Atom’s Blog

China’s Five Element Law of Metal, Wood, Fire, Water, and Earth is depicted by a diagram drawn in the geometry of a five-pointed star.

In 1975, I discovered that this star-shaped diagram is flawed (both its Generative and Destructive cycles).

The positions of Metal and Wood are reversed.

This reversal is noted in the prologue to the The Five Elements and the Ten Wings, a Traditional Chinese Medicine textbook used by many Western acupuncture schools that teach the Five Element Law to their students.

Anyone familiar with the I Ching: The Chinese Book of Changes (an oracle far older than than the Five Element Law) will know that either the Five Element Law is flawed or the I Ching is wrong.

Gertrude & James Jobes, Outer Space: Myths Name Meanings Calendars, 1964) correctly wrote …

“All misfortune comes from disturbances of the five elements, and for this reason Taoists oppose interference with nature. Earth, ruler of the middle kingdom, is represented by a square; water, ruler of the north, by a ball or circle; fire, ruler of the south, by a triangle; air, ruler of the east, by a crescent; ether, ruler of the west, by a mani or jewel of the lotus. The pattern is used as a memorial pole and as a talisman.”

Wood equals Air, and Metal equals Ether (or Sky or Akasha or Sonics).

Western astrologers dropped the Fifth Element in favor of Four Elements – Air, Fire, Water, and Earth.

Adano Ley (Swami Nitty-Gritty) said …

“The Five Element Law refers to the sonic, gaseous, thermal, liquid, and crystalline states.”

The Five Elements are energetic gradations of existence (that vertically align with the first five CHAKRAS, and horizontally align with the five ZONES of reflexology (the five fingers and five toes).

Metal is the Sonic Zone, aligning with the thyroid and thumb.

Wood is the Gaseous Zone, aligning with the heart and index finger.

Fire is the Thermal Zone, aligning with the solar plexus and middle finger.

Water is the Liquid Zone, aligning with the genitals and the ring finger.

Earth is the Crystalline Zone, aligning with the anus and the pinky finger.

“Adano,” I asked. “Which is the most important when doing therapy, the Midnight-Noon Law or the Five Element Law?”

“Neither,” he replied. “The trauma is most important.”

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