I Ching, the oldest written source of Chinese philosophy, predates Taoism and Confucianism by, oh.... about 600 years.

Loosely translated and summarised, it's an account of how life forms change - subject to the unchanging laws of nature,

specifically, the pentagramatic forces of;

~ FIRE (summer) luxurious growth and maturity of power, red

~ EARTH (late summer) abundance and decrease in power, yellow

~ METAL (autumn) tranquility of conduct and balance of power, white

~ WATER (winter) closing and storing, with an emphasis on power, blue

~ WOOD (spring) beginning & growth, rebirth of power, green

Now, this all sounds quite obvious but it's just the start of a complex physio/psychological profile that the I Ching founders developed in order to explain different personality types

ie. the effect of nature on our birth as human beings (read astrological signs et al.)

... and the balance of these natural forces;

how we become imbalanced by personality changes throughout our lives

and how restoration of the five natural elements can help us return to the perfection of our newly created life-form.

What really intrigues me...

having been a psych undergraduate,

with a sister who prescribes and creates herbal therapy

and having personally pursued varying forms of oriental, medicinal knowledge during my 4 years in South Korea

... is the well defined map of direct links between these 5 elements and internal, human organs.

For the benefit of my own knowledge, I will examine each of these elements in detail in future postings + take an in-depth look at the complementary arts of reiki, accupunture and shiatsu massage, whilst expounding the virtues of oriental exercise arts such as tai chi and hap-ki-do.

as the buddhists say "be compassionate to all beings and seek your own true enlightenment"