Fire is the most immediate, the most in the moment of the five elements. It represents our potential: the total expression and integration of our being, the full extent of our expansion.
Represented mainly by the Heart, Fire is the only element that encompasses four organs. The other three are the Pericardium, also know as the "Heart Protector," the Triple Burner, which energetically controls the upper, middle, and lower portions of the body, and the Small Intestine.
Known as the Emperor, the Heart is the main organ within the Fire element. It is responsible for circulating blood throughout the body and thus nourishing all of the internal organs. As such, the Heart is the organ that allows oxygen to flow to the muscles and organs, and allows us to feel warmth, empathy, and compassion. The Heart holds the Spirit, which in Chinese Medicine is called the Shen and represents the life force and outward expression of the individual energy. The Shen emanates our sense of compassion, which gives us a sense of our individual self as well as our union with others. Through the Heart we thus connect to the external world.
Fire energy guides us with the powers of expression, compassion, intimacy, spontaneity and excitement. It is thus the energy that represents love, an experience that is purely felt. Unlike its opposing element, Water, which has to do with perspective on the past and future and is understood materially through thought, Fire is all about the present moment, and can only be understood in the here and now through feeling.
Fire type people live in the moment and use both personal magnetism and their gift of expression to draw people close to them. When in balance, Fire types are jovial, affectionate and optimistic. Their charm makes it easy for people to feel close to them, and get involved in their exhilarating and often dramatic world. However, when a Fire type becomes imbalanced and literally "burns out" through a situation he burns others with his flame, often leaving a trail of exhausted people who have given their all to help and stay warm.
Passionate and excitable, Fire represents Yang energy in our lives in its purest sense.
