A person with a fiery personality can be very active, outgoing and dynamic. The Fire element within our body deals with the communication and the relationship to other people. The heart is one of the organs in association with this element. The colloquial expression, “big heart,” indicates someone who is friendly, loving and open to the world.
Like fire, the feeling of connecting with other people is warming and comforting. It brings about a sense of joy, which is the emotion of the Fire element. When the Fire element is out of balance, Joy can become manic and inappropriate. A person with a Fire imbalance would crack a joke but in the worst scenario, i.e. telling a joke at a funeral.
In the summertime, which is the season of the element, we tend to be outdoors. We tend to interact more with other people, and to enjoy the longer, hotter days. We want to expand our human reach, to meet new people, and to engage more fully with others. Imbalance of the Fire element can start as an inability to express one’s feelings or what’s in one’s heart, which causes isolation. It is not by chance that statistics show that people who spend time socializing in their older age, suffer less from heart disease*
In Chinese Medicine, the heart has a direct energy pathway connected to the tongue. When we say “speak your heart,” – we mean to say express your true self to the world.
The Spirit is the aspect of the mind linked to the Fire element. Again, this demonstrates a strong connection to our unique expression of who we are in this lifetime. Naturally, the color associated with the Fire element is red. Anything red in nature benefits our heart and especially the functions related to blood movement and its management in the body.
An important concept in Chinese medicine is the relationship and balance between Fire and Water in our body. The Water element, (as I wrote here ) is about our true nature or – our essence. It is vital and important for the Fire and the Water energies to communicate and to be in balance. This communication allows for our true nature to emerge and for us to express ourselves via speech to the outside world. In return, the Fire element brings the experience of the interactions between us and the world back to the Kidneys, i.e. The Water element,” and then allows for our growth and evolution. In the absence of the balance between Fire and Water, mental conditions such as depression, withdrawal from the world, and an inability to listen and to learn from others will occur.