Metal
Autumn · Dryness · Lung and Large Intestine.
Metal is the element of Lung and Large Intestine. The season students attach is autumn, the climate is dryness, the sense organ is the nose, the tissue is the skin, and the flavor is acrid. The emotion in the classical set is grief. None of these are personality test results.
Generating cycle: earth generates metal, and metal generates water. The image is a parent feeding a child. It is a memory wheel for relationships between channels, not a diet rule.
Controlling cycle: metal controls wood, and is controlled by fire. The image is a grandparent keeping a grandchild in check. When textbooks say an element is “overacting,” they mean this wheel, not a measured lab cycle.
Herbs that enter these channels
Angelica dahurica root
Opens the nose and the yang brightness of the face.
Pinellia rhizome
The main phlegm herb. Raw pinellia is toxic. Only prepared herb belongs in a formula.
Field mint
Cool and aromatic. A light herb for wind-heat and a tight head.
Aged tangerine peel
Moves qi in the middle and dries damp phlegm.
Poria
A mild fungus that leaches damp and quiets the heart in textbooks.
Licorice root
Harmonizes formulas. Also the herb most likely to cause trouble if eaten daily in quantity.
Goji berry
A food-like fruit for liver and kidney yin, especially the eyes in texts.
Cinnamon twig
Warms the channels and helps a mild surface pattern.