When Manifestation Isn’t About Forcing a Vision
What the Five Elements Teach Us About Real Change
Between Earth and Metal
When an ending is not meant to be replaced – but to be an ending
We live in a time where we are constantly told: “Move towards something, not away from something.”
“Focus on your goal.”
“Manifest what you want.”
But what if it’s not always about knowing where you’re going next?
What happens in the space that opens up when you don’t?
In the pause between ending and beginning?
In the stillness where you neither know – nor are meant to act?
The Five Elements – more than a theory
The Five Elements in Chinese medicine are not an abstract doctrine.
They are the movement pattern of life itself.
Every cycle – whether in a relationship, a job, a life stage or an inner process – travels through them:
Earth gathers, nourishes, digests and draws wisdom.
Metal lets go. Sorts. Releases what no longer belongs to you.
Water withdraws into stillness, where only essence remains.
Wood begins to dream. A vision takes shape from within.
Fire burns, expresses, reaches outward.
… and Earth embodies it all.
Only then does manifestation occur.
But we often want to skip straight from Earth to Wood.
Or worse: from Metal to Fire.
From ending straight into euphoria.
A job ends? “Manifest a new one!”
A relationship falls apart? “Love yourself and stay open for the next!”
A dream cracks? “Adjust your focus!”
But that’s not how nature works.
That’s not how healing works.
And that’s not how manifestation works.
Metal – the art of letting something end
The Metal element teaches us a painful yet noble ability:
To let something end – without knowing what comes after.
Not because you already have a plan.
Not because you’re “thinking bigger.”
Not because you’ve found a better strategy.
But because its time is simply over.
You don’t feel it in your mind – you feel it in your body.
A quiet heaviness. A subtle exhaustion. A whisper: “This is complete.”
That is courage.
Not shouting a vision.
But leaving – in silence.
Water – the sacred darkness
Then comes Water.
The deepest phase. The least loved.
No forward movement. Nothing to show.
Only darkness.
Reduction to what is essential.
Sometimes loneliness.
Sometimes relief.
But here, something happens that can’t happen anywhere else:
You meet your core.
Not who you want to be – but who you are.
A seed doesn’t grow in sunlight.
It grows in darkness.
Quietly. Invisibly. With a power that seeks no approval.
Wood – when manifestation begins from within
And when the time is ripe – not before – something starts moving from within.
Not through planning. Not through vision boards.
Wood doesn’t manifest – it longs.
It pulls you in a direction.
Not toward what others think you should want – but toward what you are actually becoming.
This is where manifestation begins.
Not as a desire from the outside.
But as a drive from within.
Earth – manifestation is devotion
But even that is not enough.
Vision without Earth is fantasy.
Movement without a center is restlessness.
Only Earth can live what Wood was building.
It gives structure. Rhythm. Daily life.
Manifestation is not the plan – it is the devotion.
The watering. The repetition. The patience.
And then – back to Metal
Every cycle ends where it began: in Metal.
A final examination: “What of this is true?”
What will stay with you?
What will quietly be left behind?
So when you feel something coming to an end …
… don’t run toward the next beginning.
Let it end.
Let it be still.
Let it die.
And trust this:
The new does not come because you chase it.
It comes because you made space for it.
If you want to live this transition rather than just think about it, this month’s Spleen Workbook (30 pages) is waiting for you inside the paid Substack subscription.
We remain rooted in the quality of Earth – focusing on the spleen, digestion, nourishment and inner stability – so that you can feel what truly carries you.
At the same time, the movement of Metal is already present. The workbook helps you recognise where you feel full, and where something has become too heavy; it doesn’t just guide you in receiving, but also in releasing. In exhaling. In closing – not out of avoidance, but with dignity.