22 - 33 The Water element's two officials: the Bladder and the Kidney

I have always been slightly confused by the descriptions given to the Water element's two officials, because I am not really sure that there is a clear distinction between the functions of the two.  The Kidney, the yin official, is said to be the Controller of Water, whilst the Bladder, its yang companion, is the Controller of the Storage of Water.  Somehow the words "storage of water" have always seemed to me to indicate a more passive, yin function than that which is usually attributed to a yang official.

 

On the other hand, I have come to see a very obvious difference between the two officials in terms of one of Water's sensory signatures, that of colour.  Water can imprint a surprisingly wide range of its basic blue/black colouring upon those of its element.  I have noted that this extends from being a very faint, almost translucent light blue colour, which appears to reflect all the colours, as flowing water in nature does, to becoming a much denser, darker colour, more approaching the black side of the spectrum.  I have come to diagnose the translucent, light blue as being that of the Bladder, reflecting the moving water of rivers as they rush over rocks or trickle lightly in their progress downstream.  This is evidence of the active, yang nature of the Bladder, which is in a state of constant movement as it works to expel urine from the body.

 

The Kidney, on the other hand, must take on a more passive, sedentary role, like all yin officials, controlling how our body learns to balance our fluid intake.  The darker colours Water seems to imprint on people's skin can then be seen as representing Water in its more stagnant Kidney phase, much as still water in a pond will reflect the depths beneath, rather than the free-flowing movement of the sky and colours reflected in the Bladder's lighter colouring.

 

I therefore see those with the Kidney as their guardian official as representing a more thoughtful side of Water, whilst those with the Bladder as being much more agile and constantly on the move, reflecting the Bladder's need to flow at all times.