9. Wood – The Organs
Chapter Contents
Introduction62
The Liver – the planner62
The spirit of the Liver – the hun63
The Gall Bladder – the decision-maker64
The time of day for the Organs65
How the Liver and Gall Bladder relate66
Introduction
The two Organs resonating with Wood are the Liver, the yin Organ, and the Gall Bladder, the yang Organ. Although their functions are different, the two Organs exist close together and have some overlapping functions (Table 9.1).
| Organ/Official | Colloquial name | Description from Su Wen Ch 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Liver | The Planner | The Liver holds the office of general of the armed forces. Assessment of circumstances and conception of plans stem from it |
| Gall Bladder | The Decision-Maker | The Gall Bladder is responsible for what is just and exact. Determination and decision stem from it |
The Liver – the planner
The character for the Liver
 |
Su WenChapter 8
Su WenChapter 8 says:
The Liver holds the office of general of the armed forces. Assessment of circumstances and conception of plans stem from it.
(Larre and Rochat de la Vallée, 1992b, p. 53)
As the commander of the armed forces, the general must be:
• aware of the ultimate goals, along with the outcomes relevant to any situation;
• strong and able to be forceful when necessary, like the emerging plant obstructed by a rock or at any time when new events are begun (birth);
• able to plan and devise strategies and to then create alternatives in the case of difficulties or an emergency.
A general has awareness of the ultimate goals
The awareness of ultimate goals is an important part of the planning process. All plans have intended outcomes, but ideally these outcomes themselves have higher goals. For example, children like to play and enjoy themselves. Doing this develops motor and social skills. Developing these motor and social skills enables them to grow and develop into productive adults, and so on.
It is essential that people have these higher goals. A goal that cannot be negotiated becomes a burden and any frustration with respect to it is a dead end. In day-to-day life, people do not consider their higher goals very often. But the Liver holds in place a sense of these ultimate goals.
A general has strength and forcefulness when necessary
It is easy to make a connection between strength and the general. The archetype of a military commander is not a frail, spineless individual. This strength is the strength the seedling has when it is impeded by a stone or a competing tree. The seedling pushes through or, if that is impossible, it finds a way around the obstruction. In people this energy is focused and tied into the achievement of important goals.
A general is able to plan and establish strategies
People tend to think of planning as a mental and conscious process but it also exists as an unconscious process. For example, when menstrual blood is stored in the body and finally, on cue, begins to flow and be expelled, this is the end result of a highly organised plan. Planning which occurs in the mind is a more typical notion of planning. This may include, for example, thinking about what to do and how to do it and maybe also writing things down or even, like an architect, making drawings.
Planning is occurring all the time and on all levels of the body, mind and spirit. Indeed, we tend to notice the Liver’s planning function more when it fails. For example, when the menstrual cycle becomes irregular, the mind becomes disorganised and unable to consider what needs to be done or the patient is waking at 2 a.m. and making plans that come to nothing during the day.
The Liver, therefore, allows us to meet the challenges of life with both vigour and flexibility.
The spirit of the Liver – the hun
All the yin Organs store a ‘spirit’. The Liver houses the hun, which is usually translated as the ‘Ethereal Soul’.
The character for the hun
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