Meridian of the Month | Pericardium

Jul 9

The meridian lines of the body are energetic highways that provide a path for Qi and other substances to flow. This year, we will learn details about one of the meridians each month as they coordinate with the time of year / season that we are currently in. For July, let's discuss the Pericardium pathway!

Meridian Art Collection

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The Journey of the Pericardium Lines

The pericardium line begins in the middle of the chest at the pericardium. A branch moves downward and inward through the diaphragm to the upper, middle and lower burners. On the main channel at the chest a branch emerges at the outer nipple. It moves over the surface around the front of the armpit and then descends down the arm via the biceps. At the elbow crease it moves to the inner biceps tendon before moving down the front of the forearm between the heart/lung channels to the wrist.

At the hand it crosses the middle of the palm at PC-8 where it splits. The main portion continues to the outer corner of the middle fingernail and a connecting branch goes to the fourth finger to join the triple burner at TB-1.

The Pericardium Meridian | King's Bodyguard

The Pericardium is not a physical organ recognized by Western medicine. In Chinese medicine, the Pericardium energy helps to regulate circulation in the major blood vessels that run in and out of the heart. The word Pericardium breaks down to Latin roots Peri (around) and Cardium (heart). It helps to protect the heart from emotional trauma as well as physical harm. Other organs can, for instance, cause difficult emotions to arise such as anger from the liver, fear from the kidneys or grief from the lungs. The purpose of the Pericardium is to help guard the heart from permanently absorbing those difficult emotions. It also helps to keep a balanced emotional environment.

Related to the Pericardium in TCM is the Heart, which manages blood flow and pulse throughout the body. The Triple Burner is another related Organ (also not represented by Western physiology) helps to regulate the body's original Qi.

Several specific physical symptoms that may point to an imbalance include: high fever, mental confusion, delirium, irritability, insomnia, red skin rashes, fast pulse, meningitis.

The Pericardium Qi helps us to cultivate feelings of joy and pleasure for the Heart, loving feelings associated with sex; self-love and openness in general.

There are 9 points along this meridian line and the element of the Pericardium channel is fire. Every meridian has a yin or yang counterpart or complimentary meridian. The Pericardium lines are yin and the Triple Burner (also known as San Jiao) lines are the yang counterpart that also share the fire element. The active season for the Pericardium meridian is summer and the time of day the meridian is most active is between 7pm - 9pm. The color that represents this meridian is purple red.