with defensive Qi, Metals often build protective emotional shields early in life. Because of this, many Metals carry a sense that something is missing. They may doubt their own worth and look for value through achievement, recognition, or a search for deeper meaning. This grief can drive them to achieve according to societies parameters, such as striving for success and wealth, or seeking meaning and purpose to their lives. However they express this, their core motivation is the same: to feel respected, valuable, and successful by others, but in truth to value and respect themselves. Nature mirrors this truth. Metals are rare, subtle, and often hidden, yet they are essential. Trace elements are only a small part of the earth, yet without them life cannot be sustained. In the same way, Metals must learn that their contributions, though quiet, are vital. Their true lesson is to recognize their own inherent worth—precious and irreplaceable, like the element they embody.

Emotion: Fear and Lack of Fear. Season: Winter. Struggle with: Trust. Need: Reassurance. Strength: Motivation, will power and wisdom. Organs: Kidneys and Bladder. Water is naturally dynamic, ever shifting, ever flowing. It sinks to the depths, adapts its form and fills spaces. Water can be soft, nourishing, and essential for life, but it can also be destructive. In Chinese Medicine, the emotion of Water is fear or lack of fear. As Water eternally moves, there is often a lack of stability and security that is usually provided by roots; life is constantly in flux and flow. The season associated with Water is winter, which would have been the most dangerous time of the year when food, warmth and light were scarce. This helps to explain the primal fear that most Waters experience, an underlying worry that everything could go wrong. To counter this constant tension, Waters tend to be thoughtful and with a sharp, analytical mind. They arm themselves with knowledge and understanding, and from this they create security. Through planning for the worst outcome, this allows them to identify a way to avert it. A contingency plan gives them reassurance, and usually serves them well – but when Water is out of balance this tendency can become exhausting and debilitating, wasting time and energy on imagined catastrophes. Yet Water also carries the paradox of fearlessness. Just as rivers carve valleys and oceans test cliffs, Water people may hurl themselves into risk. To others their choice to plunge into extreme sports or gamble fortunes in business may seem reckless, but for Water types, every risk has been analysed and assessed. Testing themselves in this way becomes their way of proving mastery over fear. Trust is perhaps their greatest struggle. At the root of their nature lies the suspicion that disaster is always possible, and so nothing and no-one can fully be relied upon. Delegation does not come easily, for they rarely believe that others hold themselves to the same rigorous standard. And yet, this creates a painful contradiction: what they long for most is reassurance, but their inability to fully trust others prevents them from receiving it. It is only when a Water finds one or two souls they can truly rely upon that they experience the sanctuary they crave. The gifts of Water are many. They are resilient problem solvers, the ones you want in a crisis, because they already have a plan. They are self-motivated, tenacious, and blessed with tremendous willpower. Water is also associated with old age, and with it the wisdom distilled from a lifetime of experience. For Water types, this wisdom is both their calling and their refuge: to learn to navigate their own depths, to recognize the harbours where they can rest, and to see storms before they break. When they harness these gifts, their inner strength and determination make them not just survivors, but powerful forces capable of shaping the world around them.