Zodi Animal· The Elements· Fire 火· Fire in the body

A room of Fire · 火

Fire in the body

Heart and spirit

In classical Chinese medicine, Fire governs the Heart (心) and Small Intestine (小腸). The Heart is traditionally called the sovereign of the organs: it governs the blood and vessels and houses the 神 (shén), the spirit or mind.

The Heart and the spirit

The Heart is classically said to house the 神 shén, the consciousness and mental clarity, to govern the blood and vessels 血脈, to open to the tongue 舌, and to show in the complexion. A settled Heart-spirit is described as the root of a clear mind and steady sleep.

Joy, and two fires

Fire's emotion is joy 喜 (xǐ), warming in balance and scattering in excess (喜則氣緩). The tradition also names two fires: the sovereign fire 君火 of the Heart and the ministerial fire 相火 of the Pericardium 心包 and San Jiao 三焦. Fire and Water, Heart and Kidney, are read as a pair that must stay in conversation, 心腎相交.

Classical system, not medicine. This describes a traditional medical-philosophical framework and cultural tradition. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and nothing here heals or balances anything as fact.

Where Fire sits

Leave Fire in any direction