WOOD

Wood is the time of spring. In spring, all of nature, including our human form, pushes up and out and creates new growth.

Wood constitutions are decisive, competitive, and self-assured. They have vision and can use that vision for new growth and helping others grow. They make good leaders, pioneers, and teachers.

Wood constitutions value justice, leadership and achievement. They have a keen sense of what is right and what is wrong. They like to have a plan and stick to that plan.

The organs and body systems associated with the wood constitution are the liver, gallbladder, ligaments, tendons, and sinews. Wood rules the eyes and vision. The color of wood is green. The sound of wood is shouting. The natural direction of wood is pushing up and out. It is important for wood constitutions to feel that they can move forward in life.

The emotion associated with wood is anger. Anger, resentment, and bitterness, when experienced habitually over long periods of time, can injure the organs and body systems associated with wood. Headaches, migraines, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), menstrual problems like cramping, flow that is too light or too heavy, and fibroids are all issues generally associated with an imbalance in the wood element.

When a wood constitution becomes stressed, she can become belligerent and bullying. She can become fixed in a certain view point and have difficulty seeing any way but her own. She can begin to feel that she is the only one capable of getting things done in a certain way and thus begins to feel responsible for everything and everyone. Becoming flexible and accepting compromise can be a way for a stressed wood to relax and feel more balanced.

When a wood constitution becomes weak, she can feel timid and indecisive. She can feel a sense of resignation toward life and powerless to create anything new in her own life. She may turn her anger inward toward herself which can turn into shaming herself. Finding a voice for that anger can be a way for a weak wood to feel stronger and more balanced. Seeing a therapist or writing your anger out in a journal can be ways to free the repressed anger.

The virtue of wood is benevolence. Each element has a virtue associated with it which helps to bring an out-of-balance constitution back into balance. Benevolence means kind-heartedness, goodwill, consideration and humanitarianism. The first and most important person we show benevolence toward is ourselves. As we find a space for kindness toward ourselves, we are able to find our way to kindness toward others.