The Gift of Spring, the Element Wood
In Nature
After a long and dark winter season, the days are finally getting longer. The return of the life-giving light is fulfilling the long-awaited promise made at the winter solstice celebration. The increase in light is creating an atmosphere of confidence and hope. Now is the time for the ground to thaw, breaking the chains of the frost and allowing the ice and snow to transform into life-giving water.
The seed, the gem of life’s potential, has been patiently waiting for the right moment to expand and sprout. Mother Nature is transforming and beginning a new phase. It is the time of the season Spring.
This changedidnot arrive gradually but seems to have appeared out of nowhere and overnight, after that final winter storm. Spring wind gusts force People in the street to hold on to their hats or umbrellas, as Nature is stirring from slumber with a dynamic force. Life all around, flora and fauna alike, has awakened and is rushing to action. The atmosphere feels charged and on the brink of the “Next.”
The awakened seed, now germinates, embarking on the phase of growth, first bringing forth a root to find and tap into the groundwater, and then building the structure of the stem and a leaf in search of sunlight. However, for this to happen, the seed has to be prepared and able to make this transformation into an autonomous plant rather quickly, because it has to compete with all the other plants around it. Therefore, to be competitive, the young plant has to be decisive, be on a mission know the right time to act and have an action- plan in place for this rapid construction. To become a mature plant, an organism, the seed needs to be “organized,” much like an army. An army prepares, practices, keeps all the gear in order, and is ready for action, waiting to be called. In the same way, the seed has been packed with all its provisions and structures it needs, ready to unfold and follow the plan it was given by Nature, its genetic blueprint.
The supplies of nutrients stashed in the seed, allow it to establish a beachhead, so to speak, until it can draw nutrients from the conquered environment.
To establish such supply lines, it has to be dynamic, forceful, and determined. Every cell, every structure of the new shoot knows its function within the whole organism and knows its station in the total operation: The root knows its function as a root, finding water and nutrients. The stem knows to support the structure and provide the lines of transporting water and nutrients upwards and to penetrate to the surface in search of light. The leaves know how to act as solar panels that catch the sun’s rays and manufacture the sugars for fuel, so the operation “Plant Growth” can proceed forward, the blossom knows its purpose and so does the fruit.
The Structure of Wood as the Plant
It is noteworthy here that the German writer, philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was also a naturalist and wrote about scientific observations he made, and later the French biologist Raoul Francé , both observed that every aspect of the plant has evolved from the basic structure of the leaf, specializing in their particular function for the whole organism: the seed consists of two fat leaves that store enough food for the plant to survive until new supply lines are established via the root. The root itself is derived from a leaf, a leaf’s veins without the flesh, a point which is proven since some roots are observed to turn green when exposed to sunlight. The stem, the flower, and the fruit are all specialized forms of the basic structure of a leaf. The stem is a leaf simply rolled up into a shaft, so it can support the whole structure, the flower consists of leaves with bright colors to attract insects for propagation, and the fruit again is a leaf transformed into a storage container for the fruit flesh and sugars, offering nourishment to the animals in return for helping to spread the seeds. This ability to adapt can also be observed in the other direction when a stem placed in water will produce roots. All these variations of the basic structure of a leaf are therefore “uniform” members of the same organization, yet each with its specialized function, its own “station” contributing to the function of the whole.
As mentioned above, the term “organism” contains the meaning “being organized,” like an organization. It makes sense that the Ancient Taoists equated the plant to an army, an organization in which every person performs a specific function, contributing to the success of the whole. The idea may seem farfetched at first, to think of a little, sweet flower as having the structure of an army, but when we examine its functions, and realize this organism has to struggle with the environment to survive, competing with other plants, then we can grasp the analogy of an army, seeing the aggressive quality of the plant’s growth as a march forward to its destination. The Ancient Taoists called this energy the Element Wood, which is most active in Spring.
The Gifts of Wood in Our Body.
We as humans are of course also aspects of Nature. Our bodies are made up of the same atoms and molecules as the earth, the rocks, the oceans, and the plants. We sustain ourselves by eating plants or lifeforms that eat plants. We know that what we eat becomes us, our body. Therefore, we are the plants we eat. Our nature has aspects of the tree, like structure, strength, flexibility, rootedness, and the drive to want to grow.
So, when we examine the energy characteristic of the Element Wood in our body, we discover that like the tree, we can bend and withstand the spring winds and storms, showing tenacity, and flexibility.This explains why in our body, the Wood Element controls our joints, ligaments, and tendons.
The Element Wood inside of us allows us to maintain our balance and stand rooted like a tree. We can be strong like an oak or flexible like a willow. How amazing to realize that even the energy pathways, the meridians that maintain a healthy Wood, the Liver and the Gallbladder meridians, run up and down our legs, keeping our feet rooted underneath our body, even when shifting our center of gravity. Wood keeps our tendons strong like vines, and our joints limber and flexible in movement, while standing firm, with the resilience to bounce back.
The Wood Element’s control of growth represents not only the development from Birth and childhood to adulthood but also the continual renewal of all our cells in our bodies, a continuous Rebirth over the months and years of our lives.
The Gifts of Wood for Our Mind
We recognize the characteristics of Wood also in our psyche: The fibers in the grain of the wood, all face the same way representing having a direction toward a goal, The young sprout’s ability to penetrate any mulch shows determination, and the flexibility in deciding to grow around any rock or obstacle while still holding onto the vision of the final goal. To be efficient in carrying out the construction of a structure suggests foresight, vision, and organization. Therefore, in Spring we often experience the energy of Wood in our lives psychologically:We get the urge to make decisive changes in our lives, go back to school, change jobs or careers, or make plans for some new projects. We may decide to have a spring cleaning and move our furniture around for a fresh look or to function more practically.
We may find ourselves wanting to reduce clutter and give a garage sale or decide to change the landscape of our garden. We want to make plans to revitalize our lives. Like the sprouting seed, Spring gives us that forceful and directional energy. This rebirth of life after the dead of winter gives us new hope and the drive to move our visions into action. As nature has a vision of the final appearance of the plant, the Element Wood affects our physical vision, and our eyes, while at the same time affecting our ability to have a vision, an imagination, and to be creative.
The Element Wood gives the future.When we imagine a goal, we want to achieve, we see it before we get there. In other words, any goal lies in the future, even if it is just a few steps or moments away. Our motive to reach it drives our Wood Energy forward. Halting such progress will result in the frustration of this force. So, if the obstacle which prevents us from advancing is not cleared or our energy is not redirected it may give rise to the emotion of anger.
It is helpful to remember that anger is always the result of a frustrated pursuit of what we want, blocking the energy that pulls us forward into the future we have envisioned. Anger makes blind, one says. Is it not because we are too close to the obstacle, and we need to step back to see other possibilities?
Stepping back to get another perspective is a way to regain our vision from the blindness that the closeness to the obstacle has created. Since Wood energy is forceful, it is prudent to control the way we use it, keeping our eyes focused on what we want to achieve and not go too fast.
The Gifts of Wood for Our Spirit
Since the Wood Element is in charge of our eyes, our physical vision, for our spirit it provides the ability to imagine a tomorrow, to make plans for a time that hasn’t arrived yet. Being able to have visions of a future, even though it is hypothetical since we cannot guarantee the next moment, creates a sense of hope, a powerful property of the Wood Element. Imagining a future and making plans is very reassuring, even if it is hypothetical because not knowing creates a sense of uncertainty. Wood also provides our spirit with the confidence of Leadership as well as loyalty to a leader or a cause. Vision in the form of imagination is the source of all Creativity, art, music, and invention, seeing something that isn’t there, “yet”, to create order out of the chaos of raw materials, seeing their potential, and imagining the final product. In meditation, the Wood Element opens our Mind’s Eyes. In our sleep, the Wood Element guides the Images of our Dreams.
The Archetypes of the Element Wood
The two Archetypes of Wood are both aspects of the warrior:
The Liver Official is represented by the General, who has the overview, a plan, and the strategy to achieve the goal objective. Such ability will make good CEOs of companies or organizations.
The Gallbladder Official is represented by the Fighter in the trenches or hand-to-hand combat, someone who has to make quick decisions, a qualification which also makes good drivers, equipment operators, and stockbrokers.
Let us remember here that those embodying Warrior Archetypes are not limited to the military, but could be warriors for peace, heads of humanitarian aid organizations, the Red Cross, or hospital administrators, and visionaries, in other words all forms of decisive leadership.
The other Gifts of Wood
Wood guides us to know what we want to achieve, and how things should be done correctly. Therefore, we may show the tendency to be annoyed or frustrated if things are not done according to standards. Wood is also the guardian of ethics, protecting and standing for what is right, the decent thing to do, or the law. But then how does this fit with the Archetype of the warrior and taking the life of another? For this, the soldier has to be first convinced that killing the “enemy” is a noble deed, self-defense or to save and protect others, one’s family, one’s community, or nation. The soldier has to believe that he is killing evil beings, not humans. This explains why before a war, there is a declaration of war and the leader announces the justification for the actions of the military, which often includes language, that dehumanizes the ”enemy,” as unlawful combatants or animals. Depending on which side makes such a statement, it is either seen as justification or indoctrination and propaganda. Later, as the young soldier discovers the truth and that the “other” is the same as he is, remorse, trauma, and PTSD set in. The healing process should therefore include creating a better future, acting with high standards of ethics, providing a higher perspective, creating a reason for hope, and working for peace, all aspects and actions of the Wood Element.
Wood Meditation:
- Touch or lean against a tree, feel its strength and its years of experiencing the change of seasons, withstanding storms, frosts, and droughts.
- Walk in a forest and feel you are in the middle of a self-regulating ecosystem, a large organism, a being.
- Find a vista and stretch your eyes out. Your vision relaxes when looking into the distance, close up it has to work. Go back and forth from looking at near objects to glancing into the far distance.
- Practice Tai Chi, Yoga, dance, or any free movement, all emphasizing the ability to be grounded and able to balance, and having your feet rooted on the floor.
The Gifts of Spring and the Element Wood
Nature’s Attributes: Light, growth, hope, seed, birth, future, drive, strength, flexibility, tenacity, determination, vision, imagination, plan, strategy, structure, organization, dynamic force, decisive action, competition, goals.
Official: The Liver, the Official of Planning,
Archetype: The General
Attributes: light,vision, imagination, hope, seed, future, goals, planning, strategy, organization, structure,
Official: The Gallbladder, the Official of Decision-making,
Archetype: The Warrior
Attributes: birth,growth, drive, decisive action, strength, flexibility, tenacity, dynamic force, determination, competition.
Wood Imbalance
The imbalanced Wood Element manifests in the following way:
Color: Green – In all the hues it comes, olive, new shoot light-green, chartreuse.
Odor: Rancid – like fresh-cut grass, oily hair, cedar shavings, musty clothes
Sound: Shouting – emphasizing every word as if making a point
Emotion: Anger – impatient/ annoyed with the world for incorrect actions.
We Are One 