Command points: 4 Junction points

Junction points provide a link between the yin and yang officials of an element, and in this way help maintain an element's balance.  They are also used as part of the procedure for transferring energy from element to element around the circle of the elements.

Yin and yang officials are usually happy to share their energy so to that there is no need for us to interfere with their naturally balanced communication with one another.  Very occasionally, though, one or other official is under greater stress than its companion.  This will appear as a discrepancy between the pulse pictures between them, with either the yin or yang aspect having less energy.  In this case the junction point of the weaker official should be tonified, encouraging it to draw increased energy to itself from its stronger partner.

 

Some pairings of junction points have very evocative names, such as those for the Outer Fire officials, Inner and Outer Frontier Gates.  Gates are always important points, helping energy move smoothly around the body, as needling these two junction points would do.

 

If a command point on either an element's yin or yang official is selected, treatment can then be completed by tonifying the junction point of the untreated official so that both of the element's officials benefit.  For example, you might choose HP (V) 8, Palace of Weariness, for its spirit, and add the Three Heater junction point TH (VI) 5 to finish the treatment.

 

Junction points are also used as part of the routine balancing of energy which forms part of our Akabane procedure.  Where an Akabane imbalance is detected on one official on one side of the body, the junction point of the weaker yin or yang official is stimulated to help it draw energy from the stronger official on the other side of the body.

Command points: 3 Element points: horary and seasonal treatment

Each set of command points also contains points which have a specific association with the five elements, creating a subsidiary circle of the elements. These points lie along the arm and leg in the order of the five element circle.  One of the points will be a Metal point, another a Wood point, and so on.  On yin officials the order of the elements on the arms and legs starts at the nail or first point with the first command points being Wood points and the final command points being Water points, whilst on yang officials the order starts with Metal points at the nail or first point, and finishes with  Earth at the elbow or knee.  The element points add the quality of their particular element to the official they form part of.  A Fire point on the Gall Bladder will therefore add some Fire quality to the Wood of the Gall Bladder.  

The element point of a patient's guardian element (Earth points on Stomach and Spleen for an Earth patient, for example) are the most frequently used of these elements points, because they are selected according to a specific time of day or season.  Treatment for the time of day is called horary treatment (from the Latin word for "hour"), and is based on the 24-hour Chinese clock.  Treatment chosen for a particular season is called seasonal treatment.

 

An element's element point has a particular resonance, as it emphasizes that element's qualities.  A Metal point on Lung or Large Intestine therefore increases the power of the Metal element.  This is particularly so when the element points of that person's guardian element are selected for horary or seasonal treatment in Metal's horary time or Metal's season, autumn, and doubly so if these points can be needled at the same time both in Metal horary time and in the right season.

 

For horary treatment, the twinned horary points of the yin and yang officials are needled to time exactly to correspond to that particular official's horary time according to the 24-hour clock by the sun.  It will therefore be impractical to choose horary points for some of the officials whose horary times are at unsocial hours during the night, such as those for Wood and Metal patients. It is much easier to arrange for Earth, Fire and Water patients whose horary times are during practice hours.  For these patients, the time of treatment has to be during both officials' horary times.  For an Earth patient, with Stomach's horary time from 7- 9 am, and Spleen's from 9 - 11 am, XI (St) 36 must be needled before 9 am by the sun (in other words around 8.45), and then there will be a slight wait until XII (Sp) 3 can be needled after 9 am. 

 

There is much discussion and some disagreement among five element practitioners as to whether we should consider giving horary/seasonal treatments to people whose element has no particular relationship to that time of day or season.  In other words, should we give a Fire person a Wood seasonal treatment in spring.  I have not myself included this as part of my treatment protocol over the many years of my practice, but I know many other practitioners who do.  I think my decision was based on one example of a Fire patient who I gave a Water seasonal treatment to in winter and who told me that she had felt a bit odd after the treatment, but this might have had nothing to do with the Water points but instead related to what was going on in her life.  Perhaps practitioners should do their own research on this to discover how far giving seasonal treatments for any season which is not that of their patient's guardian element appears to support their patients.  The problem here is that I believe that the positive effect of treatment is based on the cumulative effect of a number of treatments on their element, rather than on the effect of a single treatment.   

 

Apart from horary and seasonal treatments, we enter a complex area of five element treatment when we consider whether we should select other element points, such as a Metal point on a Water patient, or an Earth point on a Fire point.  Leaving aside the fact that some element points are chosen as part of tonification or sedation treatment, I think it is not advisable to think that it might be useful to add some Metal to Water points for the Water patient, or more Earth to Fire for the Fire patient.  This requires great insight to pinpoint whether the Water patient would indeed benefit from more Metal, or the Fire patient would benefit from more Earth, because this is a very subtle area of diagnosis.   During our training we were strongly advised just to use the element points for tonification or sedation and for seasonal or horary treatment, and for no other reason.  This is the advice I am therefore passing on here as it is what I have always done.

Command points: 2. Tonification and sedation points

Element points are used both to tonify and to sedate the energy of a patient's guardian element, and are chosen as a frequent alternative to source points.  Tonification is selected as treatment when our pulse-reading tells us that there is more energy in the mother element of our patient's element than in the element itself.  It is then preferable to draw energy from the mother element to the guardian element by needling its tonification points rather than its source points, since this is a way of spreading energy evenly between mother and child.  We should remember that the aim of all five element treatment is to balance the energy so that it flows smoothly from element to element.¬

When we decide to use a tonification point, we select the element point of the mother element.  For example, the tonification points for an Earth patient will be St (XI) 41 and Sp (XII) 2, the Fire points on Stomach and Spleen.

 

It is much more usual for the guardian element to reveal its imbalance as weakness rather than by showing an excess of energy, which is why tonification rather than sedation is overwhelmingly used in five element acupuncture.  If there is any excess energy in the guardian element it is also likely to be dispersed through the standard procedures that we use to clear blocks.  The initial check for Aggressive Energy may show that some pulses seem to have excess energy, but the AE procedure encourages this excess to disperse through the needles to the outside air.  A Husband-Wife block may reveal excess pulses on one hand, and in the case of Entry-Exit blocks the exit points of one meridian may show that they are retaining a build-up of excess energy which is prevented from releasing itself by passing it on to the adjacent entry point.  These are just temporary signs of blocked energy, and each of these blocks can be cleared, not by using an element's sedation points, but through specific procedures.

 

For the the purposes of five element treatment, I think we need to ignore the category of sedation points, and concentrate instead on the frequent use of tonification points.

 

 

 

Command points: 1 Source points

Source points are probably the most important group of points of all those we call command points (see Chapter 6, pages 84 - 98 of my Handbook of Five Element Practice).  These all lie on the arm, between the fingers and the elbow, and on the leg, between the toes and the knee.  If we were to stretch our arms and our legs out, as in the Leonardo da Vinci cartoon, these points would be on the two extremities of the body, on our legs tethering us to the ground beneath our feet, and on our arms as we reach up to the heavens above our head.  We can see them as forming a protective ring around us, sheltering our energy, before the meridians draw their energy to the main area of our body.

Each set of points contains the following: a source point, a tonification point, a sedation point, a junction point, and five different element points.  Some of the officials also have other points such as entry or exit points which are not considered to be command points.

 

All points other than command points can be regarded as in some senses interfering with a patient's energy by manipulating it in some way.  The most important feature of command points is that they are regarded as being the safest points of all, because they have what is described as their own in-built safety factor.  They are therefore selected to complete each treatment and bring energy back under the patient's control.  They are always used together in their paired yin/yang relationship. 

 

The most important points of all these very important command points are what are known as source points.  For the six yin officials, these are the Earth points within the circle of element points, whilst the six yang officials have no equivalent association with an element point.  A yin source point can therefore be seen as drawing upon some of the energy Earth adds to whatever guardian element treatment is directed at.  In other words, this additional Earth quality provides some of the centring which is Earth's particular quality. It is probably also the reason why I choose to needle a yang command point first, before a yin command point, starting with the left side and then the right.  It is as though yang command points offer the external support which all yang officials bring before we delve deeper within to access the deeper, more internal qualities yin officials provide.

Helpful hints for the novice five element acupuncturist: 6 Watching the way we walk

In everything we do we reveal the element which guides our life.  It is therefore worth learning to focus on one or other particular aspect of a person’s behaviour to help us begin to perceive how what may appear to be an almost irrelevant diagnostic indicator can, on the contrary, become the one which may confirm our diagnosis of a person’s element.  

I was thinking of this today as I sat having my morning coffee in my favourite café, and found that I was observing the crowds of people passing the window along the street outside.  I became aware of the very different ways they walked, some with quick, hurried steps, others more slowly and steadily, some with each foot planted firmly on the ground, others light-footed, almost floating past.

 

I was sure that each of these different ways of walking was telling me something about their owners’ elements, if I could learn to interpret what I was seeing accurately.  So which elements was I observing, I asked myself.  The feet firmly planted on the ground group might well have a kinship with the Earth element, for I had often noticed how much Earth relied on its contact with the ground beneath its feet.  Those walking more lightly seemed to be pointing me more towards the Metal element, having often noticed how Metal moves quietly through the spaces it occupies.  With Wood and Fire, two yang elements, there seems to be more energy in their movements, with Wood definitely showing its natural strength and firmness, as though it is striding forward into life.  Fire, too, has energy in all its movements, but these movements are much less clearly directional than Wood’s, being rather more jerky, as though they are darting from one side to the next, much as fire itself flickers.   

 

With Water I draw a slight blank in my mind, reflecting some of the uncertainty Water’s somewhat ephemeral nature always tends to evoke in me.  It is as though its movements mimic its capacity constantly to change shape to survive (from ice, through water to steam).  Water can either seem to be holding itself quite still, before darting rapidly forward.  But I must look more carefully at Water’s walk before describing it in greater detail.

 

So everything we do, from sitting in a café to enjoying a party with our friends, can turn into another lesson in learning about the elements, if we encourage it to do so.

Helpful hints for the novice five element acupuncturist: 5: Eyes: The windows of the soul

I am very aware of how few people, in this age of social media, appear now to be looking each other in the eye as much as I do.  I don’t have a smart phone, and rarely even use my old-fashioned mobile, so I look around me all the time I am outside, both when I’m walking around and when I’m sitting in my favourite café watching the world go by, as I like to do.

 But looking into the screen of your phones as people constantly now do means that you may be losing one of the important skills we five element acupuncturists have to develop, that of learning from our eye-to-eye contact with our fellow human beings.  For the eyes, as we have often been told, are the windows of the soul, and it is on our patients’ souls that our attention should be focused.  It is only at this deepest level of our patients’ being that we can assess the true nature of their needs.  The soul does not lie, nor do the windows which open on to them, if we learn to look through these windows with our unblinkered gaze.

 

So when you are with others, put aside your smart phone, look up and catch the glances of those you are with.  You will learn more about the nature of human interactions, and thus the nature of the elements you are trying to diagnose, than any book-learning can ever teach you.

How other elements interact with our own element

As five element acupuncturists, we tend to concentrate almost entirely on observing how each individual element interacts with the world.  But what is an equally interesting object of study is how each element interacts with people of different elements, and how such interactions add to our understanding of all the elements.  For example, I have been aware for a long time that I seem to have chosen close friends amongst one or two of the elements, but not all five.  And I notice, too, that my choices have varied over the years, presumably as I matured, or demanded more or less of my close relationships.

 

This has set me thinking about how far these changing choices of mine, for presumably they were choices rather than the result of random encounters, reflected some need in me which was satisfied by my interactions with people of other elements.  Nor must I discount the possibility that I might also have sought out people of my own element, Fire, too, or of  my particular aspect of Fire, which is Inner Fire.

 

These thoughts have led me to think more closely about the extent to which we choose our relationships with other people in such a way as to satisfy some deep need within us.  I said that I assume that it is by choice that we select our friends, even from amongst those that we may have found ourselves with by apparent chance, such as school or work colleagues.  If we look at the people we have drawn closest to from these groups, we will see that there is often a common thread to our choices.  I remember clearly that on the very first day at university, I immediately made a beeline towards the one other person who seemed to be making an effort to engage with as many of her fellow students as she could, rather than gravitating towards the quieter, more withdrawn and far less extrovert students.  This was clearly a deliberate choice of mine, which actually shaped much of my subsequent interactions with my student group.  And her element, I later decided, was definitely Earth.  Looking back I realise that what I was attracted towards was a need for somebody to replace the family support network which I had now moved away from for the first time, and the Earth in her fulfilled that need.

Later on in my life I realised that I often gravitated towards people of the Metal element, because they offered me the nuggets of wisdom which my Small Intestine was always looking for.  It was towards Metal people that I would turn, and still turn, to help me make up my mind about what I need to do.  Metal seems to be able to cut through my endless to-ing and fro-ing as I try to sort out the best way forwards.  Using myself as guide, therefore, I think it is good for all five element acupuncturists to use their own experience of how different elements impinge upon them, either positively or negatively, to help them gain a deeper understanding of the qualities of as many elements as they can. This will in turn help them towards making more accurate diagnoses of their patients’ elements.    

A five element circle drawn around the world

There is always something very magical about my Chinese visits, this the seventeenth over 12 years.  My days in China always seem to feel as though time pauses when I am there, as we run our week’s seminar, and then time restarts as I get on the plane back to London.  Much of the credit is due to my hosts who welcome me each time in their hundreds as though they are greeting a beloved friend, and cocoon me within what they express as their love for me from first to last day. From the moment we arrive in Beijing we are greeted by a large group who present us with lovely bouquets, with much hugging and kissing.  And this continues until the day we leave, accompanied again by another large group, which includes both times my host of hosts, Professor Liu Lihong, the inspiration behind five element acupuncture’s so eagerly awaited return to its homeland.

 

Liu Lihong and I go back now a long way.  Many years ago I remember our looking critically at one another as Mei Long introduced us at a Rothenburg conference.  From the moment we laid eyes on one another, though, I think we both relaxed, because here were two fellow souls each in our own way determined to nurture the damaged roots of traditional Chinese medicine and restore them to the healthy condition they deserved, he through his practice of herbal medicine and I through mine of five element acupuncture.  And between us there hovered the much-loved presence of my own great master, JR Worsley, who some years ago with his usual omniscience had foreseen the return of five element acupuncture to the place of its birth, telling me, “They will want us back in China soon, Nora”, as they now do in their hundreds.

 

I come back to England, as I always seem to do, inspired by the enthusiasm and warm response to what we teach them.  At a deep level they understand what five element acupuncture is all about, since the elements are in their blood.  I hardly needed to say anything before I could feel the agreement of all the 500 people who attended this seminar.

 

I spent a very warm last evening at a simple supper with Liu Lihong and a friend, accompanied as I always am by my good friend and translator, Lynn, to help Lihong and me understand one another. (Oh! how I wish that I, as a former linguist, had had the good sense to learn Mandarin many years ago before my old ears found it too difficult).  It felt to me then, and it feels increasingly to me on my return, that together Lihong and I have drawn a five element circle around the world, with JR Worsley, smiling, there, holding out his hands to both of us.  A slightly over-impressionist image, perhaps, but one that corresponds to how I feel as I reflect on my latest trip to China.

  

Off to China on Monday 4 September 2023 for our first post-Covid seminar!

I have been told that 500 (or to be more accurate, 482!) Chinese acupuncturists are waiting to greet us on the first day of our five element seminar in Beijing on Wednesday 6 September.  I gather that they have had to move the seminar to a larger hotel because of the number of participants.  As usual, I will be accompanied from London by my good friend and colleague, Guy Caplan, and we will be joined by Mei Long, who is the third member of our teacher group, once we are there.

For this seminar, we will be helping diagnose the elements of as many undiagnosed attendees as possible.  I have been told that probably some 350 of them may be either new to our courses or have not formed part of any of our diagnostic procedures at earlier seminars.  As I have blogged before, we have worked out what I consider to be as effective a way as possible of diagnosing as many people in the time available.  And we always emphasize that the diagnoses are provisional, and require confirmation from the effects of treatment.  That is something everybody accepts and feels quite happy with.

 

I will also be carrying out a full TD (traditional diagnosis) in front of the seminar group on one volunteer patient.  Previously we have interacted with patients at a necessarily much more superficial level, because we thought it was more important to help them with their diagnosis of the elements rather than with the techniques needed to carry out a good TD. So I am giving myself as much time as I need to get to know this patient, bearing in mind that all my questions and all the patient's answers will have to be translated into Mandarin, which will inevitably slow the TD down.  Guy and Mei will be focusing on helping participants with their sensory and practical skills, as well as joining me in seeing and treating further class patients  

 

It has been more than 3 years since we have all seen each other, so this will be a lovely reunion with the many good friends we have made over there.  I look forward to reporting back on what I have learnt from my time in Beijing at the end of what I calculate will be my 17th visit to China. 

Helpful hints for the novice five element acupuncturist: 4 A five element practitioner must be sure of their own element

One of the most important demands placed upon five element acupuncturists is the need for us to be as certain as possible of our own element.  This is because this element colours the whole world as we see it.  I have often said that it is as though we each see life wearing the particular spectacles of this one element.  We only really become aware of this when we try to help patients of elements which differ from our own, and realise that they see the world through the lenses coloured by these other elements. 

Each of us as practitioners must therefore constantly recognize how far our own element determines how we view the people we come into contact with, and that includes, of course, our patients.  My element being Fire means that I see the world through Fire's spectacles, and I have had to learn to put these to one side, as I put on those of the other elements.  Although we all do this to some extent when we interact with those around us, it is only when we are alone in the practice room with one patient after another, each often of different elements from our own, that this need to adapt ourselves to the demands of the other elements comes into such clear focus.

 

To help ourselves deal with this, we have first to recognize our element's particular qualities as expressed within ourselves so that we can respond appropriately to the differing needs of patients of other elements.  Since we are all likely to err on the side of emphasizing our good qualities and playing down those that are less flattering, that requires a great deal of critical self-knowledge and introspection.

 

Helpful hints for the novice five element acupuncturist: 3 Keep it simple

One of the mantras I can still hear my master JR Worsley telling us was: "Even a little child can understand this", and by "this", he meant the underlying principles of five element acupuncture.  One of my own mantras, following on from this, is:  "Find the element and the element will do the work".  A person's element is the imprint which nature gives each of us as the stamp of our unique individuality. By supporting this element through treatment directed at it we are helping nature do its work, with each treatment strengthening the element and allowing it to return our patients to a state of balance and harmony within themselves.

There is never any need to reach for complex point combinations.  We should rely instead on the simplest treatments, and the least number of them to help the elements.  We should also avoid over-treating our patients.  We should wait until we have proof that the element we have chosen confirms our diagnosis, before gradually spacing treatments out from one to two weeks, then to a month and eventually longer.  

It is good to understand that each time we insert a needle into an acupuncture point this can be seen as an interference with a patient's energy, and to some extent as disempowering the elements.  We should therefore interfere in the most gentle way and as least often as possible to allow the elements to regain the control over patients' energy which nature intends for them.  Unnecessary treatment encourages the elements to continue to hand over control to us rather than empowering them to do their own work.

 

And finally, always remember when in doubt choose a command point.  Unlike other points, you can use and re-use them as often as you like.

Helpful hints for the novice five element acupuncturist: 2 Curiosity

One of the most essential qualities a five element acupuncturist should aim to develop is the gift of curiosity.  If we want to help other people, we have to be curious about what is going on inside them and what makes them tick.  This also means that we have to be just as interested in what goes on inside us, too, so that we are able to relate their experiences to our own.  With every therapy there is a risk that the therapist will, often quite unconsciously, stand apart from their patient, viewing them as though through a glass screen.  This can create a kind of "them and us" divide which ignores one of the simplest, most profound truths underlying all human interactions.  It is that we all, therapists and patients alike, form part of a common humanity,

 We must therefore use what we have learnt about ourselves to help us understand our patients.  We, too, are formed of the interaction of the five elements, amongst which we have one dominant element which imprints us with its signature.  We, too, show, in balance, this dominant element's strengths, and in times of imbalance, its weaknesses.  But being therapists, whose task is to help patients representing all the elements, we have to learn to adapt ourselves to the needs of elements apart from our own, and that requires much insight.  We must learn to accept that everything our patients may be experiencing is to some extent also something that is familiar to us from our own life experiences.

 

Helpful hints for the novice five element practitioner: 1 Learning to be alone with a patient

There is nothing more daunting than to find ourselves alone in the practice room with our first patient, just the two of us.  There are no reference books we can take with us into the room to remind us of what we need to do; all we have is ourselves and the experience we have gained during our training.  Nor, unlike Western-trained doctors, do we have any physical information to help us make a preliminary diagnosis, such as blood or other clinical tests.  We just have ourselves, and our senses of seeing, hearing, smelling and, above all, feeling to guide us.

 What novice practitioners often forget, however, is that we should not think that it is diagnosing the element which is the main purpose of our initial interactions with our patients.  Instead, we should first concentrate on establishing a warm and caring relationship with them.  The more at ease a patient feels, the more comfortable they will be in telling us what is really going on in their lives, and this in turn will allow their guardian element to reveal itself more clearly.  And the more relaxed we feel with our patient, the more we give ourselves time to explore the feelings our patient evokes in us, and the sensory impressions we are receiving from them.  All this will gradually point us in the direction of the right element.

 

I would therefore advise each novice five element practitioner to worry less about trying to diagnose the patient's element, and concentrate instead on making sure that their approach is making their patients feel safe and at ease.  It is by doing this that their element will also reveal itself more clearly.   

A lovely compliment from an American subscriber to my second Net of Knowledge course

It is always very rewarding and heart-warming to receive such a nice compliment about the second of our Net of Knowledge courses, On Being a Five Element Acupuncturist, which has just been published. 

"Thank you for your honest, practical, and grounded perspective. I really liked how this course gave a general, global perspective on what it means, from the teacher's years of experience, to be a five-element practitioner. I found it very interesting and relatable.”

So I thank the American subscriber who took the time to write to me telling me how much she had enjoyed learning from the course. 

The link to my two Net of Knowledge courses, The Handbook of Five Element Practice and On Being a Five Element Acupuncturist, for anybody else also interested in learning from either of them is:

 https://netofknowledge.com/Discover?search=Nora+Franglen 

My favourite acupuncture points: Conclusion

Many people may wonder why I don't include my own descriptions of acupuncture points, but only list them.  There are many reasons why I am reluctant to do this, the main one being that I don't think that I can explain the reasons for my choice clearly in words.  I have developed these choices after many years of practice, and mainly through something I call my "feel".  I find it very difficult if not impossible to describe how today I might feel that CV 14 is a good point for one patient, whilst III 38 might be the one for another patient.

One day I decided to look back at the treatments I gave to my first patients as part of my initial training, and was amazed at just how few points there were on this list.  And they were all such simple treatments, mostly consisting of command points plus the very occasional additional point, ones we called "spirit points" (although as I often say, all points have their spirit, command points included).  Of course we always started with an AE drain, and were on the look-out for blocks.  The main emphasis of treatment was the simple requirement to confirm a patient's element and then strengthen it in any way we could by choosing points on its two meridians, or points relating to them, such as AEPs or Windows.

I have often talked about the magical day towards the end of my postgraduate study with JR Worsley when he picked up his "brown chart", the well-known bible of acupuncture points all us five element acupuncturists have at our side, and started reading out the names of one point after another, starting with the first, Heart 1, Utmost Source, and ending with GV 28, Mouth Crossing.  He did not tell us how we should use these points, except occasionally murmuring, almost to himself, "this is a lovely point", or "only the most experienced practitioners must use this point", or "this is a forbidden point to needle".  But he spoke each point's name as though he was addressing his beloved.

 

I knew I had heard a master at work, with an understanding of what points meant to him that I would never acquire, but which had touched me at different times to help illuminate my own understanding of my craft.  Perhaps, too, I like to think that he was passing on to the few of us in his class some hint of his mastery to help us develop our own approaches to the points.  Or at least that is what I like to say to myself.

My favourite CV/GV (Ren Mai/Du Mai) points

I have now reached the final selection of my favourite points, those which are on Conception and Governor Vessels.  I have left these to the last because I think they should be viewed as a very special group, to be used always with care.  These two great meridians form the trunk of the great five element tree, from which each element branches out.  Unless there is the major blockage which we know of as a CV/GV block, where the energy from this trunk is unable to feed its branches as it should, I regard these points as adding something very special to the main body of a five element approach to treatment, to be drawn on only where necessary. 

One great distinction between these two series of points is that Conception Vessel runs over the front of the body, its yin aspect, and Governor Vessel over the back, its yang aspect.  In deciding which of these points I might consider adding to an element's points, my first thought is therefore whether my patient needs strengthening from a yin or a yang aspect.   Simply stated, do I think that he/she needs more backbone (yang) or more inner strength (yin)?

 

I also base my selection on a point's anatomical position, and on the name it has been given over the thousands of years of its use.

 

But I turn to CV or GV points only when I feel that all the good work I am doing to strengthen a patient's guardian element is somehow lacking something, and I need to add a deeper layer to my treatment.

 

 

CONCEPTION VESSEL (CV)

 

CV 1                Meeting of Yin             (5 points)

CV 8                Spirit Deficiency

CV 12              Middle Duct

CV 14              Great Deficiency

CV 22              Heaven Rushing Out

 

In addition, there are many CV points which have a special connection to individual officials, and are together known as the Alarm Points.  These points have a special relationship to each official, and on being palpated can provide information about the health of the official.    

     

 

GOVERNOR VESSEL (GV)

 

GV 1                Long Strength             (6 points)

GV 4                Gate of Life                 

GV 12              Body Pillar

GV 14              Great Hammer

GV 19              Posterior Summit

GV 20              One Hundred Meetings

 

 

 

My favourite Water points

(In addition to Command Points)

KIDNEY (IV)             (7 points)

IV 16   Vitals Correspondence

IV 22   Walking on the Verandah

IV 23   Spirit Seal

IV 24   Spirit Burial Ground

IV 25   Spirit Storehouse

IV 26   Amidst Elegance

IV 27   Storehouse

 

BLADDER (III)         (19 points)

III 10   Heavenly Pillar

 

Inner Bladder Line

III 13   Lungs Correspondence

III 14   Heart Protector Correspondence

III 15   Heart Correspondence

III 18   Liver Correspondence

III 19   Gall Bladder Correspondence

III 20   Spleen Correspondence

III 21   Stomach Correspondence

III 22   Three Heater Correspondence

III 23   Kidney Correspondence

III 25   Large Intestine Correspondence

III 27   Small Intestine Correspondence

III 28   Bladder Correspondence

 

Outer Bladder Line

III 37   Soul Door

III 38   Rich for the Vitals Correspondence

III 39   Spirit Hall

III 42   Spiritual Soul Gate

III 44   Thought Dwelling

III 45   Stomach Granary

III 47   Ambition Room

 

It has been a most illuminating exercise for me to gather together the list of my favourite Water points, and realise so clearly for the first time the very unique position the Water element occupies.  For unlike its fellow elements, its points can be used to treat all elements, and are not limited to treating only itself.

 

The Kidney chest points and Inner and Outer Bladder points are routinely added to reinforce the effect of points on the other elements.  This gives it a very special place in the hierarchy of the elements.  It helps us understand that it is in many ways our core element, the original element from which all the other elements spring and from which all life emerges.

  

Publication of our second Net of Knowledge course

On Being a Five Element Acupuncturist

I am happy to announce that our second Net of Knowledge course, On Being a Five Element Acupuncturist, has now been published. This adds to our first course:  The Handbook of Five Element Acupuncture. 

Here is the link to this new course:

On Being a Five Element Acupuncturist

https://netofknowledge.com/Link/Course/c1999439-4b1d-4138-b9a9-5a0598749cfc  

 

And here is a brief 90 second promotional video for it: 

‘https://youtu.be/xhc2iyekXpY’

It is available through Acupuncture World in Europe, CPD Cert in the UK and Ireland, China Books in Australia and NZ, Lhasa OMS in the U.S. and Eastern Currents in Canada.

 

Both courses are also available through the following link:   

https://netofknowledge.com/Discover?search=Nora+Franglen

 

 

 

My favourite Metal points

 (In addition to Command Points)                  

LUNG (IX)                     (3 (4) points)

IX 1     Middle Palace           

IX 2     Cloud Gate

IX 6     Greatest Hole

(IX 10    Fish Region)

LARGE INTESTINE (X)     (3 points)

X 7      Warm Current

X 15    Shoulder Joint

X 20    Welcome Fragrance

 

AEPs

III 13   Lung Correspondence  

III 25   Large Intestine Correspondence

 

WINDOWS OF THE SKY

IX 3     Heavenly Palace

X 18    Support and Rush Out

 

It is interesting to compare the fact that I have selected fewer points for the Metal element (6 in total, apart from the AEPs and the Windows) than those for the Wood and Earth elements.   I expect the same will be true of the Water element, again with its two officials having far more points than either the Fire or the Metal elements. 

It may also be significant that I have chosen only three points for the Large Intestine out of a total of 20, the same number as for its yin companion, the Lung, which only has 11 points.  This may be because I like to concentrate my attention on the Lung, the receiver of Qi from the heavens, rather than on the Large Intestine, in charge of drainage and dregs.   Perhaps this is because I may tend to regard it , wrongly, as a less important official.

There is one further point on the Lung, IX 10 Fish Region, which is a command point, but also has a special position when treating the Metal element.  I was told by JR Worsley that it is "the most spiritual point on the body", and that has resonated strongly with me since then.  It is a point which Metal people love to be told about, because at a deep level they understand the point's significance.  We would all like to have our most spiritual point needled, whatever our element, but it is only Metal people who appear to understand how important this point is for them.

 

 

 

 

My favourite Earth points

In addition to Command Points

 

SPLEEN (XII)           (3 points)

XII 8    Earth Motivator

XII 15  Great Horizontal

XII 20  Encircling Glory

 

STOMACH (XI)        (8 points)

XI 4     Earth Granary

XI 8     Head Tied

XI 12   Broken Bowl

XI 19   Not at Ease

XI 24   Lubrication Food Gate

XI 25   Heavenly Pivot

XI 37   Upper Great Void

XI 39   Lower Great Void

 

AEPs

III 20   Spleen Correspondence  

III 21   Stomach Correspondence

 

WINDOW OF THE SKY

XI 9     People Welcome

In addition to the above, there are two sets of Earth points which we were told as students that we could needle as paired points.  The first is a combination of two command points, St (XI) 40, Abundant Splendour and Sp (XII) 3, Prince's Grandson.  Abundant Splendour's name is enough encouragement for us to select it, but it becomes a more powerful point when it is used at the same time as Prince's Grandson.  An Emperor's grandson was regarded as a very special person, since he ensured that the Emperor's legacy would continue to further generations.

 

The second set of points is the combination of St (XI) 25, Heavenly Pivot with Sp (XII) 15, Great Horizontal, which are on the same level of the mid-abdomen as CV 8, Spirit Deficiency.  They can therefore be seen as strengthening the centring effect which CV 8 brings to the spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favourite Outer Fire points

 (In addition to Command Points)

 

HEART PROTECTOR (V)  (1 point)

V 4      Gate of Ch'i Reserve

 

THREE HEATER (VI)         (4 points)

VI 7     Assembly of Ancestors  

VI 12   Relax and Joy

VI 18   Feeding Meridians

VI 23   Silk Bamboo Hollow

AEPs

III 14   Heart Protector Correspondence  

III 22   Three Heater Correspondence

 

WINDOWS OF THE SKY

V1       Heavenly Pond (for men)

V 2      Heavenly Spring (for women)

IV 16   Heavenly Window

This completes the list of my favourite points for both sides of the Fire element and for the Wood element.  

It's noticeable how few points I have listed.  I realise that when I move on to Earth and Water there will be a much greater choice of points available.  And when I reach Metal, another element with its yin official in the Upper Jiao, I expect my list also to contain only a few favourite points.  This is because the number of points on the front of the Upper Jiao is far fewer than those on the Middle and Lower Jiao.

This made me look at the range of points available for all the elements, and try and see if there is a pattern here which relates to the number of points on different officials and in different areas of the body.  Totalling all the points on all the elements, including CV and GV, I have counted 115 points on all yin officials and more than double the number, at 246, for the total of all yang officials.  

It is also noticeable that the three Upper Jiao yin officials, Heart, Heart Protector and Lung, have the least number of points of all officials. This is reflected in my selection of only a total of 3 favourite points for Heart and Heart Protector officials, and only 2 for the Liver, although this is in the Middle Jiao.  

It will be interesting to compare this number with the total of my favourite points for all the other elements and their officials once I have completed these lists.

 

 

 

My favourite Inner Fire points

(In addition to Command Points)

 

HEART (I)     (2 points)

I 1        Utmost Source

I 5        Penetrating Inside

 

SMALL INTESTINE (II)      (8 points)      

II 9      Upright Shoulder

II 10    Shoulder Blade

II 11    Heavenly Ancestor

II 12    Grasping the Wind

II 13    Crooked Wall

II 14    Outside the Shoulder Correspondence

II 15    Middle of the Shoulder Correspondence

II 19    Listening Palace (also Exit point (for Entry-Exit block)

 

AEPs

III 15   Heart Correspondence (to be used with care, and usually only after AE is found on the other yin AEPs)

III 27   Small Intestine Correspondence

 

WINDOWS OF THE SKY

II 16    Heavenly Window

II 17    Heavenly Appearance

(Small Intestine is the only official with two Windows of the Sky)

There are a group of very important Small Intestine points on the back, which lie over the scapula and lead up from the armpit to the neck from II 9 to II 15.  It is clear from this how much this official contributes to holding us upright.  Apart from the Inner and Outer Bladder pathways and of course Governor Vessel, it is the only official with points on the back.