Don’t know about you, but the last few months have been tough for me – emotionally.
Life has been pretty good on the outside, but inside, I’ve had to face some hurdles. Luckily, it’s seemed to me that things have turned a corner in the last week or two. Interestingly, this corresponds to the beginning of the spring season.
Spring? But spring starts on March 21!
Ahhh, not so, says the wise man. I learned an interesting view on spring in acupuncture school – it starts at the mid-point between the winter solstice and spring equinox, around Feb 1. Whaaa? That’s the middle of winter… Well, yes, in terms of the weather. But that’s also the time that the earth’s energy accelerates, marked by how much daylight is added each day. The number of minutes added each day increases more and more until it hits a plateau. When? On/around March 21.
This acceleration of the change of daylight is a mirror of the acceleration of Yang energy in all things on the earth during spring season. This is why people start feeling more expansive, energetic, etc. It has its slow start around Feb 1, and peaks on March 21. Things start to even out on May Day, the start of summer, reaching the final plateau/standstill on June 21, the peak of summer energy (not the start…). Interestingly, all of these key dates were mapped out and celebrated by the “pagans,” which became the origin of many key Christian holidays. To take advantage of the start of spring energy:
Get your exercise on! Hard, vigorous exercise (or nice brisk walks) can release all the internal blockages and stagnation, helping to ease the way for the rising Yang energy.
Spring clean. Maybe edit a bookcase, like Nadia and I just did. Make Marie proud!
Re-check your 2019 intentions and goals now – they will often feel more clear and actionable than they did in early January, due to the rising Yang energies clarifying the mind.
Herbs, herbs, and more herbs!
I’m going to be starting a monthly herb study group, second Thursdays, starting in exactly one month, Thursday March 14th.
We’ll be spending 2 hours together, studying just one herb each month. First hour – the intellectual and theoretical end. We’ll cover the herbal actions, energetics, pharmacology, how it interfaces with our mind and emotions. Second hour – the experiential end. We’ll drink the tea, try the tincture, inhale the essential oil, in a meditative and quiet space, taking notes on the body, emotion, and mental effects of each one.
I’ll be sourcing a lot of info from my 2 favorite herb nerd books: The Energetics of Western Herbs, and Aromatica: A Clinical Guide To Essential Oil Therapeutics. More details to come – hope you can join me.
Favorite new (old) game:
Cards against humanity. Need I say more? Laughter, especially frantic, hysterical laughter that makes you feel like you might puke, is a key practice for clearing the pathways for spring energy 🙂