A First Look at Wood

Laying the foundation for a systematic study of herbs which work on the Wood phase (Shaoyang and Jueyin, but mostly Shaoyang), I thought I would look at the different actions that the western traditions ascribe to herbs that we would regard as Wood herbs: anti-spasmodic, alterative, bitter, carminative, cholagogue, emenagogue, nervine, circulatory stimulant, lymph decongestant, blood tonic, and anti-inflammatory.

Not all of these categories belong entirely to Wood. Those nervines which relieve nervous tension belong to Wood, but others are Water or Earth tonics (when anxiety is due to depletion). Many circulatory stimulants work by moving qi, a Wood function. But those herbs which use a warming force to drive the blood, often called "diffusives," of which Prickly Ash is a strong example, work through the Taiyang. Of the anti-inflammatories, only those which relieve inflammation from stagnation belong to Wood, others we would ascribe to Yangming Metal.

Alteratives seem to straddle shaoyang and yangming functions: As downward, detoxifying agents they could be ascribed to yangming (they perform the function that some in Chinese Medicine seek to achieve with small doses of Da Huang). Indeed, most of the alteratives also promote bowel movements, however they are not purgatives like Da Huang, instead they encourage the the production and release of bile, which in turn drives the bowels, thus we could say that they use gallbladder energy to move the bowels. Finally, The alteratives work on the interstial fluids, a region that belongs to the Shaoyang Triple Burner. This is perhaps the strongest reason for regarding them as Wood herbs.

We can also note that many of the listed western functions can be regarded as specialized forms of qi-moving. I would include anti-spasmodic, carminative, cholagogue, nervine, emenagogue, and circulatory stimulant in this category. These different functions are moving the qi in different domains (perhaps we could use a five evils model to express this). Carminatives are moving qi in the digestion (Earth), Nervines are moving qi in the nerves (which belong to the Fire-Water axis), circulatory stimulants are moving qi in the vessels (belonging to Fire, but also possibly to Metal), Cholagogues move qi the gallbladder (Yang wood) Emenagogues are moving qi & blood in the reproductive organs (belonging to mostly to Yin Wood), Anti-spasmodics move qi in the muscles, often the smooth muscles (we should probably regard these as. tendons, belonging again to Wood.)