Wu Shen

The Five Spirits

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with Lorie Eve Dechar, M.Ac.

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Five Elements and Five Spirits Overview

Wu Xing (Five Elements) and Wu Shen (Five Spirits)

五 行

The Chinese medical theory of Wu Xing – The Law of the Five Elements – is based on the universal cycle of change in organic life – birth, growth, harvest, death and renewal. Each aspect of the cycle is related to a specific Element or fundamental component of the natural world. The Five Elements – Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal – create, sustain and control each other through an ever-reoccurring round. This repeating cycle describes not only the way that organic processes occur on our planet but also the way that Qi moves through the organs of the human body. Wu Xing operates on a horizontal plane and reveals the way that Tao moves from emptiness into space, from non-being into being. It illustrates the journey of Qi as it extends itself into space and form. Five Element Theory plays a significant role in Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine and Medical Qi Gong. It is useful for understanding the causes and treatment of physical problems but is of particular value in healing emotional, psychosomatic and psychological symptoms.

五 神

A lesser known but equally important system is Wu Shen – the Five Spirits. Wu Shen is concerned with shen - spirit - the finest, most ephemeral aspect of Qi. Wu Shen operates on a vertical plane and reveals the way that the Tao moves from eternity into time, from possibility into manifestation. It describes the ascending and descending movement of Qi along the axis between Heaven and Earth as spirit penetrates the realm of matter. It illustrates the journey of spirit as it moves back and forth from non-being into being, from eternity into time. Most importantly, Wu Shen reveals how the invisible Tao penetrates the realm of matter and manifests in the world around us as instinct, form and destiny. The Five Spirits can be understood as a mythical map of the soul and human nervous system as well as a universal template for the process of psycho-spiritual transformation. Although Wu Shen is not widely used in modern TCM, this system is invaluable in understanding, diagnosing and treating many subtle and elusive psychological symptoms as well as the spiritual distress at the root of much suffering in the modern world.

Wu Xing or the Five Elements describes organic change – the way that the various forms of Qi create, sustain and control each other in the material world, the way organic life and form comes into being. Wu Shen describes spiritual transformation – the way spirit penetrates the realm of matter to initiate a second birth, an incarnation of light known as the golden flower of the soul.

The intuitions, poetry and symbolism of Taoist mythology, art and spiritual practice come together in the wisdom of the Five Spirits. This wisdom is universally applicable as it emerges from the heights of transpersonal awareness and the depths of the collective unconscious, the realm of our enlightened visions, our dreams and of our embodied, instinctual knowing. By immersing ourselves in this system, we come to understand our destiny as human beings – our purpose and our place in the cosmos.

Lorie Eve Dechar � 2British Conference of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine 2015The Five Spirits: A Technology of Transformation

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Lorie Eve Dechar � 3British Conference of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine 2015The Five Spirits: A Technology of Transformation

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Lorie Eve Dechar � 4British Conference of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine 2015The Five Spirits: A Technology of Transformation

The Five Spirits are arranged in the shape of a sacred mountain. The mountain is a metaphoric representation of the human spinal column – the central axis of our spiritual being.  

The Shen is the spirit itself. It is related to the Fire Element. It resides in the heart, is related to the frontal lobes of the brain and is the animating spirit of our conscious awareness. The Shen is related to the Seventh or Crown Chakra, the seat of the highest state of consciousness where all faculties come together. Its doorway is the point GV 20 – One Hundred Meetings. But the Shen is also closely connected to the Fourth or Heart Chakra, the meeting point between spirit and matter where the pure awareness of spiritual insight transforms into the golden soul light of transpersonal wisdom and compassion. Cosmological reference: the mountain peak and the light of the sun, moon and stars that shine down from heaven.

The Hun is the Breath Soul. It is related to the Wood Element. It resides in the liver and is the animating spirit of our imagination, vision and planning capacities. The Hun are different from the Shen but close to them, following them closely as they move between Heaven and Earth. The Hun regulate the functions of intuition, sleep, dreaming, and day dreaming. They are related to the Sixth or Third Eye Chakra, the capacity for intuition, the ability to see clearly and to use the imagination. Cosmological reference: the misty cloud forests of the mountain cliffs.

The Yi is the Intention. It is related to the Earth Element. It resides in the spleen and is the animating spirit of our muscles. The Yi is related to the Third or Solar Plexus Chakra and has to do with our potency, our power, our ability to burn the fuel of food and life energy so that we are able to “do” what we need to do to create our life. It is also related to the Fifth or Throat Chakra, our capacity to receive nurturance and to speak the words of our heart out to the world, to declare our truth and then to do it! The Yi, like the Third and Fifth Chakras, supports our ability to “walk our talk,” to manifest our true destiny. Cosmological reference: the fertile fields at the horizon line between the upper mountain and the underworld.

The Po is the Animal Soul. It is related to the Metal Element. It resides in the lungs during life and the large intestine at birth and death and is the animating spirit of the autonomic nervous system. The Po is related to the Second and First Chakras and has to do with the animal knowing of our body, our generative capacity, deep muscular and neurological wisdom. Cosmological reference: the labyrinths and caves below the sacred mountain.

The Zhi is the Will. It is related to the Water Element. It resides in the kidneys and is the animating spirit of our instincts and our wisdom. It also has to do with the First and Second Chakras and has to do with our most fundamental drives of survival, the instinctual urges for security and reproduction but also for spiritual enlightenment and wisdom. Cosmological reference: the sulfurous hot springs that shoot up from the darkest deepest recesses of the caverns below the mountain.

Lorie Eve Dechar � 5British Conference of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine 2015The Five Spirits: A Technology of Transformation

Descent of the Spirits

神 shen

魂 hun

意 yi

魄 po

志 zhi

Lorie Eve Dechar � 6British Conference of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine 2015The Five Spirits: A Technology of Transformation