Zodi Animal· The Elements· Wood 木· Wood in the body

A room of Wood · 木

One of the five phases behind your Primal Zodiac Animal

Wood in the body

Liver and soul

In classical Chinese medicine, Wood governs the Liver (肝) and Gallbladder (膽). The Liver is called the general of the organs: it keeps the qi flowing freely and stores the blood.

The free flow

The Liver is classically said to govern the free flow of qi, 疏泄 (shū xiè), to store the blood 藏血, to house the ethereal soul 魂 (hún), to open to the eyes 目, and to show in the sinews and tendons 筋 and the nails. A smooth-flowing Liver qi is described as the root of an even mood and clear vision.

Anger and the general

Fire's neighbour on the wheel, Wood carries the emotion anger 怒 (nù). The classics warn that anger harms the Liver (怒伤肝) and that blocked feeling becomes stagnant Liver qi 肝气郁结. The Suwen calls the Liver the general 将军之官 from whom strategy comes, the organ that plans and pushes forward.

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 Wood sits

Leave Wood in any direction

The five phases are one lens on your Zodi Animal, the creature you get when your Western Sun sign crosses your Chinese zodiac year.