5 elements

I'm not sure if this should go here or on TCM, but anywhos...

I'm trying to learn a bit more about the 5 elements (earth, water, wood, metal, fire), and have been doing some searching on the web. I've seen a lot of TCM type info (like which element is associated with which organ), but I'm also trying to find out more regarding their nature and how they effect human psychology and physiology. The web hasn't been much help there. Can anyone help me out or at least point me in the right direction? Thanks.

Start by thinking on your own, what are some attributes of those elements. This is abstract, but it is a beginning into the thinking by way of the elements.

Describe the different aspect or properties of water for instance. Soft, yet can be heavy and powerful, encompasing, can rise and fall smoothly, can take the form of liquid or ice...etc.

That's how I took it at first, but really, I can almost use any element to describe any attribute.

Water strong and flexible, but it can be hard and fast (raging river), or soft and slow (a gentle stream)

Fire can be dynamic and chaotic (bonfire), but also subtle and mild (candle).

etc.

What I'm wondering is (mainly behavior-wise) what is believed to occur when one's water, fire, earth, etc. go out of whack. And why?

Dude, when your kidney's fail, your heart is sure to follow. Now think about how much you think with your heart. How in depth do you think this discussion can get? What do you really want to know?

Wu Xing
the Five States of Change
Whereas Western thought developed the idea of elements as subtsances, and Indian thought as emenations, Chinese philosophy conceived of the five elements, or Wu Xing, as dynamic states of change.

The concept of Wu Xing is central to all elements of Chinese thought, including science, philosophy, medicine, astrology, andFengshui.

Although the term is generally translated as "five elements", this is incorrect. The word Wu does indeed mean "five". But there is no simple translation for Xing. Translations such as "five elements", "five agents", "five qualities", "five properties" "five states of change", "five courses", "five phases" and "five elementals", are all used. As Master Joseph Yu explains

"Wu Xing" is actually the short form of "Wu zhong liu xing zhi chi" or "the five types of chi dominating at different times". Water dominates in winter, wood in spring, fire in summer, metal in autumn.

At the intersection between two seasons, the transitional period is dominated by earth. It is customary in Chinese writing to summarize a longer phrase into a couple of characters.

Sometimes the meaning is completely lost in the abbreviated form if the original phrase is not referred to. Wu Xing is one such example.

The names "water", "wood", "fire", "metal" and "earth" are only substances whose properties resemble the respective chi in the closest possible way. They do help us understand the properties of the five types of chi but they also mislead us if we take everything in the literal sense.
The following table gives but a few of the many correspondences associated with Wu Xing.

http://www.kheper.net/topics/eastern/wuxing.html

the above comes from this link.

some good info on five elements