Comprehensive Guide to the Five Elements: Correspondences of Organs, Celestial Phenomena, and Symbolism

Table of Correspondences of the Five Elements, Organs, Colors, and Tastes from the Huangdi Neijing

Five Colors	Green	Red	Yellow	White	Black
Signs of Death in Five Colors	Color appears green like grass, indicating death	Color appears red like blood, indicating death	Color appears yellow like bitter orange, indicating death	Color appears white like withered bones, indicating death	Color appears black like charcoal, indicating death
Signs of Life in Five Colors	Green like emerald indicates life	Red like a rooster’s comb indicates life	Yellow like crab’s belly indicates life	White like pig fat indicates life	Black like crow’s feathers indicates life
External Manifestations of the Five Organs	Born from the liver, wrapped in white silk with blue	Born from the heart, wrapped in white silk with red	Born from the spleen, wrapped in white silk with gourd fruit	Born from the lungs, wrapped in white silk with red	Born from the kidneys, wrapped in white silk with purple
Colors and Tastes Corresponding to the Five Organs	Green corresponds to the liver Sour Green corresponds to tendons	Red corresponds to the heart Bitter Red corresponds to vessels	Yellow corresponds to the spleen Sweet Yellow corresponds to flesh	White corresponds to the lungs Pungent White corresponds to skin	Black corresponds to the kidneys Salty Black corresponds to bones
Facial Signs of Life and Death	Generally, if the face is yellow with blue eyes, yellow with red eyes, yellow with white eyes, or yellow with black eyes, one does not die. If the face is green with red eyes, red with white eyes, black with white eyes, or red with green eyes, one dies.

Five Tastes	Sour	Bitter	Sweet	Pungent	Salty
Five Tastes Corresponding to Organs	Sour enters the liver	Bitter enters the heart	Sweet enters the spleen	Pungent enters the lungs	Salty enters the kidneys
Five Tastes Desires	The liver desires sour	The heart desires bitter	The spleen desires sweet	The lungs desire pungent	The kidneys desire salty
Five Tastes Effects	Sour affects tendons Excessive consumption leads to urinary issues (hands and feet become unresponsive)	Salty affects blood Excessive consumption leads to thirst (dry mouth)	Sweet affects flesh Excessive consumption leads to worry (anxiety)	Pungent affects qi Excessive consumption leads to emptiness in the heart (feeling hollow)	Bitter affects bones Excessive consumption leads to vomiting
Five Tastes Restrictions	Sour affects tendons; those with tendon issues should avoid sour	Salty affects blood; those with blood issues should avoid salty	Sweet affects flesh; those with flesh issues should avoid sweet	Pungent affects qi; those with qi issues should avoid pungent	Bitter affects bones; those with bone issues should avoid bitter
Five Restrictions	Liver disease restricts pungent	Heart disease restricts salty	Spleen disease restricts sour	Lung disease restricts bitter	Kidney disease restricts sweet
Five Tastes Harm	Excessive consumption of pungent leads to tight tendons and brittle nails	Excessive consumption of salty leads to blood stagnation and discoloration	Excessive consumption of sour leads to swollen flesh and chapped lips	Excessive consumption of bitter leads to dry skin and hair loss	Excessive consumption of sweet leads to bone pain and hair loss
Five Recommendations	Liver is green, suitable to eat sweet	Heart is red, suitable to eat sour	Spleen is yellow, suitable to eat salty	Lung is white, suitable to eat bitter	Kidney is black, suitable to eat pungent
Five Diseases and Suitable Foods	Those with liver disease should eat glutinous rice, beef, jujube, sunflower seeds	Those with heart disease should eat sesame, dog meat, plums, leeks	Those with spleen disease should eat soybeans, pork, chestnuts, mint	Those with lung disease should eat wheat, lamb, apricots, garlic	Those with kidney disease should eat yellow millet, chicken, peaches, scallions
Five Organs’ Distresses	Liver suffers from urgency, sweet food alleviates it	Heart suffers from slowness, sour food alleviates it	Spleen suffers from dampness, bitter food alleviates it	Lung suffers from qi counterflow, bitter food alleviates it	Kidney suffers from dryness, pungent food alleviates it
Five Organs’ Desires	Liver desires to disperse, pungent food disperses it	Heart desires to soften, salty food softens it	Spleen desires to relax, sweet food relaxes it	Lung desires to gather, sour food gathers it	Kidney desires to strengthen, bitter food strengthens it
Supplement	Use pungent to supplement	Use salty to supplement	Use sweet to supplement	Use sour to supplement	Use bitter to supplement
Drain	Sour drains	Sweet drains	Bitter drains	Pungent drains	Salty drains

Table of Correspondences of the Five Organs from the Huangdi Neijing

Five Organs	Liver	Heart	Spleen	Lungs	Kidneys
Official of the Five Organs	General’s official Strategic thinking emerges from here	Ruler’s official Spirit emerges from here	Storehouse’s official Five tastes emerge from here	Adviser’s official Regulation emerges from here	Strength’s official Skills emerge from here
Five Bowels	Gallbladder	Small intestine	Stomach	Large intestine	Bladder
Official of the Five Bowels	Central official Decision-making emerges from here	Receiving official Transformation emerges from here	Storehouse’s official Five tastes emerge from here	Transmission official Transformation emerges from here	State’s official Fluids are stored here Qi transformation can emerge from here
San Jiao Pericardium	San Jiao is the official of decision-making, water pathways emerge from here. Middle Jiao is the official of joy and happiness (Middle Jiao = Pericardium)
Organ Symbols	Liver	Heart	Spleen, Stomach, Large Intestine, Small Intestine, San Jiao, Bladder	Lungs	Kidneys
Foundation of Extremities Residence of the Po Its manifestation is in the nails Its fullness is in the tendons Yang among the Yang Connected to the spring qi	Foundation of life Transformation of the spirit Its manifestation is in the face Its fullness is in the blood vessels Yang among the Sun Connected to the summer qi	Foundation of the storehouse Residence of the Ying Its manifestation is in the lips and four whites Its fullness is in the flesh Extreme Yin Connected to the earth qi	Foundation of qi Residence of the Po Its manifestation is in the hair Its fullness is in the skin Yang among the Great Yin Connected to the autumn qi	Foundation of storage Residence of the essence Its manifestation is in the hair Its fullness is in the bones Yin among the Lesser Yin Connected to the winter qi
In total, eleven organs depend on the gallbladder.
Generation of the Five Organs	The liver corresponds to tendons, its manifestation is in the nails, and it governs the lungs	The heart corresponds to vessels, its manifestation is in color, and it governs the kidneys	The spleen corresponds to flesh, its manifestation is in the lips, and it governs the liver	The lungs correspond to skin, its manifestation is in hair, and it governs the heart	The kidneys correspond to bones, its manifestation is in hair, and it governs the spleen
Five Organs’ Governance Five Fillings (Body)	Tendons	Vessels	Flesh	Skin	Bones, Marrow
Five Manifestations	Nails	Face	Lips and four whites	Hair	Hair
Five Orifices	Eyes	Tongue	Mouth	Nose	Ears
Five Organs’ Fluids	Tears	Perspiration	Saliva	Mucus	Spit
Five Organs’ Storage	Spirit Liver stores blood Blood houses the spirit	Mind Heart stores vessels Vessels house the mind	Intention Spleen stores nourishment Nourishment houses intention	Po Lungs store qi Qi houses the spirit	Will Kidneys store essence Essence houses will
Five Emotions	Anger	Joy	Thought	Worry, Sadness	Fear, Shock
Joint Distribution	Both armpits	Both elbows	Both hips	Both elbows	Both knees
Heat Distribution of Organs	Left cheek red	Entire face red	Nose red	Right cheek red	Both cheekbones red
Tongue Distribution	Both sides of the tongue (liver and gallbladder)	Tip of the tongue	Center of the tongue (lungs and stomach)	Center of the tongue (lungs and stomach)	Root of the tongue
Qi and Blood Channels Injection Points	All tendons belong to joints (during sleep, blood returns to the liver)	All vessels belong to the eyes, all blood belongs to the heart	All qi belongs to the lungs	All marrow belongs to the brain
Five Essences’ Combinations	Essence qi combined with the liver leads to worry	Essence qi combined with the heart leads to joy	Essence qi combined with the spleen leads to fear	Essence qi combined with the lungs leads to sadness	Essence qi combined with the kidneys leads to fear
Essence Qi Injection (Five Wheels)	Essence qi of the five organs and six bowels all rise to the eyes and become essence. The essence of the eyes is the pupil, the essence of the bones is the cornea, the essence of the tendons is the black of the eye, the essence of the blood is the network, the essence of the qi is the white of the eye, the essence of the flesh is the binding, wrapping the tendons, bones, blood, and qi together and connecting to the brain, then exiting from the back of the neck.
Liver	Heart	Spleen	Lungs	Kidneys
Black of the eye	Network	Binding	White of the eye	Pupil
Wind Wheel	Blood Wheel	Flesh Wheel	Qi Wheel	Water Wheel
Cornea, Black Eye	Blood network of the eye	Eyebrow, Eyelid	Sclera, White Eye	Pupil

Five Organs	Liver	Heart	Spleen	Lungs	Kidneys
Storage House Deficiency Excess	Liver stores blood Blood houses the spirit Liver qi deficiency leads to fear Excess leads to anger	Heart stores vessels Vessels house the mind Heart qi deficiency leads to sadness Excess leads to excessive laughter	Spleen stores nourishment Nourishment houses intention Spleen qi deficiency leads to weakness in limbs and discomfort in the five organs Excess leads to abdominal distension and difficulty in urination	Lungs store qi Qi houses the spirit Lung qi deficiency leads to nasal congestion and difficulty in breathing Excess leads to wheezing and fullness in the chest	Kidneys store essence Essence houses will Kidney qi deficiency leads to coldness Excess leads to distension
Five Qi Diseases	In the liver, it manifests as speech; in the gallbladder, it manifests as anger	In the heart, it manifests as sighing; in the small intestine, it manifests as diarrhea	In the spleen, it manifests as swallowing; in the stomach, it manifests as counterflow, belching, and fear	In the lungs, it manifests as coughing; in the large intestine, it manifests as diarrhea	In the kidneys, it manifests as deficiency, sneezing; in the lower jiao, it manifests as water retention, and incontinence
Five Essences’ Combinations	Essence qi combined with the liver leads to worry	Essence qi combined with the heart leads to joy	Essence qi combined with the spleen leads to fear	Essence qi combined with the lungs leads to sadness	Essence qi combined with the kidneys leads to fear
Five Organs’ Aversion	Liver dislikes wind	Heart dislikes heat	Spleen dislikes dampness	Lungs dislike cold	Kidneys dislike dryness
Onset of Disease	Shock	Diseases in the five organs	Diseases at the root of the tongue	Diseases in the back	Diseases in the stream
Injury	Anger injures the liver	Joy injures the heart	Thought injures the spleen	Worry injures the lungs	Fear injures the kidneys
Five Diseases’ Onset	Yang diseases occur in winter	Yang diseases occur in blood	Yin diseases occur in flesh	Yin diseases occur in summer	Yin diseases occur in bones
Five Labors’ Injuries	Prolonged walking injures tendons	Prolonged viewing injures blood	Prolonged sitting injures flesh	Prolonged lying injures qi	Prolonged standing injures bones
Five Organs’ Pulses	String-like	Hook-like	Slow (gentle)	Hair-like	Ying, Stone-like
Five Evils’ Manifestations (Severe Conditions)	Spring shows autumn pulse (Liver is strong in spring, its pulse should be string-like. If string-like pulse is absent in spring, and hair-like pulse is present, it indicates lung overcoming liver)	Summer shows winter pulse (Heart is strong in summer, its pulse should be hook-like. If hook-like pulse is absent in summer, and stone-like pulse is present, it indicates kidney overcoming heart)	Long summer shows spring pulse (Spleen is strong in long summer, its pulse should be slow. If slow pulse is absent in long summer, and string-like pulse is present, it indicates liver overcoming spleen)	Autumn shows summer pulse (Lung is strong in autumn, its pulse should be hair-like. If hair-like pulse is absent in autumn, and hook-like pulse is present, it indicates heart overcoming lung)	Winter shows long summer pulse (Kidney is strong in winter, its pulse should be stone-like. If stone-like pulse is absent in winter, and slow pulse is present, it indicates spleen overcoming kidney)
Five Evils’ Disturbances	Evils entering Yang cause mania, evils entering Yin cause numbness; striking Yang causes convulsions, striking Yin causes paralysis; Yang entering Yin causes stillness, Yin exiting Yang causes anger; this is called the five disturbances.

Table of Correspondences of Celestial Phenomena from the Huangdi Neijing

Heaven Stems	Yang Stems	Jia	Bing	Wu	Geng	Ren
Yin Stems	Yi	Ding	Ji	Xin	Gui
Heavenly Stems Combinations	Ding-Ren Combines to create wood	Wu-Gui Combines to create fire	Jia-Ji Combines to create earth	Yi-Geng Combines to create metal	Bing-Xin Combines to create water
Earth	Branches	Yang Branches	Yin	Wu	Chen-Xu	Shen	Zi
Yin Branches	Yin	Si	Chou-Wei	You	Hai
Earthly Branches Three Meetings	Yin-Mao-Chen	Si-Wu-Wei	Shen-You-Xu	Hai-Zi-Chou
Earthly Branches Combinations	Hai-Mao-Wei Three combinations create wood	Yin-Wu-Xu Three combinations create fire	Si-You-Chou Three combinations create metal	Shen-Zi-Chen Three combinations create water
Eight Trigrams	Zhen-Xun	Li	Gen-Kun	Qian-Dui	Kan
Five Forces	Movement	Repulsion	Balance	Stillness	Attraction
Stars	Year Star	Comet Star	Guardian Star	Venus Star	Planet Star
Numbers	Heaven produces three for wood Earth produces eight Thus, its number is eight	Earth produces two for fire Heaven produces seven Thus, its number is seven	Heaven produces five for earth Earth produces ten Thus, its number is ten	Earth produces four for metal Heaven produces nine Thus, its number is nine	Heaven produces one for water Earth produces six Thus, its number is six
Qi	Soft Sharp	Breath High	Full Flat	Form Clean	Firm Bright
Nature	Warm Following	Hot Fast	Calm and Orderly	Cool Strong	Chill Downward
Use	Movement Curvature	Restlessness Burning	Transformation High and low	Solid Scattered	Conceal Fertile
Five Transformations	Flourish Grow	Thrive Prosper	Full Abundant	Gather Firm	Clear Condense
Transformation	Proclaim and calm	Balance	Equalize	Proclaim and clarify	Harmonize and arrange
Command	Warm and disperse	Gather and steam	Cloud and rain	Fog and dew	Cold and chill
Change	Crush and pull	Burn and shine	Move and inject	Cut and kill	Condense and freeze
Disasters	Fall	Burning fire	Flooding	Falling rocks	Hail
Chronicles of Balanced Qi	Spread and harmonize	Rise and shine	Prepare for transformation	Examine balance	Calm and follow
Chronicles of Insufficient Qi	Delegate and harmonize	Hide and shine	Lower and monitor	Follow and reform	Dry and flow
Chronicles of Excessive Qi	Generate	Shine brightly	Thick and firm	Strong and solid	Flow and spread

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