Biorhythms: Six Energies and Five Elements

Ancient Chinese doctors and Taoist philosophers conceptualized man living between "heaven" and "earth." From earth they derived the five elements, their laws and principles. The theory of the five energies (of earth) pertains to, and regulates all earthly things, namely, matter.

From "heaven," meaning the atmosphere or cosmos, they observed six energies:

• Heat
• Cold
• Humidity
• Dryness
• High pressure
• Low pressure (climatic depression)

The ancient philosophers observed that the cosmic energies could influence any of the five elements or earthly energies. It is easy to observe that during any season the days can be very different from each other. For example, any summer day can be:

• Windy (Wood energy)
• Very hot (Fire energy)
• Humid (Earth energy)
• Dry (Metal energy)
• Cool (Water energy)

Continuing with the above example, we can say that any summer day can express:

• The Wood of Fire  (windy summer day)
• The Fire of Fire  (very hot summer day)
• The Earth of Fire  (humid summer day)
• The Metal of Fire  (dry summer day)
• The Water of Fire  (wet/cold summer day)

Since each of those energies can be manifested during any season (the energy of an element), it confirms that all energies affect each one of the five elements.

The effect of six energies on the five elements makes for thirty possible energetic influences, but since each situation always has a yin and a yang version, it makes for a total of sixty conditions that follow each other in a predictable way and that repeat themselves at the end of each cycle. As a result, the specific energy dominating any given year will be repeated only sixty years later.

It is interesting to notice that traditional Taoist astrology recognizes twelve signs (similar to the twelve signs of the zodiac), named according to an animal (i.e., a rabbit or a rat), but each animal is differentiated by one of the five characteristics of the five elements (green rat, red rat, yellow rat, white rat, black rat). As a result, they also have a sixty-year cycle.

Each year represents the energy of one of the sixty possibilities. The year of birth determines, for an adult, the dominating physical energy that will influence the individual's physical characteristics. It is his or her biorhythm of the year. It gives an indication about the likely esthetic and health challenges that will be encountered in the process of aging as a consequence of energetic imbalances.

The same concept applies for the energy of the month of birth, pointing to a biorhythm of the month. That energy influences the physical growth of the youngsters, but from the mid-twenties onward, it switches to influence the psychological characteristics of the adult while the energy of the year becomes the dominant one affecting the physical aspect. Phytobiodermie® provides trained therapists with tables to identify both the biorhythm of the year and of the month for their client.