Chinese Medicine Explains of all the Weird Vampire Things on True Blood
For all the True Blood fans out there, have I got a treat for you!
What’s about to go down is an explanation of all the weird things about the True Blood universe explained through the lenses of Yin and Yang theory and traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) pattern differentiation (i.e what your acupuncturist uses to diagnose and treat you).
Discover these ancient answers to fundamental True Blood/vampire/faerie questions like…
Why do vampires need to drink blood in the first place?
Why does vampire blood get humans high?
Why is Sookie’s blood so irresistible?
Why are vampires so damn moody?
And more!
Hold onto your butts. Things are about to get crazy.
Spoiler alert! (I guess?)
There are spoilers contained here. But geez, if you haven’t seen this show already since it came out in the late aughts, you probably aren’t going to care at this point, right?
TCM Patterns for Vampires
Our undead but still animated sexy friends defy the current laws of science and medicine. But how can we begin to explain their existence? Let’s start with the 5 phases.
The five phase theory lays out a system that explains how energy transforms through a predictable cycle.
Wood transforms into Fire, which transforms into Earth, which transforms into Metal, which transforms into Water, which transforms back into Wood.
Each phase or element has its own unique properties, tendencies, and pathologies.
(Learn more about the 5 phases here.)
Using this system we’re about to go deep into vampire physiology. Here we go!
Why do Vampires Need to Drink Blood?
To explain why vampires drink blood, we must first look at the Earth phase. The Earth phase governs digestion, it grounds us, and it is what endears us with the ability to digest food and drink. The Earth phase consists of the TCM Spleen (yin organ) and the TCM Stomach (yang organ). This pair works closely together and holds a dynamic tension in the body allowing us to receive nutrition and build strength. Those with digestive issues oftentimes need balancing of their Earth phase.
When a person becomes a vampire, their Earth phase completely dies. Because of this, vampires are unable to digest food and water.
This lack trickles down the transformation pathway making it impossible for them to turn nutrients into blood. (In TCM, Blood is made by the Earth and Fire phases.)
Therefore, they need to obtain blood that has already been made by someone else.
In addition, each night vampires must “go to ground.” They have been cut off from their internal Earth phase; they must seek it out in a literal sense externally.
How do Vampires have Super-Human Strength?
When a human becomes a vampire, not only does the Earth phase die, but their Metal phase becomes frozen. The Metal phase governs structure and boundaries. Its TCM organs are the Lungs, which move Qi throughout the body, and the Large Intestine, which releases what is no longer needed.
Because vampires lack Earth phase function and the Metal/Lung function has been frozen, vampires are no longer able to produce their own Qi. So they must get all of their Qi from the blood that they consume. They are able to convert Qi from Blood because Blood carries the Qi.
But they lucked out in that they are still able to *store* Qi and at an even greater capacity than humans. This contributes to them gaining strength as they get older. The more blood they drink, the more Qi they store the stronger they get.
Where it is stored is unclear. Could it still be in the Kidneys where humans store their Essence and Qi?
When vampires don’t drink blood for extended periods of time they get depleted and weak and must slowly rebuild their strength.
Case in point - Russel Edgington's post-nap/entrapment in his concrete prison in Season 5. You also see the terrible state of his skin when he returns. Blood deficiency in humans can show up as dry skin and eczema. But in vampires, Blood deficiency-based skin conditions look really freaking gnarly. Still looking at you, Russel.
Why are Vampires Cold?
To understand why vampires are cold to the touch, we switch focus to the Yin Yang theory.
Yin Yang theory is a system for explaining life, the universe, and everything, by examining the nature of seemingly opposing states. It states the following 4 truths. Yin and Yang cannot be separated; they are opposite sides of the same coin. Yin and Yang are in a constant state of transition and transform into one another. They strive for balance. But 4 stages of imbalance can occur
Too much Yin = Yin excess
Too much Yang = Yang excess
Too little Yin = Yin deficiency
Too little Yang = Yang deficiency
When humans are in a state of health, their Yin and Yang are balanced. When one or the other is too much or too little, disease and discomfort arise.
Vampires have too much Yin; we call this an excess of Yin. That means they have even more Yin than when they were human. Yin is cold, still, receiving, dark, and moist; Yang is hot, motive force, giving, bright, and dry.
To maintain this Yin excess, vampires must constantly feed it Blood, a Yin substance.
Because vampires are so full of Yin, they are cold, cold, cold like the frozen tundra of Eric’s… home land.
Why Can’t Vampires Be in the Sun?
There is nothing more Yang in our universe than the sun. Because of the sun’s super Yang embodiment, it overpowers and destroys the vampire's excess Yin state. Thus, crispy fried vamps.
The super Yin counterpart to the sun is outer space. Thus, it reasons that outer space is an a-ok environment for vampires and that they could, in theory, colonize other planets. (As long as they stay out of the sun’s rays and have enough blood supply on hand.)
Why is Sookie’s Blood Intoxicating to Vampires?
Back to Yin Yang theory… Yang is light, movement, heat, and energy. It is energy in thermodynamics terms.
Where vampires are Yin, thrive in the darkness, and need to be constantly feeding on the Blood of others, faeries are excess Yang, produce their own light, and grant magical favors if the mood strikes them.
Faeries are the antithesis of vampires.
The reason that Sookie’s faerie blood is so freaking sweet is that it contains extra Yang that is in a form that doesn’t threaten the excess Yin condition of the vampires.
This Yang in the form of faerie blood/magic isn’t too hot, doesn’t consume Yin, but creates a temporary balanced state of both excess Yin and Yang making them super vampires 🧛♂️
While their Yin and Yang are temporarily balanced they can experience the joy of basking in the sunlight and the ecstasy of life.
With multiple faerie blood feedings, it warms their cold hearts giving them the capacity to love, in the cases of Bill and Eric, but not Russell because his cold, dead heart is outside the realm of help.
Why are Vampires so Moody?
Moving on to the next TCM theory - Zang Fu theory - explains all those mood swings and emotional outbursts.
Zang Fu theory is an organizational system of our internal organs and how they regulate bodily processes. The organs are grouped into 6 pairs, each of which has very specific jobs to do within the body. (Pro tip: When you see an organ with a leading cap, that means it’s the TCM organ, not the ACTUAL organ in your body.)
Liver & Gallbladder
Spleen & Stomach
Heart & Small Intestine
Lung & Large Intestine
Kidney & Bladder
Pericardium & San Jiao (Don’t know where or what your San Jiao is? You’re not alone. It’s complicated! And too much info for here.)
To answer why vampires are so freaking moody, we need to look at the TCM Liver.
The TCM Liver governs the smooth flow of emotions. It is also the location where humans store their Blood when they sleep at night.
The vampire’s Liver is always wanting more Blood because:
1. The Blood can’t be stored properly at night because vampires are nocturnal and
2. Vampires can’t make their own supply.
Because their Livers are malnourished and constantly wanting, they are unable to effectively deal with their strong emotions causing vampires to have such short tempers and their tendency to be extremely moody and grouchy. I’m looking at all y’all, vamps!
Why Don’t Vampires Age?
In humans, the TCM Kidney stores Essence which slowly declines from the passage of time, menstruation and childbirth in women, and orgasms in men until it is used up and we die of “old age.”
But in vampires, the excess Yin freezes the Kidney Essence stopping the aging process. This frozen Kidney Essence creates a cryogenic-like state that keeps vampires young forever. Because the Kidney Essence is frozen, it explains why vampires don’t have to worry about unwanted pregnancies and do not menstruate, both of which are facilitated by the Kidney Essence.
Why Can a Vampire be Killed with a Wooden Stake?
To understand why a wooden stake kills a vampire, but not a metal rod or a bullet or a sword, we must return to the 5 phase theory.
In the generating sequence, Wood creates Fire. When a generating phase is too much, we say that it is overacting on the following phase.
A wooden stake would be considered an excessive Wood phase and that would in turn overact on the Fire phase. Are you with me so far?
The Heart is the Yin organ of the Fire phase. So when excess Wood goes through the physical Fire phase, it kills completely. That excess wood generates too much fire and the whole thing goes down. Boom, dead vampire.
Why Do Humans Get High on Vamp Blood?
Because vampires are at their core a Yin excess, vampire blood is also a Yin excess. It’s more Yin than human blood.
When a human drinks vampire blood, it goes to the TCM Heart and creates a temporary Heart Yin Excess condition.
Heart Yin governs creatively which is given a HUGE boost, causing feelings of euphoria, visual hallucinations, and other feelings of being high.
To counterbalance this sudden increase in Heart Yin, the Heart Yang increases to burn through the excess Yin and return to balance.
This looks like insomnia, palpitations, and disturbing dreams or hallucinations.
Why Are Vampires Immune to Human Diseases?
Like the TCM Kidneys, the TCM Lungs have also become frozen in an excess Yin state.
The TCM Lungs have a few jobs. They govern the movement of Qi within the body and create a protective barrier near the skin and other areas of the body that come into contact with the outside world (nose, lungs, etc) to keep out and/or attack external pathogens that might make you sick.
Because the Lungs are frozen, they no longer disperse Qi throughout the body nor breathe air. Their protective Qi is frozen solid making them impenetrable to pathogens. That means they can never get sick from a virus, bacteria, fungus, etc.
What About Hep V?
You ask. That’s a question for a whole other post!
So there you have it, folks. Everything you ever wanted to know and more about True Blood’s creatures of the night. Hope you enjoyed this little adventure as much as I did.