FIRE

Fire is the time of summer. In summer, sun and yang energy reach their zenith at the summer solstice. Summer is a time of letting go, having fun, and connection with others.

Fire constitutions are passionate, vivacious, and dynamic. They enjoy connection and contact with others. They feel comfortable with vulnerability and deep connection with people in their lives. 

Fire constitutions value courage, openness, and vulnerability. They enjoy conversation that goes deep and gets to the heart of the matter. Spontaneity and going with the flow of life are natural rhythms of fire. Creative self-expression is an important component for fire constitutions. 

The organs and body systems associated with the fire constitution are the heart, small intestine, pericardium, triple heater (an organ specific to Chinese medicine which governs fluid processes in the body), and the arteries. Fire rules the tongue, speech, and communication. The color of fire is red. The sound of fire is laughing. The natural energy of fire is effervescing.

In Chinese medicine, the heart is the king and most important organ. All other elements have two major organs associated with each element. The fire element has four major organs associated with it. Just like our earth would not survive without the sun, our body relies on the heart just like the earth relies on the sun. Both the skills of rational thought and intuition reside in the heart. The heart rules connection and interaction with others. Our ability to create and maintain healthy relationships is the jurisdiction of the fire element. Fire constitutions have a tendency to need to either feel in control or feel controlled by someone else. Boundaries are regulated by the fire element. Having healthy boundaries in relationships and life situations depends on the health of the fire element.

The emotion associated with fire is joy. Joy and excitement, when experienced habitually over long periods of time, can injure the organs and body systems associated with fire. Anxiety, insomnia, and high blood pressure are some of the diseases which can show up when fire is out of balance. Joy is a positive emotion and essentially all positive emotions stem from joy. In Chinese medicine, there is no distinction between positive or negative emotions. Emotion is emotion and when experienced habitually over time can injure organs and body systems. 

When a fire constitution becomes stressed, she can become overly controlling. She may become domineering and a tyrant in an effort to exert a feeling of control over others and life situations. Intimacy with others, either physical or emotional, may feel too scary as it will feel vulnerable and thus out of control. This can lead to broken relationships and a sense of isolation. Fire can have a hard time committing to relationships or life situations like completing education or a long-term job. Commitment may feel like they can no longer be spontaneous in life. Fire can become sarcastic when stressed. Fire can rely too heavily on either rational thought or intuition and lock themselves into the belief that only one of these is the “right” way to make decisions. All of these things can squeeze the joy out of life and lead to a sarcastic attitude.

When fire becomes weak, she can feel more comfortable being in relationship with someone who is controlling. She may feel a sense of relaxation in knowing that someone else is controlling her and controlling life situations around her. She may become submissive and a sycophant. She may lack strength in both rational thought and intuition and so becomes dull and ungrounded. She may become too open and vulnerable sharing too much with others making them feel uncomfortable. Weak fire can lose themselves in others. She may have a hard time staying with one thing for too long seeking joy and excitement in the newness of change.

The virtue of fire is propriety which means appropriate action. Each element has a virtue associated with it which helps to bring an out-of-balance constitution back into balance. Other synonyms for propriety are respectability, decency, appropriateness, decorum, good manners, and discretion. Practicing propriety can help fire constitutions maintain lasting relationships, have healthy daily interaction with colleagues and friends, and help with issues of commitment. Practicing propriety can also help bring joy, happiness, and contentment into the everyday life of fire.

There is an ancient Chinese concept called WuWei. WuWei means non-doing or non-action. According to the book Nourishing Destiny by Lonny Jarrett, the character of WuWei was placed above the emperor’s throne for centuries in ancient China reminding everyone that life has its own intelligence, flow, and rhythm. As humans, our best way of interacting with life is to allow it to unfold before us and around us. This allows us to trust life and relinquish our need to feel in control or be controlled. It is important to remember that WuWei, or non-doing, is not passive. It takes mental focus, patience, self-awareness, and practice to achieve non-doing.