The five elements are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. They have a cycle that follows the natural pattern of the seasons. Treatment in the 5-Element style consists of two main varieties. One is to figure out where in the cycle the pattern is off and fix it, the other is to treat a person on their constitution. The constitution is their main elemental lens. It is their main strength and weakness. A gift and a curse.
Take the following 10 question quiz to find out which element your constitution is! It’s possible to be spread out over a couple. Remember that a) this is not 100% accurate and b) perfect harmony is having balance of all five elements. Have fun and be honest with your responses!
note: This quiz was taken from Josephine Camacho of the Miami Wellness Examiner. I’m not 100% thrilled with all of her questions but for the most part it works. Enjoy!
The Quiz: (choose only one answer for each, the best one)
- At work (or in life in general) I like:
- Completion. I thrive in competitive situations and persevere until I’m on top.
- Making people laugh. People like having me around because I’m always trying to lighten the mood.
- Lending people my ear or a shoulder to cry on. People come to me for comfort and understanding.
- Working quietly , usually alone, and orderly. Everything must be neat and organized for me to feel comfortable.
- Thinking about ways to improve my surroundings. It can be hard for me to make friends because despite all of my great ideas, I like remaining under the radar.
- On a negative note, I have been called:
- Stubborn/Aggressive/Having a Temper
- Too Bubbly/Happy/Excited
- Gullible/Naive/Overly Worried
- A Neat Freak
- Distant/Too Blunt/Overly Cautious
- When I speak, I tend to:
- Speak loudly. Sometimes people think I’m shouting, but that’s just the way I am. I’m not really mad.
- Laugh. I even giggle between words, especially if I’m nervous. And I blush easily.
- Use a singing voice. There is a lot of inflection in my voice. Some people find it soothing, others find it annoying, but I can’t help it.
- Speak authoritatively. I like delegating responsibilities.
- Moan, whine, or complain. Sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m doing so.
- I gravitate towards the color:
- Green
- Red
- Yellow
- White
- Black, Gray, or Dark Blue
- I easily:
- Am affected by the wind.
- Get hot.
- Sweat.
- Get dry skin.
- Get cold.
- Which best describes you?
- My body feels stiff regularly, especially my neck and shoulders.
- My face is frequently flushed.
- I easily retain water, and swell easily.
- My skin is frequently dry and sensitive, and my nose gets runny easily.
- My hair is prematurely graying or falling out.
- I love:
- Being active towards a goal.
- Having a good time with friends
- Taking care of plants, animals, and people
- Fine art and craftsmanship.
- Learning new things and exploring different ideas and cultures.
- I get _______ easily.
- Angry
- Excited
- Worried
- Sad
- Scared
- _______ is fun.
- Accomplishing something
- Dancing
- Hanging out with friends
- Going to an art museum
- writing in my journal
- On a positive note, I have been called:
- A Great Leader, Determined
- Fun, Passionate, Spirited
- Compassionate, Caring, Kind
- Organized, Smart, Having an Eye for Detail/Beauty
- Insightful, Wise for My Years, Articulate
Results:
If you scored mostly:
‘A’s – Wood – The Leader
‘B’s – Fire – The Performer
‘C’s – Earth – The Caretaker
‘D’s- Metal – The Perfectionist
‘E’s – Water – The Thinker
Wood: Very goal oriented. Super competitive. Anger issues and very quick tempers. Can be very overtly loud (like they don’t realize they are shouting) or very quiet but focused and still have quick tempers. Have issues with fairness where even in small fun games they will complain that rules aren’t fair.
Fire: Very self conscious. Like they are always on stage and wondering who is looking at them. Their eyes tend to be very bright but show vulnerability. Love and relationships tend to be most important. Will also laugh inappropriately, like when hearing someone died or after messing up a big sports moment. Loves music and dancing and will do a lot simply to “feed the fire”.
Earth: Tend to be the “team mom”. Will worry excessively almost like they are “chewing their cud”. The earth is round and all their thoughts and emotions tend to cycle. These people want the family to be one unit and do most things together, not divide and conquer. Community can be the most important aspect. Their voices tend to also go up and down, like they are always speaking to a dog or baby. They also worry about basic needs for themselves or others, sometimes to a fault. For example making sure everyone else gets fed but never eating themselves.
Metal: Metal people tend to have issues of self-confidence. They will push themselves to be the best, get As in school just to reassure themselves. They tend to be perfectionists in this manner, almost to a fault. Their voice can sound “weepy” where their voice can fall off toward the end of a sentence. It sounds like they are crying almost. Metal constitution need to be prepared and have trouble “winging it”.
Water: Water constitutions either live on the edge or live in fear. They tend to always think about worst possible outcome, for instance I had a pitcher who once had a line drive wiz by her and she said “I could have died.” They value wisdom and will be great researchers. “Water eyes” are those people that you can see the whites of the tops of their eyes a lot. It shows fear, but it also allows them to see the truth. Water constitutions will typically look right through what you are saying down to what the truth is. You really can’t reassure a Water constitution when they think something is going wrong. They can move very slowly, and their voice can be monotone and gravelly. They could also be the complete opposite, the people who never slow down and like extreme sports like snowmobiling and sky diving.