The Complete Stems and Branches

Roisin Golding, gained a diploma in acupuncture in 1986, and received a B.AC. in 1987 from the International College of Oriental Medicine, ICOM, Sussex, England. She now practices in Harley Street, Central London. Roisin Golding was a writer on alternative medicine for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and her fortnightly column was distributed to over forty countries world-wide. She has also published in the European Journal of Oriental Medicine, Chinese Medicine Times, and the Acupuncturist. More recently Roisin Golding was invited by the World Health Organisation to be part of an international team of experts on acupuncture and worked on the WHO International Classification Disease (ICD11), as well as the WHO standard terminology in Traditional Chinese Medicine. As well as teaching in London, California, and Ireland, she has given talks at conferences such as at Yunnan University of TCM, China, and the Conference of Oriental Medicine, England.

Table of divisions, stems, branches,
24 solar periods, 28 lunar mansionsInside back cover

PART ONE Time, space and the Dao1
Chapter 1: Cyclical time3
Day and night4
The four seasons5
The five elements6
Moon cycles10
Exercises18
Chapter 2: Sequential time21
Reproductive life22
Ageing habits23
Forbidden years24
Death24
Exercises25
Chapter 3: Non-time27
Four seas27
Eight extraordinary meridians30
Chapter 4: The calendar33
Farmer's Calendar34
Xia (Hsia) calendar36
Lunar-solar calendar36
Chapter 5: Heaven, Earth and humankind (tian, di, ren)41
The birth of humankind44
Humankind's creativity45
The middle region46
Nine pulses of the three regions52
Treatments using the principles of Heaven, Earth and humankind58
Chapter 6: Wu xing - five elements65
The sheng cycle72
The ke cycle72
Exercises79
PART TWO Heavenly stems and earthly branches - tian gan di zhi81
Chapter 7: Divisions83
Divisions of the body83
Internal/external pairings of divisions84
Host divisions87
Guest divisions89
Treatment strategies101

Exercises108
Chapter 8: Great movements 111
Wood115
Fire116
Earth117
Metal117
Water118
Treatment120
Exercise128
Chapter 9: Stem organs129

Balanced qi132
Imbalanced qi133
Stem symptoms 134
Stem treatments137
Divergent meridians140
Prognosis140
Chapter 10: Branches (di zhi) 143
Chinese clock143
Branch inner energy143
Branch meridian sequence - the sheng cycle146
Branch treatments150
Chapter 11: Putting it all together155
The Stems and Branches Year Chart156
Yearly meetings157
Personal chart158
Four pillars159
Case studies162
General rules167
Exercises169
Chapter 12: Open-hourly method of point selection171
Methods based in branches - na zi fa171
Methods using stems - na jia fa172
Intergeneration of points173
Using the eight extra meridians173
PART THREE The inner core of acupuncture175
Chapter 13: The Chinese sky177
Huang Di178
The shape of the universe180
Divisions of the heavens182
Three enclosures182
Five palaces184
The 28 lunar mansions187
Four palaces of the cardinal directions191
Planets194
Relationships with the stems and branches196
Chapter 14: Psychological profiles205
Spirit206
Emotions215
Element types220
Stems and the psyche222
Branches and the psyche222
Character and the six divisions227
Typing according to yin and yang228
Clinical applications228
Chapter 15: Numerology233
The Hetu/Yellow River map234
The Luoshu magic square236
Forbidden points242
Needle technique244
Chapter 16 Symbols247
Early Heaven arrangement of trigrams - Fu Xi248
Later Heaven arrangement of trigrams - King Wen249
Trigrams and the body250
Eight extra meridians and trigrams252
Appendices
Appendix 1: Charts259
Appendix 2: Astronomy271
Appendix 3: Star maps289
Glossary295
Bibliography297
Index301