Cycles - Sheng and Ko

There are two main cycles involved in these phases, the Sheng and the Ko.

The Sheng cycle is more 'yang', expansive, oriented with an emphasis on growth and so development that can be exaggerating at times and so excessive. Other associations are: anabolic, creative, nourishing, feeding, producing, strengthening, engendering, reinforcing (more so in self-referencing as in mental reinforces metal; lake reinforces heaven). There is also a reverse Sheng cycle where that which is produced can exhaust the producer.

The Ko cycle is more 'yin', contractive, oriented with an emphasis on control and so restraint. Other associations are: catabolic, destructive, weakening, controlling, disciplining, bringing order to, dominating, restraining. There is also a reverse Ko cycle where that which is destroyed/controlled can injure the destroyer/controller.

Here are the tables of relationships where the natural cycle links the bottom entry of the table back to the top entry of the table:

SHENG CYCLE (Mother Nourishes Son) [GROWTH CYCLE, DIFFERENTIATES, TRANSCENDS, MUTUAL GENERATION]

WOOD	produces, feeds, strengthens, nourishes, engenders	FIRE
FIRE		EARTH
EARTH		METAL
METAL		WATER
WATER		WOOD

SHENG CYCLE (Economics perspective) [GROWTH CYCLE, DIFFERENTIATES, TRANSCENDS]

PRODUCTION	produces, feeds, strengthens, nourishes, engenders	DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION		FILTRATION
FILTRATION		EXCHANGE
EXCHANGE		CONSUMPTION
CONSUMPTION		PRODUCTION

KO CYCLE (Grandmother Restrains GrandSon) [CONTROL CYCLE, INTEGRATES, TRANSFORMS, MUTUAL SUBJUGATION]

METAL	destroys, dominates, controls, restrains, weakens	WOOD
WOOD		EARTH
EARTH		WATER
WATER		FIRE
FIRE		METAL

KO CYCLE (Economics perspective) [CONTROL CYCLE, INTEGRATES, TRANSFORMS]

EXCHANGE	destroys, dominates, controls, restrains, weakens	PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION		FILTRATION
FILTRATION		CONSUMPTION
CONSUMPTION		DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION		EXCHANGE

REVERSE SHENG CYCLE (what is produced exhausts the producer)

METAL	exhausts	EARTH
EARTH		FIRE
FIRE		WOOD
WOOD		WATER
WATER		METAL

REVERSE SHENG CYCLE (what is produced exhausts the producer)

EXCHANGE	exhausts	FILTRATION
FILTRATION		DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION		PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION		CONSUMPTION
CONSUMPTION		EXCHANGE

REVERSE KO CYCLE (what is destroyed injures the destroyer)

METAL	injures	FIRE
FIRE		WATER
WATER		EARTH
EARTH		WOOD
WOOD		METAL

REVERSE KO CYCLE (what is destroyed injures the destroyer)

EXCHANGE	injures	DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION		CONSUMPTION
CONSUMPTION		FILTRATION
FILTRATION		PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION		EXCHANGE

SELF-REFERENCING (Development of Archetypes)

METAL	reinforces (refines)	METAL
WATER		WATER
WOOD		WOOD
FIRE		FIRE
EARTH		EARTH

SELF-REFERENCING (Development of Archetypes)

EXCHANGE	reinforces (refines)	EXCHANGE
CONSUMPTION		CONSUMPTION
PRODUCTION		PRODUCTION
DISTRIBUTION		DISTRIBUTION
FILTRATION		FILTRATION

Within each of the categories in these tables is the yin/yang categories and so SOFT metal vs HARD metal, that can be expressed within themselves as Excessive vs Deficient, Strong vs Weak. Thus in the KO cycle table, a normal X can exaggerate the weakness of Y just as X in excess can weaken a 'normal' Y.

The overall focus in five-phase theory is on the maintaining of balance in energy distributions where any excess or stagnation is interpreted as a blockage of the flow of energy and so is in need of 'treatment' - this is the core focus of Acupuncture etc.

In I Ching interpretations the focus is on the TRIGRAMS and their relationship of LOWER trigram to UPPER trigram in a HEXAGRAM.

In the focus on DYNAMICS so we use five-phase processes that contain within them the eight phases of the trigrams where the concept of balance is encoded in the PURE forms of fire and water (from a perspective of 'mixing') as compared to the PURE forms of heaven and earth (from a perspective of 'purity').

In the Chinese medicine theory, the Shang cycle is therapeutic when the paths are yin-yin or yang-yang. In the Ko cycle the therapeutic is when the paths are yin-yang or yang-yin. In both cycles the alternative paths are considered 'pathalogic'. Thus organs in the body are 'yin' or 'yang' within a phase and the yang organs link together to form a circuit as do the yin organs link together to form a circuit. An organ with an issue within a phase can be re-balanced through the complementary organ in the same phase or else through an organ in another phase but of the same circuit.

Acupuncture has developed a rich set of perspectives on the flow of energy (Qi, Chi) and reflects the neurocognitive trait of recruiting what you have to refine perspectives. As such the phases have within each a network of 'points' described by analogy to the other phases. This allows for the re-distribution of energy that has been 'blocked' in the flow of things and gives yin/yang perspectives to each phase.

Thus a blockage (be it in lack of, or excess of, energy) WITHIN a phase can occur between the yin/yang elements and so requires a redistribution from the yang to the yin or the yin to the yang with a focus on always 'filling' the deficiency first prior to dealing with an excess.

A blockage BETWEEN phases, due to the cyclic nature, requires action 'up' the line (post action) or 'down' the line (pre action). WITHIN the set of points within a phase these points serve as 'alternative perspectives' of the same phase and as such reflect the changing of a perspective WITHIN a perspective. These sorts of activities favour yang-to-yang or yin-to-yin processes in that these are the only paths that are therapeutic.

As the reader can imagine this can get 'complicated' although in acupuncture there is the notion that an issue of energy distribution can be delt-with with action to only two or three positions (and so use of needles etc)