Integrative Health Centers Acupuncture Blog

Sunday evening was the first full-moon of the new year according to the Chinese lunar calendar, and marked one of the oldest Chinese holidays 元宵节or The Lantern Festival. There are many legends as to how and when this holiday began, and over time the observance of the festival has changed with changes in governance and shifts in spiritual believes. Nevertheless, I believe that that the underlying message remains as clear today as it was to those ancient Chinese who saw the full-moon return once again in the new year. That the cycle of waxing and waning will continue, that the laws of life, death, and regeneration still govern our universe, and the hope that even during the darkest nights there will be a brighter tomorrow. This day is an ideal time for reflection and to dispose of the disappointments and short comings of the previous year and prepare ourselves for the challenges of the year to come.

The more practical message that this holiday sends is that the New Year celebration is over and that its time to get back to work. With this in mind, it seems planning for the year ahead can wait no longer.

As practitioners of chinese medicine it is our duty to anticipate the changes in the elements of nature that may influence or hinder our health in this new year. Fortunately, we have a system to help us make these predictions called “五运六气” (Wu Yun Liu Qi). This system was developed over 3,000 years ago in ancient China and became more and more complex as they gained a better understanding of astronomy and how geological influences can adversely affect ones health. The “五运六气” system is based on the concept that there are 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches. Each stem is paired with a branch to make 60 different combinations that come to fruition on a recurring basis. The stem-branch combination can change yearly, monthly, daily, or even every two hours. With the stem of the year determining the stem-branch combination of the month, the stem of the month determining the stem-branch of the day and so forth. For an understandable explanation of the system, as well as explanatory charts please go to the Hong Kong observatory web site: http://www.hko.gov.hk/gts/time/stemsandbranches.htm.

The correspondences of the 10 stems and 12 branches to elements of the physical world are numerous. Originally used to keep time, each of the branches represent the 12 different positions of Jupiter at the end of each earth year of its 12 year orbit around the sun. It also represents the twelve months of the year, the names of the 12 branches were used to keep track of the days, and each branch also represents a 2 hour time period of our 24 hour day. In addition each branch is associated with one animal of the Chinese zodiac, a 30 degree position within a 360 degree circle, a physical element within nature, a season of the Chinese lunar year, an organ of the body, and a weather element.

Over the next few weeks I hope to write a series of articles that will illuminate the use of “五运六气” in Chinese medicine and what influence this year’s stem-branch combination may have on our health. I must state that I am by no means as expert on this theory and as the series continues I hope those readers who are more familiar with this system will chime in with their comments and knowledge. I will do my best to post each new part of the series on Sunday or Monday each week. Thank you for reading and I look forward to your comments.