The Earth as a provider

Seeds lie in the soil, seemingly inert, throughout the winter. In the spring they start to burst forth
and grow and by the summer the plants are in full bloom. In late summer farmers harvest their
crops. This is the time when Europeans hold the Harvest Festival and people traditionally give
thanks for the products of the earth.

Caring for the earth

If the seeds are of high quality, the weather favourable and the soil well prepared and nourished,
then the earth bears many fruits and people feast on them. In order that the fruits of the earth are
nourishing and of high quality, the soil needs to be fertile. At one time farmers worked with nature
and respected the needs of the earth. For instance, they would regularly allow the land to rest by
alternating the crops and by leaving some fields to lie fallow. Farmers would also nourish the soil
using natural compost derived from animal and vegetable waste products that were fed back into
the earth. This would create a continuing ecological cycle and allow the soil to feed us with
wholesome and nutritious crops.

Recently, however, many farmers under pressures of productivity have strained the capacity of
the earth by poisoning the soil with chemical fertilisers, not returning compost to nourish it and
not allowing it to rest by lying fallow. The earth becomes less fertile and the harvested crops are of
a less nourishing standard, sometimes toxic with pesticides. Although the earth is a provider, it
also needs to be cared for.

Storing food and energy

Foods are harvested in one season, often to be used in a later season. Our ancestors developed
many ways of preserving grains and fruits so that the produce of the harvest could be spread over
time. Several points on the Stomach and Spleen channels refer to this process. Stomach 14,
Storehouse, and St 4, Earth Granary, are examples. Storehouses and granaries indicate that the
function of Earth includes the storage of nourishment.
The Earth Element in life

An imbalanced Earth Element can also create famine. This can be a physical one with the Earth
Organs unable to transform our food into nourishing qi. The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ is only a
partial truth. ‘You are what you make of what you eat’ is more accurate. When the Earth Element
struggles to transform food into flesh and qi, people may feel tired and suffer from a wide range of
physical symptoms.

The famine can also be on a mental or spirit level. Can we concentrate or remember what we have
heard or read? Can we bring the projects of our life into harvest, give and receive support from
others and raise our children? We may have difficulty ‘reaping a harvest’ in our lives and never feel
that what we have put into our lives has borne fruit. Chronic feelings of dissatisfaction often afflict
Earth CFs. Being unable to reap on the level of mind and spirit can be as important as any physical
symptoms.

Humans stand ‘between Heaven and Earth’

Humans stand ‘between Heaven and Earth’. Our head should be in the heavens so that we can
take in the ‘heavenly’ qi and our feet on the earth so that we can be grounded and stable. An
earthquake or tremor is one of the few times when the earth is not stable beneath us. It induces
strong feelings of shock and insecurity. After an experience of an earthquake it can take a long
time to recover equilibrium and feel balanced again. When people have an imbalance in their
Earth Element they can easily feel unstable in a way that is similar to the instability aroused when
there is an earthquake.

People may also feel insecure and unsafe inside for many other reasons. The Earth Element may
be too dry, in which case it may be crumbling and cracking or feeling as if it is collapsing. At the
other extreme the Earth may have become waterlogged, making us ‘damp’ and as if we are muddy
inside. Damp can make us feel heavy in our bodies and we may have difficulty thinking clearly or
wanting to move.

The Earth as our mother

The Earth Element is often compared to a mother. The character tu di is often used in this respect
(see Weiger, 1965, lessons 81A (tu) and 107B (di)). This character often represents the Earth when
it is coupled with Heaven. It signifies the soil on which plants grow, but also the ability of the earth
to be like a mother (Larre and Rochat de la Vallée, 2004, p. 20).
The mother and nurturing

Like the earth itself, our mothers or main carers provide us with support and security when we are
young. Over time, and especially in the context of a family, we learn how to care for others and to
care for ourselves.

In the womb we are connected to our mother via the umbilical cord which is attached at the
physical centre of the body. When the cord is cut we are put to the breast and our mother
nourishes us with her milk. After we have been weaned our mother helps to connect us to the
world and we gradually learn to have our own identity. In the best situation our mother feeds,
supports and loves us unconditionally. She also gives us tactile comfort by holding and caressing
us. By taking in nourishment from our mother we gain stability. We slowly make the transition
from dependence to independence.

If a person is born as an Earth CF the relationship with the mother may be affected. The Earth CF
may be less able to receive nourishment and care from the mother. This can make a balanced
relationship between the mother and the child more difficult.
The Earth Element in relation to the other Elements

The Earth Element interacts with the other Elements through the sheng and ke cycles (see Chapter
2, this volume).

Earth is the mother of Metal

Along the sheng cycle Earth hardens to create Metal. The metal lying within the earth is often
compared to trace minerals that give the soil extra quality and richness. When patients have signs
and symptoms associated with the Metal Element this may be caused by imbalance in the Earth
Element, the mother. For example, chest problems and/or asthma can be caused by an Earth
imbalance. If the Earth is the original cause, treating it will benefit the person more permanently
whilst treating the Metal will have only a temporary effect.

Fire is the mother of Earth

When a fire burns ashes are left and these become part of the Earth. Patients with obvious Earth
symptoms such as digestive complaints or a sense of insecurity may have developed these
because the Fire, the mother, was out of balance. The practitioner may treat the mother to assist
the child and give it more stability.

Wood controls Earth

The most common situation occurring between Wood and Earth is one of Wood over-controlling
the Earth. When Wood invades Earth in this way it can cause many symptoms including a churning
feeling in the stomach, indigestion and/or nausea. By calming the Wood and strengthening the
Earth, the Wood settles and the balance returns to normal.

Earth controls Water

If a river has burst its banks or is flowing too rapidly, the situation can be rectified by damming the
river up with earth. In patients the Earth may not control the body fluids and the water, causing
symptoms of ‘dampness’ and oedema. This can cause signs and symptoms physically, mentally and
spiritually and patients may complain of feeling heavy, tired, listless, muzzyheaded and
demotivated.
 The Earth in the centre

As well as being situated between the Fire and Metal Elements in the sheng cycle, the Earth
Element is sometimes placed in a central position between all the other Elements. Su WenChapter
4 states that, ‘The central region is the Earth’ (Larre and Rochat de la Vallée, 2004, p. 16).

In its central position the Earth is the pivot for all of the other Elements which encircle and spin
around it. It is a place of stability within the body, mind and spirit. From this stable anchor, change
and growth can take place. Our food can be transformed and processed by the Stomach and
Spleen and turned into qi that nourishes the body, mind and spirit.

Su WenChapter 10 states that, ‘Yellow corresponds to the Spleen’ (Anonymous, 1979a, p. 27). The
Chinese word for yellow is huang.

The colour in nature

In China the colour ‘yellow’ is associated more with the colour of soil or ploughed earth than, for
example, the colour of a lemon. The Yellow River is called the Huang He and to many Chinese
people huang is always associated with the colour of this river. The Yellow River is famous for
silting up and the efforts both to unblock and rechannel the flow are thought to provide a
conceptual background for understanding the flow of qi in the body and the need to guide and
unblock it (Xinghua and Baron, 2001, pp. 12–15). Other examples of yellow in nature are the
colour of millet and a field of grain ripe for harvesting.

The facial colour

When a person's Earth Element is imbalanced it will manifest as a yellow or earthy colour on the
face. Yellow indicating that the Earth is out of balance will be seen beside or under the eyes. It
may vary in colour from a bright yellow to the muddier, earthy yellow. 1

1Yellow on the face can also indicate the presence of excess body fluids causing Dampness in the
body. Yellow indicating Damp will be seen more around the mouth and on the cheeks. Because an
imbalanced Earth often leads to Damp, the practitioner will frequently find yellow in both places