Changes

The movements of tree and fire are, respectively, the initial and final phases of ''yang'', that is, energy moving upwards and outwards, growth and expansion. The movements of metal and water are the initial and final phases of ''yin'', or energy moving downwards and inwards, condensation and consolidation. And the movement of earth is the axis around which all other movement take place. The five movements are reflected in time and space as the sun's motion in sky and cardinal directions: tree – sunrise – east, fire – noon – south, metal – sunset – west, water – midnight – north, and earth is in the middle.

When it comes to human anatomy, the movements are assigned to key major internal organs, with the latter divided into those ''zàng'' organs, which are hollow solid inside (and more ''yangyin'') , and those that ''fǔ'' organs, which are solid hollow (more ''yinyang''). Tree corresponds to the liver (solid) and the gallbladder (hollow); fire, respectively, to the heart and the small intestine; earth, to the spleen or pancreas (I never know which is which, and ancient Chinese doctors seem to have also treated them as if they were a single organ) and the stomach; metal, to the lungs and the colon; and water, to the kidneys and the urinary bladder.

Every person has their own constitution, in which one or two movements dominate, which, of course, determines what they look like, how they behave and what kinds of disease they are prone to. A fire-type person is tall and broad-shouldered with long limbs and neck, a triangular face, wide forehead, ruddy skin and loud voice, and is bossy and smart. A tree-type person is well-built, muscular, supple, with olive skin, a trapezoidal face with a pointed chin and thick eyebrows, is friendly, seductive and impatient. A person in whom the earth movement dominates is stocky, strong and slow, has a square face with thick lips and nose, as well as a sense of humour and a friendly temperament. You can tell a metal-type person by their tall and rigid body, narrow shoulders, a long face with a prominent teeth and nose, and being slow, meticulous and cautious. And finally, the water type with their short, round body, an oval face with puffy eyes, hesitation in their voice, shyness and apparent helplessness. Like in Ayurveda, mixed types also exist.