Journal
Field Notes on the Five Phases
Long reads on the Five Phases and the Huangdi Neijing, the 2,000-year-old book behind them. Plus plain-English guides to reading any supplement label, lab report or blend. Start with the theory, then read your phase.
Start here
The theory
The Five Elements in Chinese Medicine
The Five Elements of Chinese medicine, also called the Five Phases (wu xing), are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. The Huangdi Neijing, the 2,000-year-old classic of Chinese medicine, links each one to an organ system, a season, an emotion, a color and a flavor, and describes a personality type for each.
By Zander Mai · October 2026
Read the articleThe five phases
Wood Element Personality
Talented & Tired
Liver and Gallbladder · Spring
ReadFire Element Personality
The Beautiful Disaster
Heart and Small Intestine · Summer
ReadEarth Element Personality
Everyone's Emergency Contact
Spleen and Stomach · Late summer
ReadMetal Element Personality
Quietly Ruthless
Lung and Large Intestine · Autumn
ReadWater Element Personality
The Fearless Liar
Kidney and Bladder · Winter
ReadGo deeper
陰陽二十五人 · Lingshu, chapter 64
The 25 Types of People in the Huangdi Neijing
The Huangdi Neijing describes 25 types of people. In chapter 64 of its Lingshu, "Twenty-Five Types of Yin-Yang People," each of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water) gets one main body type and four variations: five times five. Each main type is read from build, complexion and temperament, and from how the person copes with the seasons.
Read the articleBuyer’s guides
How to Read a Supplement Label
Serving size, %DV, mg vs mcg, plant parts and the FDA asterisk: how to read all 7 parts of a supplement label, in plain English.
Read the articleWhat a Certificate of Analysis Tells You
A certificate of analysis (COA) reports one lot's lab results for identity, potency, heavy metals and microbes. Six checks show whether a COA means anything.
Read the articleWhy Proprietary Blend Doses Matter
A proprietary blend lists its ingredients in order by weight but shows one total dose. What FDA requires, what stays hidden, and how to estimate each dose.
Read the articleWhich phase are you?
See what the Neijing makes of you. Your result comes before we ask for an email.
Find your phase