The Five Elements of Creation

A foundational theory in Chinese Medicine is that of the Five Elements. The root of the theory is that everything is connected to nature. Patterns in nature can be seen in our bodies, in our societies, in all forms of science, etc. I have seen business principles taught according to the Five Elements, different parts of cells related to the Five Elements, and have been seeing the Five Elements in scripture. 

The Five Elements, in order, are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. They all feed into each other, generating the next element, and then control others of the elements. Their relationships are discussed in many medical texts, though largely the HuangDi NeiJing, or Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon. Each of the elements relates to movements, organs in the body, emotions, sounds, colors, times of the day, and more. By understanding the relationships of the Five Elements, it is easy to see them in all other parts of life. 

As one who considers themself a serious student of the scriptures and words of the living prophets who has prayed for eyes to see, I have found the Five Elements many places in scripture. Some places I have found them are in the destruction in 3 Nephi, miracles in the Old and New Testaments, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and in the Creation. Here I will share how the Five Elements perfectly fits in with the Creation. 

On Day One, God created heaven and earth and divided light from darkness. A Chinese text from around 200 BC, the Huainanzi (The Huainan Masters) describes the beginning of creation as follows:

When looking at this from a Christian lens, Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother’s role in creation are recognized. Our Heavenly Parents are perfectly unified, yet when they separate, they, like all other pairs of two in the universe, become symbols of the dualism of yin and yang (2). Yin is black, physical, female, earth, and dark. Yang is white, spiritual, male, heaven, and light. We can’t have one without the other. As Lehi eloquently explained, “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things”(3). Opposition is an eternal law, as nothing could be created without it. It is this opposition, yin and yang, that gained form on Day One of the creation.

On Day Two, God divided the waters from above and below.  According to Jewish Cosmology,  or how ancient Jews viewed the relationship between the heavens and the earth, we live on a flat earth with an inverted snowglobe around us, with water on all sides. The space in between the land and the water in the heavens, is the firmament described in Genesis 1:7-8 (4). When Genesis was written, it was written to the Jews according to their cosmology. From a modern perspective, on Day Two God made an atmosphere.

Relating Day Two to the Five Element Theory, this is the day about water. To the Chinese, water is about deepness, stillness, essence, and the oneness life sparks from. Water is associated with the Dao, the oneness that everything came from. When scientists search other planets for signs of life, they first look for water, as it is the most basic ingredient anything living needs to survive. Day Two is the water day.

On Day Three, God gathered the waters so land could appear and “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth”(5). According to scientists in 2016, there are 390,900 species of plants known to man (6). In the moment of creation, this many species probably didn’t exist because plants evolve and change depending on climate, available nutrients, and predators. A miracle is that medicinal plants are generally located in regions where they can help with the local diseases. To me, this is a sign of a loving creator.

In the Five Element Theory, water generates wood. It is beautiful that not just the plants and wood grew on this day, but the water was moving to make a supporting environment for the plants, as shown in the diagram of the Five Elements relationships. In the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon (HuangDi NeiJing), the character for generate is 生 (shēng). Other definitions for 生 (shēng) are “to give life to, to bring into existence, to vitalize”(7). Water, as one of the most basic ingredients for living things, is what gives life to plants and everything else. Day Three is the wood day.  

On Day Four, God said “Let there be lights in the firmament” (8), creating the sun, moon, and stars to be used for telling time and giving light to the earth. Sunlight exposure provides benefits such as vitamin D production, mood enhancement, increased alertness, improved skin health, and improved immune function. As the moon circles the earth and the earth spins around the sun, nature is able to keep rhythm. Rhythms affected by the lights in the firmament include days, weeks, and months of the year, seasons, tide schedules, and circadian rhythms. The amount of light we are exposed to triggers the release of hormones like cortisol, melatonin, and growth hormone, impacting our growth and healing. The sun, moon, and stars create rhythms.

Stars that light up the sky are made of fire, the next element in the Five Element Theory. The major organ associated with fire is the Heart. In an anatomical sense, the Heart is important in not only circulating nourishing blood through the body, but in setting a rhythm, the heartbeat. In Chinese Medicine, the heart is where our ability for mental capacity comes from. It is from the heart where our spirits are able to connect with the divine. As an amateur astronomer, I know that when I look up at night and see the Milky Way and the constellations and planets, my mind and heart expand and I feel closer to my Heavenly Parents. Day Four is the fire day.

On Day Five, God created the creatures that reside in the waters and the sky. For the sake of elemental connections, I will include the animals which were created in the first part of Day Six as well. Different accounts of the creation provide additional details. In the book of Abraham, the Gods took extra care to prepare the water and the land for the fish and animals (9). In Moses, God said “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,” producing an image like that in C.S. Lewis’ book The Magician’s Nephew (10, emphasis added) . When describing the creation of Narnia, Aslan the lion, representative of the Savior, is found singing and the world comes into being, responding to the song. When it was time for the animals, the song became wilder and the ground starts bubbling up. Out of the bubbles came two of each kind of animal (11). God commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply,” and they obeyed.

In the Five Element Theory, being fruitful, nurturing, bonding, and the harvest all relate to the earth element. Leon Hammer said “The ultimate goal of a healthy Earth phase is to reproduce itself through its offspring as a new and joyful provider of nourishment to ensuing strong and centered generations”(12). As parents – human or animal – we bring forth offspring, nurture them, unconditionally love and encourage them to fulfill the measure of their creation, and send them off with the potential to repeat the pattern of families. Day Five is the earth day.

On Day Six, God created man and then woman. Moses 3:7 states, “And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” The dust of the earth is made of oxygen, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and others. These elements are also in our body and make it possible for us to do all we can do (13). The character for Qi (氣) is a pictogram describing the energy that moves through us, but also our breath. One interpretation of Moses 3:7 is that God made us out of the same sorts of elements the earth is made from and is full of Qi which gives us breath and movement. 

The next element in the Five Element Theory, the one that associates with the creation of man and woman is metal. The character for metal (金) is that of a mountain with a treasure inside. Temples are related to mountains in Isaiah 2. In the Bible, we are taught that our bodies are temples housing our spirit and the Holy Ghost (14). Just as metal is typically shiny and a surface through which one can see a reflection, we are created in the image of God, after His likeness. When we look in the mirror and see ourselves, we can better understand what God looks like. Furthermore, humans are the only creatures who have figured out how to smelt and make things with metal. A monkey could pick up a metal hammer and do something with it, but that monkey couldn’t have made the hammer from metal ore. Only humans can. Day Six is the metal day.

On Day Seven, God rested from his work and made the day holy. The Hebrew word for this day is shabbat, or Sabbath, which means a stopping and resting (15). It is the day we “go to the house of prayer and offer up [our] sacraments… rest from [our] labors, and … pay [our] devotions unto the Most High”(16). It is a day of rest, contemplation, and connecting even more with our Heavenly Parents and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Five Elements cycle through from water, to wood, fire, earth, metal, and then back to water, which is what Day Seven associates with. Water always flows to the lowest topographical place, becomes cold and freezes. Winter is the season of water and is a time for storage, resting, hibernation, and stillness. After performing six days of work, God provides an example for us, seeking a day of rest to balance out the movement for the rest of the week. Day Seven is the water day.

The Five Element Theory is fundamental to creation and everything in it. Our Savior Jesus Christ knows how to use the elements to accomplish his purposes. He can control the elements, and the creation of the world is only one example of that. For further examples, stay tuned for future articles about the Five Elements and scripture!

Sources:

1. Fruehauf H. Classical Chinese Medicine: An Introduction to the Foundational Concepts and Political Circumstance of an Ancient Science. Portland, OR: Hai Shan Press; 2019: 25-26.
2. Their balancing relationship can be seen in the yin-yang symbol, named the TaiJiTu (太极图).
3. The Book of Mormon. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: 2 Nephi 2:11.
4. Smith H, Bytheway J, Sears JM. Episode 2 – Genesis 1-3, Moses 2-3, Abraham 4-5. Follow Him. 2022. Available at: https://followhim.co/old-testament/. 
5. The Old Testament. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: Genesis 1:11.
6. Morelle R. Key report makes new tally for number of world’s plants. Published May 10, 2016. Accessed May 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36230858 
7. Kroll PW. A Student’s Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese: Revised Edition. Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill; 2017.
8. The Old Testament. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: Genesis 1:14.
9. The Pearl of Great Price. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: Abraham 4:20, 24.
10. The Pearl of Great Price. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: Moses 2:24.
11. Lewis CS. The Magician’s Nephew. Chapter 9.
12. Hammer L. Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies. Seattle, WA: Eastland Press; 2010: 217.
13. What is the Human Body Made Of? The Physics of the Universe. Copyright 2023. Accessed May 2023. https://www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/what-is-the-human-body-and-the-earth-the-sun-the-universe-made-of.html
14. The New Testament. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: 1 Corinthians 6:19.
15. The Old Testament; King James Version. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: Genesis 2:2, Footnote b. 
16. The Doctrine and Covenants. Melrose Park, IL: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.; 2013: D&C 59:9-10.