We probably know the Gall Bladder as where bile is stored. It is much more than that!
With the arrival of Spring, we move into Wood Element season. According to the 24 Solar Terms used by the Chinese, for 2021, this was February 3. In many parts of the world, including northern China, the weather is still wintery rather than spring-like. This is a good opportunity to observe how your body responds each day and what is calling for your attention.
TCM
The two organs of the Wood Element are the Liver and Gall Bladder. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, organs are categorized as zang and fu. They work closely with each other and are paired. The first group are solid and store while the second process the food and fluids that pass through their hollow structure. These are also the Yin and Yang organs, respectively.
For the Wood Element, the Liver is the zang and yin organ and the Gall Bladder is the fu and yang organ. According to the ancient text Nei Jing Gall Bladder rules courage and conscious decision-making. A disharmony of the Gall Bladder can manifest as indecisiveness and timidity.
The Gall Bladder’s physical role is to excrete and store the bile created by the Liver. In TCM, bile relates to Nocturnal Fluids, which have a role in postnatal essence.
Gall Bladder & Evolution
The Gall Bladder is also known as a curious organ, which is about our evolution and continuation as a species. The Gall Bladder is about intelligent choice.
What is evolution? It’s responding to a changing environment, including the ascension of Gaia. This is the “great game of life”. No rules, no certainty – trust, surrender, and more love.
As the forces of evolution and involution play out, we are called to shift and pivot. This means making different choices and requires courage. Letting go of who we identify is isn’t the easiest!
When we stay stuck in our stories – and we all do at some point – we look for and clutch at compromises. We do this, even while we know letting go is the healthy and expansive approach. On some level, we do know better and that is how bitterness and resentment can arise. Anger, unforgiveness, and resentment correspond with the Wood Element.
Tip: To harmonize bile, try working with barite, celestite, lapis lazuli, or selenite. Interested in the Gall Bladder in evolutionary work? Go for blue stones such as blue fluorite. Because the hexagon relates to the Wood Element, stones with this structure such as the beryls would be fantastic to explore as medicine.
Jin Shin Jyutsu
We work with depths in Jin Shin Jyutsu. This is the level of densification of energy. The Wood Element is the Third Depth, the bridge between the invisible/unmanifested and visible/manifested, “where consciousness and flesh meet.” As the Wood Element, the yang energy of Spring, this is about growth. Isn’t it beautiful that our growth comes through living our multidimensional selves?
In Jin Shin Jyutsu, the Gall Bladder corresponds with Aquarius, whose mantra is “I Know.” Only we know what energy is behind such a statement. Is it bitterness? Is it cosmic detachment? And if we know, do we become entrenched because we are afraid of what will change? Or do we let go of what is not correct or healthy for us?
Tip: Is your coccyx crying out? Or do you keep falling on your tailbone? Maybe you keep stubbing your big toe? This may be a disharmony in Gall Bladder energy function. Resentment and extreme fatigue, from fighting your knowing, can also be a sign.
Try the Gall Bladder Energy Function Flow:
- Place your left hand on the middle of your neck, on the left side (your left hand stays here for the entire sequence) & your right hand on the area above your right eyebrow
- Move your right hand to the tailbone
- Then move your right hand under the ankle bone on the outside of your right foot
- Next move your right hand to the last rib on the right side of the body
- Move your right hand to the same place on the left side of the body
- Move your left hand on the left collarbone
(switch hands/sides)
