Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

The Five Elements

The Five Elements are Fire, Earth, Air/Metal, Water and Wood, in
that order, with each acting as generator for the next element.

The third element is called Air by some, and Metal in Classical

Chinese Acupuncture. Good Health is when all the elements are in
balance, Ill Health when otherwise.

Each Element has a certain nature and is held to correspond to

certain organs, and in the general case, ill health of an organ
corresponds to imbalance of that element.

For treatment and therapeutics Acupuncture maps the

corresponding organs and the flow of energies to the skin. If you
have seen a statue with points and meridians, you are seeing such
a map.

There are points related to each of the elements on those

meridians, and these form a quick and easy way to start
treatment.

Seen this way, Acupuncture is a way of treating the Interior

Diseases from the Exterior.

Cycle Concepts: A Prelude to Treatment

To start treatment based on the Five Element Theory, it is necessary to understand the cycle
concepts that Acupuncture relies on.

The First is the Generator Concept, here one element is said to Generate the other.

The sequence is as follows.

Fire Generates Earth, Earth Generates Air, Air Generates Water, Water Generates Wood and to
complete the cycle, Wood Generates Fire. This forms the Generator Cycle.

In this cycle, a deficiency in any element is because of a problem in the Generator element.
Therefore, activating the generator helps cure the deficiency.

Next is the Controller Concept, where one element acts as controller over the other.

An Easy Way to remember this is to skip one sequential element.

In the sequence Fire->Earth>Air>Water>Wood, if you consider one element the Mother of the other,
then Fire mothers Earth, and is Grand Parent to Air.

To understand the controller concept, skip the Child, that is in Fire->Earth->Air, skip Earth, which
makes Fire as the Controller of Air.

If Air misbehaves, its Grand Parent (seeing that the grand child’s misbehavior is affecting his child)
will punish it, thus Air’s Grand Parent, which is Fire, will increase, in an effort to keep Air under
control. In other words, increasing Fire Element reduces Air element.

In this way we have a Control Cycle, which goes like this Fire->Air->Wood->Earth->Water. Fire
Controls Air, which in turn controls Wood, which in turn controls Water, which in turn controls Earth.
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

The third is the Counter Controller Concept, where the Control Cycle skipping is done in reverse.

From the natural cycle of F->E>A>Wa>Wo, and the controller cycle of F->A>Wo>E>Wa, the cycle
moves to Fire counteracts on Water, Water on Earth, Earth on Wood, Wood on Air, and Air on Fire,
the mid element is again skipped but the flow is opposite.

When the three cycles are put together, we get the table below.

Three Cycle Summary

Generator Fire Earth Air Water Wood Fire

Controllers Fire Air Wood Earth Water Fire
Counters Fire Water Earth Wood Air Fire

The take home understanding is that Good Fire creates and maintains Good Earth, Good Earth
creates and maintains Good Air, Good Air creates and maintains Good Water, and Good Water
creates and maintains Good Wood and to complete the cycle, Good Wood creates Good Fire.

When one element goes bad, it triggers an avalanche from that point on, and if left untreated, can
spoil the entire infrastructure. This inter-dependency is key to understanding acupuncture’s view of
the human body.

Acupuncture points out that the system itself has inbuilt checks and balances, this is where the
Controller Cycle concept kicks in, therefore, disturbances of short order, and minor scales are soon
set right by itself, and need no external medical intervention.

The Controller and Counter Controller concepts we discussed also help us build a table of what will
happen when elements go wrong and how the body adjusts other elements to compensate.

Problem Element Correction Elements

Fire Water, Air
Earth Wood, Water
Air Wood, Fire
Water Fire, Earth
Wood Earth, Air

Elements when they go out of balance are said to be either in excess or deficiency.

When it is in excess, it acts as controller over others, when it is in deficiency, it is controlled by

others.

When Wood is in Excess, it controls both Earth and Air, as per the Controller Concept. When in
Deficiency, it is acted upon by Earth and Air, as per the Counter Controller Concept.

The same can be carried on to other elements.

Fire When Excess controls both Water and Air, When Deficiency is controlled by the two.
Earth When Excess controls both Water and Wood, When Deficiency is controlled by the two
Air When Excess controls both Wood and Fire, When Deficiency is controlled by the two
Water When Excess controls both Fire and Earth, When Deficiency is controlled by the two
Wood When Excess controls both Earth and Air, When deficiency is controlled by the two.

However long term disturbances, and major disturbances need external intervention, and
acupuncture’s typical aim and activity is to restore this internal and natural balance.
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

The Elements and the Organs

Acupuncture recognizes 12 primary organs/organ systems.

They are Heart, Pericardium, Lungs, Triple Warmer, Stomach, Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Spleen,
Liver, Bile, Kidneys and Urinary Bladder. Specific Organs are mapped to Specific Elements so that a
picture of the disease is immediately surmised.

A general mapping of Elements, their correspondence to Organs, and Emotions is shown below.

There is also a correspondence of Elements to Natural Phenomena, but we skip it here.

Just notice the mappings, they are of no real use until much (much) later.

Fire Earth Air Water Wood

Nature Heat Damp Dry Cold Windy

Physical
Affects Vitality Intent Drive Mood
Strength
Emotions Joy Worry Grief Fear Anger

Displays Laughing Singing Crying Groaning Shouting

Sense Organs Tongue Mouth Nose Ears Eyes

Fluids Sweat Saliva Mucus Saliva Tears

Tastes Bitter Sweet Pungent Putrid Rancid

Affects Speech Taste Smell Hearing Sight

Tissues Blood Vessels Muscles Skin Bones Tendons

Heart
Organs Zang Spleen Lungs Kidney Liver
Pericardium
Small
Large Urinary
Organs Fu Intestine Stomach Gall Bladder
Intestine Bladder
Triple Heater

Does that table make sense?

At least to a modern, the answer is no.

It does look like a very artificial way of looking at the body.

However for the ancients, this was as much a natural way and had correspondence to the Nature
they saw and understood. To us however, some correspondences are apt to look natural, others a bit
forced.

The main idea is that this is an apropos, a certain way of modeling the human body, to aid
understanding. Almost all traditional systems of medicine take recourse to such models, for in those
times, there was no practical method to peer into the human body and its internal mechanisms.

In modern medicine, each organ is treated more or less as an independent unit, or systems of units.
There is much to commend in this view, however it denies us the overall understanding that older
systems give us.
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

In these older systems, with their systems approach, the linkages and correspondences are well
mapped out. A problem in an organ may not be only a problem in that organ, but also a reflection of
a problem upstream, or a compensation for a problem downstream.

This approach allows us to identify the source of the problem, and kill it there. This is no symptomatic
patch up, no carpet bag approach, a characteristic of modern medicine. This is a full treatment of the
problem, which in most cases almost never returns.

Killing the problem at the source, kills the avalanche that follows. Identifying the source can be a
problem, but then it is a problem worth the while. For the practitioner this can be a gratifying
proposition, the satisfaction of a problem well attended to.

Back to organs, elements and correspondences, a more useful table for actual acupuncture
treatment is as follows.

Fire Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium, Triple Heater

Earth Stomach, Spleen
Air Lungs, Large Intestine
Water Bladder, Kidney
Wood Liver, Gall Bladder

The box below puts the linkages in visual order so that you can immediately identify the source of the
problem.

A problem in the Kidney is not a problem in the kidney per se, but a problem sourced from the Lungs
and/or the Large Intestine. A problem in the Lung is usually a problem originating in the Stomach,
and a Heart problem has its origins in the Stomach.

Fire -> Earth -> Air -> Water -> Wood -> Fire
Heart, Small Heart, Small
Intestine, Stomach, Lungs, Large Bladder, Liver, Gall Intestine,
Pericardium, Spleen Intestine Kidney Bladder Pericardium,
Triple Heater Triple Heater

Let us revisit our understanding again.

Good Fire results in Good Earth, Good Earth results in Good Air, Good Air results in Good Water,
Good Water results in Good Wood, which allows for a Great Fire, and a healthy body.

In other words, Good fire, that is a good heart maintains good digestion, good digestion maintains
good oxygenation, and good oxygenation maintains good waste management, which in turn allows
the heart to work well.

When one goes bad, the body tries to put existing controls into action, when Fire goes too high,
Water is increased, or Air is reduced. This is the imbalance summary from above.

Problem Element Correction Elements

Fire Water, Air
Earth Wood, Water
Air Wood, Fire
Water Fire, Earth
Wood Earth, Air

Add the Organs List to it, and the following is the result.
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

Heart, Small Intestine, Water Bladder, Kidney

Fire
Pericardium, Triple Heater Air Lungs, Large Intestine
Water Bladder, Kidney
Earth Stomach, Spleen
Wood Liver, Gall Bladder
Wood Liver, Gall Bladder
Air Lungs, Large Intestine
Fire Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium, Triple Heater
Fire Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium, Triple Heater
Water Bladder, Kidney
Earth Stomach, Spleen
Earth Stomach, Spleen
Wood Liver, Gall Bladder
Air Lungs, Large Intestine

Take the first row, when Fire is More, then either Increasing Water, or Reducing Air, will help reduce
it. When Fire is less, then Increasing Air, or Reducing Water will help restore it. Completing the rows
will result in the following table.

Increased
Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney
Excess Water
Fire Pericardium, Triple
Decreased
Heater Lungs, Large Intestine
Air
Decreased
Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidney
Water
Fire Pericardium, Triple Deficiency
Increased
Heater Lungs, Large Intestine
Air
Decreased
Bladder, Kidney
Water
Earth Stomach, Spleen Excess
Increased
Liver, Gall Bladder
Wood
Increased
Bladder, Kidney
Water
Earth Stomach, Spleen Deficiency
Decreased
Liver, Gall Bladder
Wood
Decreased
Liver, Gall Bladder
Wood
Air Lungs, Large Intestine Excess
Increased Heart, Small Intestine,
Fire Pericardium, Triple Heater
Increased
Liver, Gall Bladder
Wood
Air Lungs, Large Intestine Deficiency
Decreased Heart, Small Intestine,
Fire Pericardium, Triple Heater
Decreased Heart, Small Intestine,
Fire Pericardium, Triple Heater
Water Bladder, Kidney Excess
Increased
Stomach, Spleen
Earth
Increased Heart, Small Intestine,
Fire Pericardium, Triple Heater
Water Bladder, Kidney Deficiency
Decreased
Stomach, Spleen
Earth
Decreased
Stomach, Spleen
Earth
Wood Liver, Gall Bladder Excess
Increased
Lungs, Large Intestine
Air
Increased
Stomach, Spleen
Earth
Wood Liver, Gall Bladder Deficiency
Decreased
Lungs, Large Intestine
Air
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

Which means when Fire is in excess or deficient, then it shows up as problems in the
Bladder/Kidney/Lungs/Large Intestine. It is not a real problem in the latter, it is just that the body is
adjusting to a fault in the Fire Organs, that is Heart/Pericardium/Small Intestine.

That does look like too broad a brush to attack problems with. Therefore Acupuncture delineates the
12 organs into two sets, of heavy and light, and arrives at the table below.

Light Heavy
Fire Small Intestine, Triple Heater Pericardium, Heart
Earth Stomach Spleen
Air Large Intestine Lungs
Water Bladder Kidney
Wood Gall Bladder Liver

The picture becomes even more nuanced here, there are two classes of organs, and a clearer
generative (and therefore) control flow. So we have...

Small Intestine -> Stomach -> Large Intestine -> Urinary Bladder -> Gall Bladder in one line,

and

Heart -> Spleen -> Lungs -> Kidney -> Liver on the other.

Once the disturbed element is established, then the above sub division helps create greater nuance
in our understanding, it removes the plural set of organs and makes it singular.

Because the Heart is listed under Heavy, problems here are mediated by their heavy counterparts,
the Kidney and the Lung, not the Bladder and the Large Intestine. So we can rule out urinary issues
from our understanding list, also problems like Gas Trouble in the lower abdomen. They are not
heart related, but Small Intestine Related.

Therefore, treating the urinary system, the respiratory system and the digestive system does not
really help much, the problem is elsewhere. Our understanding improves…
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

This creates a table better than earlier….

Decreased Water Kidney

Fire Heavy Heart, Pericardium Excess
Increased Air Lungs
Increased Water Kidney
Fire Heavy Heart, Pericardium Deficiency
Decreased Air Lungs
Small Intestine, Decreased Water Bladder
Fire Light Excess
Triple Heater Increased Air Large Intestine
Small Intestine,
Fire Light Deficiency Increased Water Bladder
Triple Heater
Decreased Water Kidney
Earth Heavy Spleen Excess
Increased Wood Liver
Increased Water Kidney
Earth Heavy Spleen Deficiency
Decreased Wood Liver
Decreased Water Bladder
Earth Light Stomach Excess
Increased Wood Gall Bladder
Increased Water Bladder
Earth Light Stomach Deficiency
Decreased Wood Gall Bladder
Decreased Wood Liver
Air Heavy Lungs Excess Heart,
Increased Fire
Pericardium
Increased Wood Liver
Air Heavy Lungs Deficiency Heart,
Decreased Fire
Pericardium,
Decreased Wood Gall Bladder
Air Light Large Intestine Excess Small Intestine,
Increased Fire
Triple Heater
Increased Wood Gall Bladder
Air Light Large Intestine Deficiency Small Intestine,
Decreased Fire
Triple Heater
Decreased Heart,
Water Heavy Kidney Excess Fire Pericardium
Increased Earth Spleen
Heart,
Increased Fire
Water Heavy Kidney Deficiency Pericardium
Decreased Earth Spleen
Decreased Small Intestine,
Water Light Bladder Excess Fire Triple Heater
Increased Earth Stomach
Small Intestine,
Increased Fire
Water Light Bladder Deficiency Triple Heater
Decreased Earth Stomach
Decreased Earth Spleen
Wood Heavy Liver Excess
Increased Air Lungs
Increased Earth Spleen
Wood Heavy Liver Deficiency
Decreased Air Lungs
Decreased Earth Stomach
Wood Light Gall Bladder Excess
Increased Air Large Intestine
Increased Earth Stomach
Wood Light Gall Bladder Deficiency
Decreased Air Large Intestine

One can arrive at a better fit, :) by splitting it into light and heavy organs….

You wonder what is the point of the elaborate exercise, but then this is called working through…
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

The resulting table is below…

Heavy
Decreased Water Kidney
Fire Heavy Heart, Pericardium Excess
Increased Air Lungs
Increased Water Kidney
Fire Heavy Heart, Pericardium Deficiency
Decreased Air Lungs
Decreased Water Kidney
Earth Heavy Spleen Excess
Increased Wood Liver
Increased Water Kidney
Earth Heavy Spleen Deficiency
Decreased Wood Liver
Decreased Wood Liver
Air Heavy Lungs Excess
Increased Fire Heart,Pericardium
Increased Wood Liver
Air Heavy Lungs Deficiency
Decreased Fire Heart,Pericardium
Decreased Fire Heart,Pericardium
Water Heavy Kidney Excess
Increased Earth Spleen
Increased Fire Heart,Pericardium
Water Heavy Kidney Deficiency
Decreased Earth Spleen
Decreased Earth Spleen
Wood Heavy Liver Excess
Increased Air Lungs
Increased Earth Spleen
Wood Heavy Liver Deficiency
Decreased Air Lungs

Light
Small Intestine, Decreased Water Bladder
Fire Light Excess
Triple Heater Increased Air Large Intestine
Small Intestine,
Fire Light Deficiency Increased Water Bladder
Triple Heater
Decreased Water Bladder
Earth Light Stomach Excess
Increased Wood Gall Bladder
Increased Water Bladder
Earth Light Stomach Deficiency
Decreased Wood Gall Bladder
Decreased Wood Gall Bladder
Air Light Large Intestine Excess Small Intestine,
Increased Fire
Triple Heater
Increased Wood Gall Bladder
Air Light Large Intestine Deficiency Small Intestine,
Decreased Fire
Triple Heater
Decreased Small Intestine,
Water Light Bladder Excess Fire Triple Heater
Increased Earth Stomach
Small Intestine,
Increased Fire
Water Light Bladder Deficiency Triple Heater
Decreased Earth Stomach
Decreased Earth Stomach
Wood Light Gall Bladder Excess
Increased Air Large Intestine
Increased Earth Stomach
Wood Light Gall Bladder Deficiency
Decreased Air Large Intestine

You can take a look at the final table, and form a picture of what is happening in the body.
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

You can also track back from the organ that is afflicted to the organ that is its source, and decide
upon the treatment course.

In essence, we seem to have arrived at a precise angle of attack.

The next is to execute it.

To do that, we have to understand how each organ is mapped to the skin, and the details thereof.

Elements, Organs and Meridians

Remember, Acupuncture is a way of treating Interior Diseases from the Exterior.

To that end point, the Interior Organs, are mapped on to the Largest Exterior Organ, the Skin.

Each Organ has what is called a Meridian, a line on the skin, and on each line, there are a multitude
of points which are marked, 1, 2, 3, and so on.

To associate them with an organ we add the organ name to it. LU 1, for instance refers to the first
point on Lung Meridian. Each Meridian has many points, however not all of them are necessary for
this concise account.

For treatment, all we need are the points that map to the Five Elements. 12 Organs, 12 Meridians
therefore, 5 Elements in each Meridian; it boils down to 60 points overall.

The table below summarizes the meridians, and the element points in those meridians.

Fire Earth Air Water Wood

HT PC SI TH ST SP LU LI BL KI GB LIV
Fire 8 8 5 6 41 2 10 5 60 2 38 2
Earth 7 7 8 10 36 3 9 11 40 3 34 3
Air 4 5 1 1 45 5 8 1 67 7 44 4
Water 3 3 2 2 44 9 5 2 66 10 43 8
Wood 9 9 3 3 43 1 11 3 65 1 41 1

The beauty is that almost all of these points are located in the hand and the foot, and thus
convenient to treat.

Treatment - Part I

A disease in the body is the disturbance of an element. Acupuncture holds that the elements should
be in balance, and it sees disease as an indicator of imbalance and also a cue to the cure.

Unlike Modern Medicine, it eschews the direct attack, and direct understanding, therefore the tables
which show how the body balances the Elements and Organs in a diseased state, while they promote
physician understanding, are of little use in actual treatment.

To initiate treatment, Acupuncture goes back to the cycles concept we discussed initially; the
Generator Cycle, the Controller Cycle, and the Counter Controller Cycle, the Counter Controller cycle
being the Controller in reverse.

The word initiate is not used lightly.

Acupuncture holds that the body treats itself and that we can only guide it to a cure.
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

Diseases when beginning to take root are swiftly dealt with by the body itself, it is only when things
get into the next stage that the body’s natural cure intelligence goes a little awry and needs help.

The systems get a little overwhelmed by the element imbalance, and despite their best efforts are
not able to cope up.

Remove the overwhelming factor, and the body can work back its way to a cure.

Acupuncture sees its work as just this, remove the overwhelming or deficient factor, and in most
cases, the body will cure itself.

TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine does not therefore hold Acupuncture to be a cure-all, it is an
aid to bring the body’s self healing systems back into the reckoning. There will always be diseases
that need additional support, either nutritional, or medicinal. For most however Acupuncture will do.

Let us bring back the Cycle tables.

Generator Fire Earth Air Water Wood Fire

Controllers Fire Air Wood Earth Water Fire
Counters Fire Water Earth Wood Air Fire

Now remember the Cycle Corrective Rules.

For the Generator Cycle, for Elements either in Excess or Deficiency

 When in Deficiency, Parent is timid, therefore Tonify the parent.

 When in Excess, Parent over excites the Child too, therefore Sedate the Child.

For the Controller Cycles, when an element misbehaves, it affects its Parent, forcing its Grand Parent
Element to control it.

Sometimes even this control can become overbearing, prompting the Grand Child into timidity, and
thus becoming deficient. In such a case, tonifying the Grand Child can help restore the balance, and
allow for the body’s natural systems to take over.

At other times, the Grand Parent may not have the werewithal to control the Grand Child, therefore
tonifying the Grand Parent will need to be undertaken. It is also possible in this case to the sedate the
Grand Child.

Carrying this concept backward, sedating the overbearing Grand Parent will also help in that case.

For the Controller Cycle,

 In case of Deficiency, Grand Parent is Overbearing, therefore Sedate the Grand Parent.
 In case of Excess, Grand Parent is Timid, therefore Tonify the Grand Parent.

We can combine the two cycles to form a treatment strategy. Done thus, the entire process of
treatment becomes very simple, the strategy being.

 Find the Errant Element/Organ

 Find its Parent Element/Organ
 Find its Grand Parent Element /Organ
 Find the Treatment Point in the Organ Meridians
 Tonify/Sedate the Treatment Point
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

Horary Point

Acupuncture holds that each Meridian has a Horary point, Horary relates to hour and therefore to
time.

The Horary Point of a Meridian is the Base Element Point of that Meridian. If the Organ is Heart, then
its base Element is Fire, and the Horary Point is HT-8.

Extending this understanding to the table, the Horary Points have been marked in Bold

Fire Earth Air Water Wood

HT PC SI TH ST SP LU LI BL KI GB LIV
Fire 8 8 5 6 41 2 10 5 60 2 38 2
Earth 7 7 8 10 36 3 9 11 40 3 34 3
Air 4 5 1 1 45 5 8 1 67 7 44 4
Water 3 3 2 2 44 9 5 2 66 10 43 8
Wood 9 9 3 3 43 1 11 3 65 1 41 1

Activating the Horary Point on any Meridian is said to amplify any action done on that Meridian.

Therefore when we tonify/sedate a Treatment Point, the corresponding Horary Point is also activated
to amplify the action.
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

Treatment - Part II

Let us layout the table of elements, organs, their parents and grand parents from the following
reference table.

Generator Fire Earth Air Water Wood Fire

The resulting table being below. P is Parent, GP is Grand Parent.

Notice that while the actions vary, either sedate or tonify, (in response to excess or deficient) the
points get repeated.

X Organ PElem POrgan S P P GPEle GP Organ S GP GP

/ / Point Point m / Point Point in
D T in P in Self T in GP Self
X Heart Wood Liver S LIV-1 HT-9 Water Kidney T KI-10 HT-3
D Heart Wood Liver T LIV-1 HT-9 Water Kidney S KI-10 HT-3
X Pericard Wood Liver S LIV-1 PC-9 Water Kidney T KI-10 PC-3
D Pericard Wood Liver T LIV-1 PC-9 Water Kidney S KI-10 PC-3
Fire

X Small Int Wood Gall Blad S GB-41 SI-3 Water Ur.Blad T UB-66 SI-2
D Small Int Wood Gall Blad T GB-41 SI-3 Water Ur.Blad S UB-66 SI-2
X Trip Heat Wood Gall Blad S GB-41 TH-3 Water Ur.Blad T UB-66 TH-2
D Trip Heat Wood Gall Blad T GB-41 TH-3 Water Ur.Blad S UB-66 TH-2
X Spleen Fire Heart S HT-8 SP-2 Wood Liver T LIV-1 SP-1
D Spleen Fire Heart T HT-8 SP-2 Wood Liver S LIV-1 SP-1
Earth

X Stomach Fire Small Int S SI-5 ST-41 Wood Gall Blad T GB-41 ST-43
D Stomach Fire Small Int T SI-5 ST-41 Wood Gall Blad S GB-41 ST-43
X Lung Earth Spleen S SP-3 LU-9 Fire Heart T HT-8 LU-10
D Lung Earth Spleen T SP-3 LU-9 Fire Heart S HT-8 LU-10
X Large Int Earth Stomach S ST-36 LI-11 Fire Small Int T SI-5 LI-5
Air

D Large Int Earth Stomach T ST-36 LI-11 Fire Small Int S SI-5 LI-5
X Kidney Air Lung S LU-8 KI-7 Earth Spleen T SP-3 KI-3
D Kidney Air Lung T LU-8 KI-7 Earth Spleen S SP-3 KI-3
Water

X Ur. Blad Air Large Int S LI-1 UB-67 Earth Stomach T ST-36 UB-40
D Ur. Blad Air Large Int T LI-1 UB-67 Earth Stomach S ST-36 UB-40
X Liver Water Kidney S KI-10 LI-2 Air Lung T LU-8 LIV-4
D Liver Water Kidney T KI-10 LI-2 Air Lung S LU-8 LIV-4
Wood

X Gall Blad Water Ur.Blad S UB-66 GB-43 Air Large Int T LI-1 GB-44
D Gall Blad Water Ur.Blad T UB-66 GB-43 Air Large Int S LI-1 GB-44

The above table can be simplified on the basis of repeating points to

Organ P Elem P Organ P P GP GP GP GP

Point Point Elem Organ Point Point
in P in Self in GP in Self
Fire Heart Wood Liver LIV-1 HT-9 Water Kidney KI-10 HT-3
Pericard Wood Liver LIV-1 PC-9 Water Kidney KI-10 PC-3
Small Int Wood Gall Blad GB-41 SI-3 Water Ur.Blad UB-66 SI-2
Trip Heat Wood Gall Blad GB-41 TH-3 Water Ur.Blad UB-66 TH-2
Earth Spleen Fire Heart HT-8 SP-2 Wood Liver LIV-1 SP-1
Stomach Fire Small Int SI-5 ST-41 Wood Gall Blad GB-41 ST-43
Air Lung Earth Spleen SP-3 LU-9 Fire Heart HT-8 LU-10
Large Int Earth Stomach ST-36 LI-11 Fire Small Int SI-5 LI-5
Water Kidney Air Lung LU-8 KI-7 Earth Spleen SP-3 KI-3
Ur. Blad Air Large Int LI-1 UB-67 Earth Stomach ST-36 UB-40
Wood Liver Water Kidney KI-10 LI-2 Air Lung LU-8 LIV-4
Gall Blad Water Ur.Blad UB-66 GB-43 Air Large Int LI-1 GB-44

Compress the table to Organs and Points Alone

 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

Organ Parent Point in Parent Point in Grand Parent Grand Parent

Parent (OR) Self Meridian Point in Grand Point in Self
Horary Point in Parent Meridian Meridian
Parent Meridian
Fire Heart LIV-1 HT-9 KI-10 HT-3
Pericardium LIV-1 PC-9 KI-10 PC-3
Small Intestine GB-41 SI-3 UB-66 SI-2
Triple Heater GB-41 TH-3 UB-66 TH-2
Earth Spleen HT-8 SP-2 LIV-1 SP-1
Stomach SI-5 ST-41 GB-41 ST-43
Air Lung SP-3 LU-9 HT-8 LU-10
Large Intestine ST-36 LI-11 SI-5 LI-5
Water Kidney LU-8 KI-7 SP-3 KI-3
Urinary Bladder LI-1 UB-67 ST-36 UB-40
Wood Liver KI-10 LI-2 LU-8 LIV-4
Gall Bladder UB-66 GB-43 LI-1 GB-44

And we get an Entire Treatment Table. This is called the 4 Needle Point Treatment Table, and is a
good start point for Acupuncture treatment.

Some practitioners choose to ignore the Horary Point to arrive at a simpler 24 point table which the
Organ is treated on its Meridian Alone.

Organ Parent Point in Grand Parent

Self Meridian Point in Self
Meridian
Heart HT-9 HT-3
Pericardium PC-9 PC-3
Small Intestine SI-3 SI-2
Triple Heater TH-3 TH-2
Spleen SP-2 SP-1
Stomach ST-41 ST-43
Lung LU-9 LU-10
Large Intestine LI-11 LI-5
Kidney KI-7 KI-3
Urinary Bladder UB-67 UB-40
Liver LI-2 LIV-4
Gall Bladder GB-43 GB-44

Others prefer a even simpler approach, ignore the Generator cycle altogether, and concentrate on
the Control Cycle alone, and then use additional methods to aid Acupuncture treatment. Doing this
allows us to arrive at the simplified table below.

Grand Parent
Organ
Point in Self Meridian
Heart HT-3
Pericardium PC-3
Small Intestine SI-2
Triple Heater TH-2
Spleen SP-1
Stomach ST-43
Lung LU-10
Large Intestine LI-5
Kidney KI-3
Urinary Bladder UB-40
Liver LIV-4
Gall Bladder GB-44
 Babu - Acupuncture Made Easy

Just to remind you of what element is corrected in each case we bring back the elements into the
table.

Defective Organ Corrective Grand Parent

Element Element Point in Self
Meridian
Fire Heart Water HT-3
Pericardium PC-3
Small Intestine SI-2
Triple Heater TH-2
Earth Spleen Wood SP-1
Stomach ST-43
Air Lung Fire LU-10
Large Intestine LI-5
Water Kidney Earth KI-3
Urinary Bladder UB-40
Wood Liver Air LIV-4
Gall Bladder GB-44

Seen in retrospect, the above exercise seems to make sense…

When Elements are in XS…

Pour Water on Fire to Control it, Add Wood to Earth to suck its resources away, Add Fire to Air to
consume its excess, Add Earth to Water to swamp it, and Add Air to Wood to facilitate its burn.

When Elements are in DEF…

Reduce Water so Fire can burn, reduce Wood so that Earth can return, reduce Fire so that Air
becomes normal, Reduce Earth and let Water recover, and Reduce Air to reduce Wood burn.

Find out the Corrective Element Point on the Organ meridian and tune it.

That is the beauty of these older systems, seen holistically they seem to make a whole lot of
inductive sense, and therefore are attractive to a whole lot of people. When it is seen to work, it just
adds to their conviction.

Our understanding not only appears to be Simple, but Neat too. But does it work?

Believe it or not, an entire group of practitioners get away with using the above table alone to get
appreciable results. The effect being more pronounced in extreme cases where activating this point
table will trigger a reverse avalanche of corrections, and make for a dramatic cure, making the doctor
look like a God.

If that not be the case, one can always step back into the 2 point needling table, where both the
Parent and the Grand Parent are needled, and then further back into the 4 point needling table,
where the Horary point is also needled to amplify the therapeutic effect.

Some people hold that needling, sedating, tonifying, and so on are all unnecessary, just a mild
pressure, or a hovering touch to the said points is enough to trigger the start of the curative process.

There are a few enhanced souls which consider even this unnecessary, here we step into the area of
the mysterious and the maudlin. Just the thought of the practitioner, directed to the said point
seems to be enough. To each his daily bread!

Now, onward, and deeper into acupuncture!