The bottle on dark volcanic stone under a low brass lamp

Five-element essential oils 五行

Five elements.
Each one has a scent.

Whole essential oils, composed around the five elements — Earth first, then Metal, Water, Wood and Fire — one blend for each, chosen the way plants were matched to a person two thousand years ago.

Find your elementMeet the five blends

The five blends 五瓶

Five blends, one for each element.

Scent, composed around an element. One is finished; four are on the bench, and the cards say so.

Dark soil with a piece of raw amber土Earth · Groundgrounded, steady — the quiet hour of restEarly Q4 · ฿690Read this element →
A brushed brass bowl on linen金Metal · Clearclarity, structure, the clean cutIn researchRead this element →
Still water in a black stone bowl水Water · Stillstillness, depth, the slow currentIn researchRead this element →
Cut pale wood with young leaves木Wood · Risegrowth, planning, the will to beginIn researchRead this element →
A small flame in a clay dish火Fire · Hearthwarmth, light, the nerve to be seenIn researchRead this element →

The five forces 五行相生相剋

Five forces, one balance.

Each one gives rise to the next, and holds another in check. Move across a point to read it.

火Fire · Hearth土Earth · Groundour signature · early Q4金Metal · Clear水Water · Still木Wood · Rise
五行
Five forces
Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Fire — five ways things move.
生gives rise to

Earth bears Metal · Metal carries Water · Water feeds Wood · Wood feeds Fire · Fire makes Earth

剋holds in check

Earth banks Water · Water quenches Fire · Fire melts Metal · Metal cuts Wood · Wood parts Earth

A round volcanic stone ball beside the bottle on a bedside table, in afternoon light

The ritual 儀

Three drops, and a breath.

  1. 1
    Three drops on the volcanic stone.三滴

    A round volcanic stone, about five centimetres across. It is porous: it takes the drops and gives the scent back slowly.

  2. 2
    Put it near you.近身

    The desk, the bedside, the arm of the chair — within reach, not across the room. No heat, no water, no plug.

  3. 3
    Breathe deep, and feel the element.深呼吸

    A few slow breaths. That is the whole ritual; the stone carries the scent for hours.

Wood, flame, earth, bronze and water on stone — the five, as materials

五行 · Our story

Where the five came from — and where we come in.

A founding text, a physician’s map of the body, a herbal, a drawer at home. Five minutes, from 300 BC to tonight.

Read the story

Your reading

The person before the plant.

Your birth chart says which of the five runs low. The reading takes a minute and tells you which bottle to start with.

Find your element