The Universe as a whole and every living being are individually composed of the same movements and arranged in the same order, which entails a similarity, in the sense of the word, between man and the Cosmos.

The theory of the five elements is, together with the theory of Yin Yang, the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine. According to G. Maciocia, the application of these two theories in the oriental medical environment marks the beginning of scientific medicine, enriching and advancing beyond shamanic medicine. The human being stops seeking supernatural causes for diseases, and through observation of Nature and its patterns creates knowledge and theorizes about it.

The theory of the five elements or Wu Xing comes from a hardworking people deeply connected with nature, and holds that nature is constituted by five substances, movements, cycles, qualities or phases.

"The five elements are Water, Fire, Wood, Metal and Earth. Water descends and moistens, Fire flames upward, Wood can be bent and straightened, Metal can be molded and hardened, Earth allows for sowing, growth and harvest". G. Maciocia from the book Shang Shu (1000 - 771 BCE)

Numerology

In this interpretation of nature, the human being uses numerology to understand the natural world in which he is immersed.

There is a path called Tao (1) and it is related to life, two opposite forces or basic polarities that animate life, Yin and Yang (2), three planes of existence, heaven - earth - human being (3), four seasons and cardinal directions north - south - east - west (4), five elements and six climates in nature. The five elements and the six climates have an intimate relationship with the five Yin organs and the six Yang viscera.

• The five symbolizes the human - terrestrial - manifest
• The six alludes to the celestial - formless - apparent

From cardinal axes to pentagonal representation

The number five corresponds to the terrestrial, to the world of form (Yin).

When speaking of elements, reference is made to a functional sphere that comprises countless phenomena and characteristics within the micro and macrocosm such as: colors, climates, emotions, places, flavors, moments, organs and viscera, musical notes, foods, cardinal directions, seasons, stages of development, numbers, planets, animals, etc.

The elements are dynamic and have cycles that determine their interaction and in the human microcosm determine the bodily condition. The first map of the five elements is the cosmological map where the Earth is found in the center surrounded by the four cardinal points.

The human body, as a point of reference and place where consciousness experiences and manifests life, is the center of the elements map and corresponds to Earth. To the East is Wood, to the South Fire, to the West Metal and to the North Water. It is an organic map that determines the internal relationships between all these natural functions within and outside the organism. The four elements that surround Earth at each cardinal point come from it and what each one represents influences it. All actions are directed to the center, to the Earth, to the body.

"In this sense, the Ben Points are the points that, within the body, correspond to the element with the same nature of the season of the year in which it is found. For example, in spring, the wood point of the wood element is the Ben Point."

From maximum Yin (Water) to maximum Yang (Fire) it is necessary to pass through an intermediate point that acts as the link or hinge between them, these hinges will be ascending Yin (Wood) and descending Yang (Metal). In this sense the water-fire axis is related to the wood-metal axis, with wood being: water in solid form and metal: fire in liquid form, making it clear that no element is absolute, they depend on each other and are formed of the same essence.

In the center, Earth balances the two previous axes. It is the point of reference and corresponds to the central burner, the origin of the upper and lower burners, therefore forms an earth-heaven axis that "covers everything".

This direct relationship with the rest of the elements to which it is going to nourish and on which it is going to depend is what has caused the fifth element (Earth) to be projected to the periphery, in order to represent in a graphic way (pentagonal) the physiological and energetic functions that emerge from the generating and controlling cycles, overacting and insulting. The Earth element was moved out of the center, between the Fire and Metal elements to form a pentagon that represents and explains the relationships of parents-children and grandparents-grandchildren.