The Season of Spring is upon us! To understand the energy and aspects of the Wood element, which is associated with the season of Spring, we have to look at what is happening in Nature. Once we get a sense of that, then we can understand the energy of the season and of the Wood element. Spring is the season of new beginnings, the creation of new projects, of starting something new.

What is happening in Nature? Birds are calling to each other, babies are being born, and the plants and trees are budding. The energy of the season is rising up (like the sap rising in the trees). The days are getting longer and the temperature warmer (hopefully!!).

Every element has characteristics associated with it that describe its functions. For example, the color green is associated with the Wood element just as we are seeing green popping out in nature. The emotion of anger is associated with the Element because anger is a “rising up” energy. The organs associated with the Wood element are the Liver and Gallbladder. In Chinese medicine, the function of the Liver is thought to be the ‘Official of Judgment and Planning’ and the Gall Bladder is thought to be the ‘Official of Decision making’. The way we make new things happen is to plan for it and then make the decisions along the way to get us there. We have a vision of where we are going. Thus, the eyes are the sensory organ associated with the Wood Element.

I think an interesting way to understand the Wood element and the Season is to look at some of the names of the points along the Liver and Gall Bladder energy channels (also called meridians). Each point on the meridian has a unique function that reflects some aspect of the element. The last point on the Liver meridian is called “Gate of Hope”. It lies along the front edge of our ribcage, over the liver, at approximately the level of the 8th thoracic rib. The dictionary defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Or “to want something to happen or be the case.” In the Springtime, we expect (or ‘hope’) the plants will bud and begin to bloom. If you have ever gardened, it’s the feeling of planting a seed and the excitement of checking on it everyday to see if it has started to grow. Or another way to think of the exhilaration of Spring is the first sunny, warm day in Spring. It’s a hopeful feeling when the sun comes out in the Spring.

Another point to look at, on the Gall Bladder channel, is “Foot Hole Yin”. This point is located on the lateral or outside aspect of the fourth toe by the toenail. This point is the point that roots us in the earth and allows the foundation for our ‘uprightness’. It’s where our power of creation builds and emerges from a deep place within us. We often don’t know how we made a decision; but once it’s made, it carries a power with it.

So, my hope is that you have a bit more understanding of the season and the element. And how the energies of the season move in Nature and within you.

May you have a hope-filled Spring!

Eric