Chi Shao Yao is kind of a stowaway. I found it in the "invigorates blood" category of my herb kit. This stuff looks like neatly chopped sticks, kind of like small tongue depressors. It is one of just a few of the herbs for this test that go to the SPLEEN. It also goes to the Liver, which makes a little more sense as far as I understand its functions. The sum of its functions is to clear up what happens when the Liver attacks the Spleen.
Above: See the liver intimidating the spleen? It is about to attack it causing blood stasis. Don't fret -- Chi Shao Yao can help!Chi Shao Yao goes to the xue level to clear the heat and cool the blood. Because it looks like a tongue depressor, I can remember that one of the symptoms that it helps with is the purple tongue that accompanies blood level heat.
You can also think of Chi Shao Yao as a kind of wooden (liver) sword that invigorates the blood into action, thus dispelling blood stasis that may cause amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, and fixed abdominal masses. It's a widely used gynecological herb that prods the blood back into action.
For these blood moving reasons, it is contraindicated in blood deficiency and if someone is taking blood coagulants.
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