Mystic Phase: Metal

It has been a while. Both since the last blog and the last addition to The Way of the Mystic collection. With a new month, an approaching new season it was high time to add the next element. Where the first 3 pieces belonged to the Water element or phase, now is the time for Metal. Its first piece is:

A Subliminal Message

While this is not the place to give a ‘complete’ class on Chinese medicine, I still would like to provide you with some background. When we look at the 5 phases/elements model, a few example keywords may give you an idea what Metal stands for:

Season: Autumn/Fall

Emotion/Transformation: Grief (for what is lost), transforming into Gratitude (for what is)

Organs: Lung (Yin) / Large intestine (Yang)

Action: Letting go

Interests: An interest in Spiritual practices, the intangible 

5 phase relationships: Mother of Water, Child of Earth, Controlling Wood, Controlled by Fire

Various: Dryness, coolness (ie distance in character), sharp/cutting, father, the color white. The spirit that belongs to the Lungs is called the Po, the Corporeal Soul. It is the part of our Spirit that returns to the earth after we pass away. In that sense Metal also has a stronger connection with our dying process

On the piece

Now there is always overlap in phases and not all keywords have to apply all the time. Plus there are states of excess or deficiency and it’s called a phase for a reason. Like many things it is cyclical. I would not advise to directly learn all these keywords by heart. But more to develop a feel for what Metal stands for and see if you can trace it back in life, and in Art.

As I love shooting semi-abstracts I simply had to capture this scene in a still. And a lot of Metal correspondences came forward. A semi-abstract already gives me a Mystic feel and with this piece especially the intangible is almost made palpable. Which characteristics of Metal speak to you?

This collection started with the Water phase as I consider myself a Water constitution. But that means, as you can read under relationships, I am nourished by Metal. So though this collection does not follow the promoting cycle of the 5 phases, taking everything in account(including what appears in front of me), Metal as the second phase is only logical.

A Subliminal Message is listed on Mallow as auction on reserve. See this link