What is your CF? *

Identifying one's CF is easier later in life as weakness and diseases usually form around the pair of organs connected to the CF. For a Fire person it could be issues with connection to others, anxiety or diseases of the heart or Small Intestine. A Wood CF person could display issues connected to Liver and/or Gallbladder, etc.

The process of identification starts with the first meeting - how punctual is this person? What are the colors they wear -is this a color they often choose?... What is their overall behavior - do they appear Yin (Metal, Water) and are reserved, perhaps someone who prefers to spend time alone or are they projecting more Yang (Wood, Fire) attitude of valuing connection, being "warm", are they liking to engage with a stranger?. Earth CF can appear as either Yin or Yang, friendly and smiling, their voice usually sounding as if they are singing.

Once you answer the "Yin or Yang" question, look at their choices in life and career. Wood type is an adventurer, explorer. They change professions, locations, interests without fear. The Fire CF engages people, chooses professions and places where there are opportunities to meet more, often in sales or entertainment but it is really the role they play that gives them out. The Earth CF will like work that serves a higher purpose, other people, the planet or maybe a role in education. The Metal type tends to choose work where they create, design, build objects, measure things, create objects of beauty or address injustice or illness. Unlike Earth who will focus on the person who is sick, a Metal CF teens to approach medicine as a process of fixing a problem, it is not really personal... The Water CF likes to spend their time in theory, academia, examining deep problems of existence, sometimes suffering through their work, looking for a meaning.

It is important to understand that finding one's CF can be very difficult the healthier the person is, but it is an extremely rewarding endeavor so please don't be discouraged easily...

After considering the "Yin or Yang?" and the choices this person makes over time, things could be easier but keep in mind that some people make their educational & professional choices by following family or other expectations. Still, even then there are things that reveal the real interests and tendencies.

Consider the sound of this person's voice. Consider the choices they make when facing a problem. Consider the way they do things - a Wood person is fast and impatient, the Fire person needs people, the Earth person is slow(er) like a heavy, hot August day. Metal is exact, likes accuracy. Water adapts, things are not so important, Water CF sometimes lacks a reason to go a 100% in.

What is the sports activity this person likes? Do they like team sports (often the choice of Wood & Fire) or do they prefer solitary effort? Earth likes tracking, Metal likes running, Water will swim, row, spend time around water...

Each clue should match others, neither one is enough to give you the answer but like those blinking lights at the airport landing strip, each question's answer should point towards one of the five elements.

A very useful tool in identifying person's CF is the Ke or "controlling" cycle I mentioned before. The controlling relationship between Elements skips 1 element and so goes as:

Wood controls Earth
Fire controls Metal
Earth controls Water
Metal controls Wood and
Water controls Fire

Use the Ke cycle to confirm your CF choice by asking: are the health issues of this person (or yourown if you're trying to identify your CF) matching these elements:

1. the Cf you suspect
2. the Element that controls that CF and
3. the Element that is controlled by the CF you're testing.

These are the triangles for each element. For

Wood: Wood, Metal, Earth
Fire: Fire, Water, Metal
Earth: Earth, Wood, Water
Metal: Metal, Fire, Wood
Water: Water, Earth, Fire

If you're "guessing" this person is a Wood CF, there should be some issues on Liver or Gallbladder pair (around action, motivation, procrastination or physical issues around fat metabolism, ligaments/tendons, gallstones, etc) as well as problems on Lung and/or Large Intestine and the Spleen and Stomach pair.

Going backwards, your detective work could take you from the list of symptoms and issues to putting together a triangle. The center of that triangle - the Element that controls and is being controlled by the other two should be there CF you were trying to uncover.