5 Element Constellations: A Body Oriented Health and Wellness Approach
presented by John Cheney
2011 US Systemic Constellations Conference
October 30th 2011
The Chinese system of 5 Elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood) has been used for thousands of years as a matrix to view the subtle expressions of balance and imbalance within the human body.
A Natural Science
The 5 Elements of Chinese medicine came from an indigenous framework, which observed phenomenon in nature and reflected those qualities in the human body.
Looking at what sustains us, we can easily see that Mother Earth gives us everything we need within our life (in terms of a place to live, food and nourishment). Like the Earth, our stomach gives us through digestion, all of the raw materials to sustain the body. In that way it is our spirit’s Earth. I’m sure many of you have experienced eating a satisfying meal and have felt grounded and perhaps less stress. This can be a helpful tool in regulating the body. Obviously, if over used this can cause problems or imbalance.
Fire has a quality of warmth that humans have been attracted to for thousands of years. This quality when mirrored in the body/spirit might express as a very warm and compassionate person. Like a fire, we might be drawn to them.
These natural phenomena were used to describe the energetic system later to be known as the Meridians (channels that circulate energy through the body). As illustrated above with Fire, this expression of warmth can be measured within the heart Meridian as pulses on the wrist. The Meridians carry a bandwidth of feeling, emotions, drive, flow, and stability. The Meridian channels help regulate the energetic system of the body.
The 5 Elements and corresponding Organ Meridians:
Fire = Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium, and Triple Warmer.
Earth= Stomach, and Spleen
Metal= Lung, and Large Intestine
Water= Kidney, and Bladder
Wood= Liver, and Gallbladder
Emotions, feelings, and sensations associated with the Elements (balanced/unbalanced):
Fire= Joy, elation, compassion, calm/ Overexcited, nervousness, exhausted
Earth=Grounded, abundance, giving, connectedness/ Worried, ungrounded, doubt
Metal= Structure, cheerful, orderly/ Grief, apathy, cold, heartless.
Water= Flow, mysterious, creative, deep/ Fearful, reckless, anxiety
Wood= Drive, Motivated, assertive/ Anger, irritability, bitter
Systemic Family Constellations and 5 Element Systemic Constellations
In a 5 Element Constellation, there is usually no story except for the client’s experience of
imbalance. Example: Son may never have developed a trust towards his Father. Even though within a Family Constellation the Father is expressed in a loving manner, the Son can not allow himself to be present and receptive towards him. 5 Element Constellations gives the Son a chance to experience what new, healthy connection feels like without the interference of a past story. In 5 Element Constellations there is no past identification with an Element, so the connection can be experienced without past conditioning.
As in Family Constellations there are similar orders of Love or Flow within the 12 organ meridian systems as documented in Chinese medicine. One Order of Flow that parallels family systems is: every Element needs an equal and balanced place.
In other words, if one Element is weak it will affect the others. The basic flow is expressed in what is called the Generation Cycle (outer circle in figure below). The Mother of Earth is Fire and therefore the Earth is the Son of Fire. Earth then is the Mother of Metal and so on. If Earth gives too much to the Son (Metal) without receiving from its Mother (Fire) it can become depleted.
The Control Cycle is the star in the middle of the figure and the arrows point towards the corresponding Element that it controls.
Fire controls Metal (melting, softening).
Earth controls Water as with a dam.
Metal controls Wood (Trims, chops).
Water controls Fire.
Wood controls Earth (roots hold Earth in place).
This adds another layer to taking and receiving and many times can reflect complex inter-relationships.
These Orders of Flow or Love (Generation Cycle) show themselves in 5 Element Constellations all the time. The beauty of 5 Element Constellations is that we experience this flow for ourselves and therefore experience the taking and giving in relationship to the other Elements. This can be felt through the Meridians within our bodies.
Acupressure
I use acupressure to assist in resourcing the participants and client (with their permission) during the Constellation. The Meridians are accessed and stimulated via meridian points with energetic transmission through fingertips and sound (from tuningforks). This helps the system regulate in a more supportive way.
Working with Trauma
This model can be applied to trauma as well. I’ve applied the trauma work of Johannes B. Schmidt in relation to the 5 Elements matrix. During a traumatic incident some of these Elements may experience dissociation in order to escape sensory overwhelm. The feelings associated with the Elements can be carefully resourced (with acupressure and support from the other Elements) and guided back into a more conscious presence.