Earth

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Alchemical symbol for Earth

Earth is one of the Elements, usually described as the fourth.


Correspondances

Eastern associations

Color: Yellow

Taste: Sweet

Direction: Center

Season: Late Summer

Emotion: Worry, excessive thinking

Yin organ: Spleen

Yang organ: Stomach

Created by: Fire

Creates: Metal

Controlled by: Wood

Controls: Water

The element of Earth is considered the balancing element, which helps to balance and realign the other four, because of its place in the center of the compass. Too much thinking (worry) weakens the Earth element in a person's body. Studious people almost always suffer from a deficiency of Spleen Qi, which also manifests in a craving for and sensitivity to sweets. This pattern is circular-- too much sweets will also deplete the Spleen Qi, which can create a tendency to worry too much and to stagnate the liver. In the macrocosm, Earth, which is produced by Fire in the form of ash, gives birth to Metal (as ore). Wood controls Earth (as in the building of wooden terraces, or when wooden ploughs were used to till the soil). Earth serves to control and balance Water, as the banks of the stream direct its flow. The season of Earth is that of late summer, which in the Chinese system is understood as a separate season.

The power of Earth is in its stability. It aids in digestion of both food and ideas, converting the energy gained from food into chi. The person overbalanced in Earth must be encouraged to act as well as think.