Gold like honey, bitter like truth: the gallbladder and what it teaches us about life
The gallbladder is an organ located on the right side of the body, very close to the Liver. In East Asian medicine, it has a meridian connected to it. It is part of an energetic system called the 12 primary or the 12 regular meridians.
Let’s ask ourselves first: what is regular (in Dutch we call it gewoon – think about what “doe gewoon” means, in a social sense…)? I would say ‘regular’ means in relation to something else, comparing it to what is not regular. And then the other word that describes those 12 meridians is: primary. When something is not primary, what does it mean? That it is secondary? Calling the ‘other meridian system’ secondary in the Western schools of East Asian medicine caused, later in history, an unfortunate confusion, as ‘the other system’, the “secondary,” is actually called ‘The 8 extra wonder meridians’. How far from the Truth that is. You can find out by reading my other posts about those meridians, or as they are also called, vessels.
Let’s go back to the word regular, as opposed to something more magical, out of the ordinary. What does it mean, a wonder? Magic? Are they really magical meridians?
Those extraordinary meridians do exist. They are called the 8 extra wonder meridians, and the gallbladder plays an important role in at least 3 of them.
Personally, I believe in magic in life, in wonders. And it doesn’t need to be something big. My grandfather was a magician, but only as a hobby. Life was full of responsibility and taken heavily and seriously, so he could not be doing magic as a full-time job. I guess it was this lightness about it that gave some light to his life, coming back from horrible hiding places during the Holocaust and 10 years later losing his beloved, the mother of his children (my mother), to cancer.
What I am talking about is the small life magic that exists while meeting people, at times when we experience thought literally creating a reality. I mean the lightness one experiences physically, emotionally, spiritually, and the synchronicity one can explore in life, those things that bring gifts.
But let’s go back to the meridians.
Maybe ‘regular’ comes from the word regulate? The 12 meridians are important to our daily life function. Daily life contains routine; as much as we love it or love to hate it, it enables us to experience freedom, because there is a container. If we don’t have a frame, structure, or routine, chaos can happen. If a person experiences that inwardly, it means it is in the microcosm, but the same is in our society, at the macro cosmos. If there is no frame or order, there will be Chaos.
Of course, vacation is great; stepping out of the routine is supportive, not drowning in boredom. Checking boundaries is important for one’s growth. Neither in the micro nor macro cosmos is it fixated. It’s a living thing, and we are living organisms. Meaning, magic, and spark are all part of life.
How does all this have to do with the Gallbladder?
The 8 extra wonder meridians regulate the 12 meridians as one of their tasks, so they will work well to support (daily) life. For me, that looks exactly like a very basic, primary thing. I give an example from my work as a birth doula:
Part of my support for the pregnant women/ couple is creating a ‘birth plan’, so when we discuss their birth plan, they all, at one point, pause and notice they are so caught up in the details, and they will say: it all doesn’t really matter; the most important is that the baby is healthy.
True. It is the most important: life; the rest is a bonus. I agree, a healthy baby and a healthy mother are the most important. It is an axiom; it goes without saying. After acknowledging that, we can continue with the birth plan discussion, the things that support the birth process, her strength, her having the optimal birth for an optimal beginning of life for the baby, and being a mom with no extra trauma to carry.
The same with the meridians. We can of course look at the meridians only from a symbolic level as well, not therapeutic. But of course they are both therapeutic and symbolic.
I believe that life lived well has moments of happiness, joy, and excitement from looking at the ordinary thing, like the sunset, as it is marvelous. But life is nature, and nature isn’t only taking the car to be in the forest. Nature is people; it is the environment built by people. Nature is you.
As human beings, what makes life experiences is created by choices. There is no small choice nor big choice. And here the gallbladder comes in. The liver is the general, the one who plans and strategizes; the gallbladder is the official of decision, the one who makes the judgment and puts it into action in life. That is the gallbladder’s energy.
As the 12 meridians are working hard, as best as they can, you stay healthy and can easily appreciate life. But when out of balance, out of sync, it is difficult to appreciate life. When we have pain and stagnation, it is a challenge. It is easy to experience life when there is a good flow.
The 8 extra wonder meridians are the ones who take care of the overall flow, making the ordinary parts of life experienced and appreciated as extraordinary.
They are the seas of energy, coming from the undivided Divine.
The gallbladder is the best example of the ordinary in the extraordinary. Just like the sun setting or rising.
So let us look more closely at what the Gallbladder actually does, because the details are as interesting as the bigger picture.
The Gallbladder does more than hold bile, that pure golden liquid, gold like honey. Its bile is bitter, and the bitter taste connects, according to the five elements theory, to the Fire element, to the heart, to life itself. It supports the fire that keeps us alive.
It is both a Yin and Yang organ, the only organ in the system with this unique dual quality. As a pivot meridian and as a Shao Yang (from the six division theory perspective), it supports the inner and outer movement of the body, a role the Wei Mai vessels carry prenatally, but in ‘postnatal life’ the Gallbladder does this together with the Triple Burner meridian. It supports balance. It supports the Liver, the organ and meridian, the partner of the gallblader, both through the Western lens and from the perspective of the 5 elements theory, and helps the Liver host the Hun spirit, our connection to the ancestral line. It supports hormonal balance and the sides of the body.
It has a big part in three of the eight extra wonder meridians: the Yang Wei Mai, the Dai Mai and the Yang Qiao Mai. Three vessels that are in charge of transportation and transformation in our bodies.
The Gallbladder belongs to the Wood element, the element of new beginnings, the start of Postnatal life, of growth and the spring season.
According to the Chinese organ clock (the daily cycle through the twelve meridians), the gallbladder’s time is 11 pm to 1 am. The hour of the shift inward, toward the healing realm.
And at its heart, the gallbladder governs decision-making.
That is what life is: an accumulation of decisions. There is no small or big decision, as they all become your life experiences.
For any movement to happen, for any step to be taken, a choice must be made. To step out of fear and do it anyway. To say: I can handle this. Is it even possible not to choose? Not making a decision is also a decision. If you cannot make a choice, you get stuck or you fall.
And at the end of our life, what we are left with are the memories of those choices.
That is why the gallbladder is also part of ‘the six extraordinary organs’, also known as the “curious organs” alongside the brain, the reproductive system, the blood vessels, the bones and the marrow, all working together to support the continuum of life and the evolution of human beings.
With Love,
Oda
I invite you to Postgraduate Shiatsu Training: odameiberg.com/het-wonder-jaar/