Autumn in 5 Element Theory METAL

Metal

Season: Autumn

Weather: Dryness

Planet: Venus

Numerology: 9 

Element: Metal

Animal: Horse

Grain: Rice

Musical note: Resonant

Color: White

Flavor: Pungent

Smell: Fishy

Organ: Lung

Orifice: Nose

Body part: Skin/Hair

Sound: Crying/weeping

Emotion: Grief/Sadness

Pathological Actions: Cough

Location: Upper back/Shoulder

Spirit: Po/Courage

The Metal phase is summarized by one word associated with Autumn – “harvest.” Autumn is the season when everything is in a state of inward contraction. Plants start to die or to hibernate, and the weather becomes cooler and drier. In addition to the Autumn season, Metal is associated with the setting of the sun each day and the Venus planet in the heavens. Metal represents dryness and the color white. In the body Metal is the Lung among the Zang-viscera, and the Large Intestine among the Fu-bowels. By extension from these internal organs, Metal represents the skin and hair, the nose (i.e., both the upper and lower respiratory tract) and the sense of smell. The taste of Metal is acrid (spicy), its associated grain is rice, and the domestic animal is the horse. The Confucian tradition speaks of the Five Constant Virtues (五常), and the virtue associated with Metal is selflessness – Yi (義). Also in the Confucian tradition, the mental poison of the Metal phase is criticism or judgment – Nao (惱).