Summer is upon us in the southern hemisphere, the season hurtling with open arms towards its rendezvous with the solstice next week.

Time then to open the box of xi-cleft points once again to discover what the Fire Element can provide us in the way of acupoints to ease our path through the summer.

(Northern Hemisphere readers can find their season-appropriate Water points here:
Kidney 5 and Bladder 63

Fire is the most yang and expansive of the Elements, so it is fitting that it has four meridians rather than the usual two. Three of these are, in a way, in service of the fourth, namely the Heart. In this blog post, we look at the meridians of the “outer” Fire, Triple Heater (Sanjiao) and Heart Protector (Pericardium), while in the later part of summer we’ll have a look at the “inner” Fire of Small Intestine and Heart.

Triple Heater 7 –Huizong – Ancestral Meeting

What a wonderful name this is, suggesting a point that connects to ancient wisdom.

The character Hui means a meeting, but also refers to the words that people say when they meet: a greeting. The meeting suggested is of a reunion.

The character Zong means an ancestral hall, from which emanates the wisdom of deceased ancestors. It was also the name given in ancient China to the meeting of government ministers that took place in the summer, season of the Fire Element.

Together these characters suggest a convergence and communication of accumulated wisdom. This is appropriate for the xi-cleft point where the Qi of the meridian accumulates before diving deeper into the energetic body. And the meaning echoes the nature of Triple Heater as a harmoniser of all the meridians, keeping peace and balance among all the other organ officials.

The point moves stagnation in the three burners, namely the lower belly, upper belly and chest which together encompass all the internal organs. It will also regulate the thermostat of the body so can be used for excesses of heat and cold.

As is the remit of these xi-cleft points, Huizong treats conditions along the channel: pain in the arms, shoulders, ears, temples and eyebrows as well as pain in the skin, epilepsy, tinnitus and deafness.

Triple Heater also governs the Wei Qi at the surface of the body and so is closely associated with defence against the external pathogens of cold, heat, damp, dry and wind. In other words, it comprises part of the immune system. Huizong is therefore ideally suited to protecting us from invasions from the outer world.

These functions also extend to the psycho-emotional level. Triple Heater is responsible for regulating and mediating our relationships in social contexts: colleagues at work, acquaintances, people we meet briefly in our day. Therefore this point can help to smooth such social interactions when we are feeling cut off from the world. In short, Ancestral Meeting harmonises the inner and outer realms.

Heart Protector 4 – Ximen – Xi-Cleft Gate

The Heart Protector official is responsible for mediating closer relationships such as those with partners, family and close friends. It protects the Heart from the shock of emotional disturbances like personal attacks, breakups, divorce, betrayal and abuse. We know that xi-cleft points treat acute conditions, so Ximen would be useful treatment in the early stages of such invasions upon the heart. But it is also known for its capacity to help resolve stagnation caused by past heartbreaks which have caused the emotional heart to close down and shut the gates against further assaults to the heart.

A healthy Heart Protector official has the emotional intelligence to know when a person is loving and supportive and to open appropriately; it also senses when someone poses a danger or means us harm, and screens the heart from hurt. When the official is out of balance, these functions can be impaired, resulting in closing to love or opening to harm, or both. In such situations Xi-cleft gate can be used in conjunction with other points such as HP 7 and CV 17.

Xi-cleft points of the yin meridians such as this are also known to treat conditions of the blood. This is particularly true of Heart Protector, one of whose functions is the smooth operation of the blood vessels of the circulatory system. Ximen is therefore known to treat bleeding, especially nosebleed. It calms the heart and mind, so treats palpitations, arrhythmia, chest pain and heart pain at the physical level, while at the emotional level it addresses agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, melancholy and fear of other people.

The point clears stagnation in the channel, in other words from the breast, along the inside of the upper arm, the middle of the anterior forearm and to the middle finger. More locally it will address pain or paralysis of the anterior forearm and fingers.

As we move into the holiday season and extended families meet to celebrate, it can be a time of joyful reunion. However, many people are faced with relationship challenges posed by the resurfacing of old issues and hurts. The dynamics of families rarely change much, and family gatherings can sometimes transform strong adults back into the small children they once were, reacting out of old patterns rather than from a place of understanding. These two points, Ancestral Meeting and Xi-cleft gate, can be utilised to strengthen the capacity to relate with open-hearted wisdom.

I wish you a truly heart-felt holiday season.