The Five Elements in Our Personalities
Yin and Yang and Five Element theories are the foundation for Traditional Chinese medicine, including branches of old science, philosophy, and culture. These foundations arise from the idea that we are intimately related to nature.
Earth and the universe give rise to our existence by providing the Five Elements for material and function. The Five Elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, comprise our universe and give rise to all lives. The Elements exist in us and strive to have equal balance among each other in to achieve homeostasis in our body and mind.
Like nature, we possess all five Elements, and yet we also have a dominant core element expressed through our personality and constitution. Ask any parent, and most will tell you their children came to this world with certain personalities. As parents, we are only here to shape or enhance our children’s lives, but we cannot remove these unique core personalities. Attributes of character are embedded in the understanding of the Five Elements. Sometimes we have more “Metal.” Sometimes we go through our “Wood” season. Every personality encompasses all the Five Elements, differing in the amount and accentuation. Some people might have more “Fire,” and some might have more “Water” tendencies. To delve deeper, we must first understand these Elements' nature.
Each Element has an essential nature and a function and reflects in our personality. All of us possess a certain amount of each Element, but frequently there is an Element that stands out in our personality. All Elements have their strengths and weaknesses, and none is better or worse.
In Chinese medicine, we value balance in personality and use herbal blends specifically formulated to restore and optimize each element.
It is soft and warm; it will curve and straighten if allowed to grow. It will reach toward the sun and is attracted to brightness. It symbolizes springtime; the temperature is warm but not hot. It is soothing and pleasant, like a gentle fire. It is like all vegetation in the springtime— green, flourishing, and growing. It takes on the energy of an Easterly direction, liking the warm, rising sun.
The Wood Element personality is warm, gentle, growth-oriented, adaptable, and always forward-moving. It has an upbeat personality and appears beautiful and abundant. Its weakness is that it doesn't see its shadow if it’s always looking at the sun. In other words, if you are always driven to achieve, you may overlook areas that need attention or improvement.
Balance and optimize your Element with the Wood Core herbal formula.
It is hot and constantly rising upward or outward. It is brilliant, like the sun— It is the pinnacle of Qi (energy). It attracts the most attention and also needs the most attention. It symbolizes summer and takes on a Southerly energy if we are in the northern hemisphere.
The Fire Element personality is passionate, intense, brilliant, and always striving for the best. It is powerful, attractive, mature, and sophisticated. The weakness of this Element is that its power can invite arrogance or hubris. It can become self-destructive.
Balance and optimize your Element with the Fire Core herbal formula.
It resides in the center of all Elements. It symbolizes late summer, a transition to autumn and winter. It accumulates dust particles from all matter and solidifies into dirt. It is receptive and holding in nature. It attempts to give a home to all lives and supports all lives. It allows seeds to take hold while enabling the root to penetrate through it. All lives begin in this process.
The Earth Element personality is quite versatile. It is receptive, supportive, and simultaneously solid and dependable. It seeks and likes order and tidiness. Its strength is in logistics. Its weakness is that its energy, at times, can be heavy and unable to move forward quickly. It can get stuck, both physically and mentally.
Balance and optimize your Element with the Earth Core herbal formula.
It is a denotation of all minerals, harder than earth or dirt. Its nature is strength and coolness. It strives to create change. Metal makes tools, and tools shape and generate innovation. It symbolizes autumn when the leaves fall and transition to winter when vegetation returns energy to roots. It sheds flowers and leaves. This energy is attacking, trimming, and retrenching in nature. In agriculture, it is the harvest time. You will only get the correct yield if one harvests early enough. The decision has to be precise and timely.
The Metal Element personality is change and decisiveness. It likes to create; it desires to innovate and is not as scared of change. It’s like an ER doctor who thrives on chaos and is unafraid to make quick decisions and execute them on the run. Its action tends to save lives. It has the most vital survival instincts. Its weakness is rash decisions without enough thought. It can be impulsive without considering the consequences of its actions.
Balance and optimize your Element with the Metal Core herbal formula.
It is cold and yielding in nature. It is greatly influenced by gravity and always flows to the lowest position. Sometimes we call this a downward tendency. It is moistening and nourishing. It symbolizes the winter season, where rain, snow, cold, and water are highest among all seasons, when Yin energy is at its’ max, and Yang energy begins to rise. Water is Yang energy wrapped inside, and Yin is expressed on the outside. Yang is bright, and Yin is dark. The Water Element will appear more transparent because of the shining Yang inside. The Water Element represents a northerly direction for its colder perspective in the northern hemisphere.
The Water Element personality is the opposite of the Fire Element; its energy direction is downward or inward. It is purposely conserving, retrenching, and strategizing. It does not want to be first. It is shy but with thoughts as deep as an ocean. Its beauty is subtle, and you must look carefully to avoid it. The Water Element is quiet, like a frozen lake. But if you listen carefully, you will hear roaring deep underneath the ice. There is a certain amount of mysticism to this personality. There always seems to be something hidden.
Balance and optimize your Element with the Water Core herbal formula.
All of us possess a certain amount of each Element, but frequently there is an Element that stands out in our personality. All Elements have their strength and weaknesses, and none better or worse.
Our personality goes through changes as we move through our life. Certain parts of our nature come forth, while other features diminish depending on our life experience, which is instrumental in shaping our future personality.
Knowing your Element will allow you to appreciate your strengths and weaknesses and find more balance in your actions and behaviors. We can balance or “treat” our imbalances with other Elements. For example, if we have a lot of Fire in our elemental character, we can associate with more Water people to help us not “burn” ourselves out. Suppose we have a lot of Water in our fundamental personality. In that case, we can solicit more Fire Element activities to “wake up” and move us upward to balance out the downward nature of the Water Element.
If you want to know more about the elements of your personality, you can take an element quiz at our website, taostar.com. Your quiz results can be a reference to begin your discovery about yourself. The more honest you are with your answers, the more accuracy you will achieve in your response.
Enjoy! May you live fully with your unique and beautiful personality.