Dear Patient,
In my part of the world we’ve entered a time of year known locally as The Pollening. Everything is blooming, and everything is spewing pollen. It descends in a hazy yellow mist, blanketing outdoor surfaces, lining our nostrils and airways. We leave pollen-colored shoe prints on our floors when we step inside. It is everywhere. One does not escape The Pollening.
The Traditional East Asian Medicine theory of the five elements explains this phenomenon in terms of the aptly named Insulting Cycle. Under normal conditions, the five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal and water—hold one another in check by means of the Controlling cycle. Metal controls Wood, like an axe blade cutting back woody overgrowth. But sometimes the element that should be controlled will rebel and instead do the controlling, thereby “insulting” the element that normally keeps it in check.
The diagram illustrates this Controlling/Insulting relationship between Metal and Wood. The thin arrows represent the Controlling cycle. Metal controls Wood, Wood in turn controls Earth, and so on. But the thick arrow moving from Wood to Metal shows the Insulting cycle. The Controlling cycle provides the scaffolding of the system, while the Insulting cycle threatens to destabilize the entire structure.
This is essentially what happens in spring. The Wood element becomes dominant as the plant kingdom explodes with new life. The proliferation of Wood energy insults the element that normally restrains it—Metal, which encompasses the lungs and respiration, the sinuses and nasal passages, and the skin. Metal is our first line of defense against external pathogens, and this time of year, it’s overwhelmed by Wood’s foot soldiers—those microscopic particles of pollen.
Even though it represents a rebellious move, the Insulting Cycle is part of the natural order of things. Plants release pollen under a biological imperative to reproduce. Without pollen, we wouldn’t have plants. Without the Pollening in the spring, we wouldn’t get to enjoy summer’s bounty. Sometimes we just have to endure a little temporary insult. Fortunately, The Pollening shall pass.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist
What a great term! "The insulting cycle".
A great way to view this time of year.....very helpful!