In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the five elements of Chinese medicine—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—guide our understanding of health and harmony. The TCM Metal element governs the Fall season, a time of clarity, precision, and letting go. As the leaves fall and the air turns crisp, the TCM Fall season invites us to reflect, release what no longer serves us, and cultivate inner calm.
One powerful way to align with the TCM Metal element is through ritual journaling—a practice that mirrors its focus on order and emotional clarity.
Paired with mindful high vibrational skincare, such as PHYTO5’s Metal White Clay Mask and Metal Phyt’Ether Serum, this ritual can deepen your connection to the TCM Fall season, supporting both emotional and physical well-being.
The TCM Metal Element in the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine
In the five elements of Chinese medicine, the TCM Metal element associates to the lungs and large intestine—organs that govern breath and elimination.
Emotionally, Metal is tied to grief and the ability to let go, but also to clarity and a sense of value.
Journaling during this season—actually making it a ritual practice— helps you tap into the TCM Metal element’s introspective power. It can help you more easily process emotions and find balance in your life.
The Ritual of Journaling
Journaling is a perfect practice for the TCM Fall season and Metal element.
It encourages us to pause, reflect, and release emotional clutter, similar to how lungs release carbon dioxide with each exhale.
Here’s a simple ritual to try:
Set the Space: Find a quiet corner, ideally facing West, the TCM Metal element’s direction. Light a white/silver or blue candle (Metal’s yin and yang colors, respectively) or place a blue object nearby to evoke the element’s calming energy. This object might be a crystal, holder with burning incense, or small lit lamp with a blue lampshade. Use a special journal and pen, one or both colored blue, white or silver, to honor Metal’s colors and precision.
Reflect and Write: Write down three things you’re ready to release. Perhaps you want to let go of worry or self-doubt and the stress that arises from them. Next, note one thing you deeply value, like family, peace, or personal growth. This act of writing mirrors the TCM Metal element’s ability to discern what truly matters and let go of the rest.
Close with Gratitude: Take some deep breaths and feel profound appreciation for the clarity you’ve gained. This aligns you with the TCM Metal element’s focus on finding value in the purity that remains.
This ritual doesn’t need to be long. Ten minutes can be enough to feel centered and clear.
Enhancing the Ritual with Skincare
Make your skincare routine a nurturing extension of your journaling ritual, grounding the TCM Metal element’s energy in skin, vital energy and even your emotions. This three-pronged benefit is unique to PHYTO5’s 5-element skincare lines.
We crafted PHYTO5’s Metal White Clay Mask and Metal Phyt’Ether Serum to resonate with the TCM Fall season, supporting skin health and harmonizing you more deeply with the five elements of Chinese medicine.
Metal White Clay Mask: This French green and kaolin clay-based mask, infused with quartz powder and essential oils, feels like a gentle reset for the skin. Its decongesting properties help reduce puffiness, leaving skin bright and refreshed. Apply it (with Phyt’Ether mentioned below) after journaling to enhance your sense of clarity. As the mask works, its cool, ever-moist creamy texture feels like an extension of the TCM Metal element’s calm energy.
Metal Phyt’Ether Serum: This quantum energetic essential oil-rich serum we designed to oxygenate and mineralize skin, plump fine lines, lessen dullness and brighten skin. It absorbs quickly, making it ideal for use after the clay mask (above). In alignment with the five elements of Chinese medicine, this serum’s energetic properties help balance emotions like worry, fostering a sense of well-being that complements the emotional release you get from journaling.
To incorporate these into your ritual, apply the Metal White Clay Mask to clean face just before journaling. Moisten your hands and spread on your face with love .Let it penetrate the skin for the ten minutes or so you spend on your journal entry.
After journaling, rinse or wipe the mask away with a wet cloth, then apply two or so drops of Metal Phyt’Ether Serum to your hands, rub hands gently together, take in the fragrance lightly through the nose, then press oiled hands delicately onto your face.
This sequence not only nourishes skin but aromatherapeutically deepens the meditative quality of the ritual, aligning body and mind with the TCM Metal element.
Why This Matters in the TCM Fall Season
The TCM Fall season is a time of transition, where the outward energy of Summer has begun turning inward. It’s time for us to turn inward too.
The TCM Metal element encourages us to slow down, refine our focus, and release what weighs us down. Journaling helps process emotions like grief and regret, which the five elements of Chinese medicine associate with the lungs.
In addition to your daily application of the Metal Day Cream, caring for your skin with products like Metal White Clay Mask and Phyt’Ether Serum protects against the TCM Fall season’s dryness, a key seasonal challenge for skin according to TCM.
Together, these practices create a holistic ritual that supports emotional clarity and skin’s vitality.
A Moment for You
This TCM Fall season, carve out a few minutes each week for ritual journaling. Let the act of writing and the soothing touch of any of the products in PHYTO5’s Metal line products guide you toward clarity and calm.
By aligning with the TCM Metal element and the five elements of Chinese medicine, you’re not just caring for your skin—you’re embracing the season’s wisdom and finding balance in the art of letting go.