Five elements
Wood
Spring · Wind · Gallbladder and Liver.
Wood is the element of Gallbladder and Liver. The season students attach is spring, the climate is wind, the sense organ is the eyes, the tissue is the sinews, and the flavor is sour. The emotion in the classical set is anger, in the classical set. None of these are personality test results.
Generating cycle: water generates wood, and wood generates fire. The image is a parent feeding a child. It is a memory wheel for relationships between channels, not a diet rule.
Controlling cycle: wood controls earth, and is controlled by metal. 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
Bupleurum root
Soothes liver qi and is the shaoyang herb.
Szechuan lovage
Moves qi and blood and is the head herb in many pain formulas.
Scutellaria root
Clears heat and dries damp, especially in the upper burner and the gut.
Forsythia fruit
Clears heat-toxin and is usually written with honeysuckle.
Aucklandia root
Aromatic, moves qi, and is aimed at intestinal pain and tenesmus in texts.
Spiny jujube seed
The seed students learn first for sleep.
White peony root
Softens the liver, nourishes blood, and eases cramping.
Field mint
Cool and aromatic. A light herb for wind-heat and a tight head.