Access to Meridian Levels through Points

by Robert Hayden, L.Ac., copyright 1999

Meridian Levels are accessible through certain key points where they intersect the Main Meridian. This concept is shown in the following diagram. While some point associations are explicitly stated in classical materials, others are not and there are some differences in interpretation. For example, the access points for the extraordinary vessels and network vessels have been defined explicitly. The meridian sinews are said to start at the ends of the fingers and toes and bind at the ankles and wrists; the interpretation is that they intersect the well points (which coincide almost without exception to the ends of the fingers and toes) and bind at the river points (which are mostly found at the wrists and ankles). The divergent meridians are said to begin at or above the knees and elbows; the interpretation by some authors is that the closest essential point to these areas, the sea point, is used.

The extraordinary vessels are properly said to be accessed through their confluent (master-coupled) point, but they are represented here as being accessed at the network or stream points. This is because, of the eight points considered, half are network points (LU7, SP4, P6, TB5) and another two are stream points (SI3, GB41). The Yinqiao vessel is accessed at K6, which in our method is found in virtually the same location as Sawada’s K3 (Taikei), giving it an “almost-stream-point” status.