Season:Late Summer Element:Earth
The Earth Element and our relationship to ‘mother’. Mother being, the earth, our home. What I realize as I'm thinking more about it is that it has a lot to do, I think, with our society. We know that fire produces earth, as vegetation & brush burns it turns to ash, which creates nutrients for soil in order to fertilize seeds and ensure new growth for the spring. That’s the cycle as the seasons change. What I’m realizing is that we don’t tend to our earth. We don’t tend to this planet, as a society. Indigenous cultures did. They lived in harmony with the land, they tended to the new growth, they made sure that there were controlled burns, they allowed for this natural cycle to occur without it wreaking havoc on our world. I think this has a lot to do with how our ‘modern’ society doesn’t support the earth, our home, our ‘mother’ and, hear me out… how this relates to the lack of support to women and the feminine.
Now don’t get me wrong or my words twisted. I am not meaning for this post to be anti-men or anti-masculine. I do believe that there is a harmony that needs to be cultivated. In Chinese Medicine, one of the fundamental concepts of Yin & Yang illustrates how both energies (Feminine & Masculine) are needed to sustain life in balance. And within Yin is Yang. Within Yang is Yin and this is what creates movement, transformation and growth. Every aspect of life needs BOTH of these energies to survive in balance.
From the earth is where we get our nourishment, our sustinance. This is where life is supported. If we look a little bit at how we treat the ‘feminine’ in our society we can also look at how we treat our planet. If we are taking rights away from women (and many others), to own our bodies, to take care of ourselves and make our own decisions, we can correlate that with how we constantly take from the earth and don’t give back. We are constantly thinking that this earth is just here to provide for us, which it is, but we are also here to provide for this earth, our home.
I know that a lot of us have very complicated relationships with ‘mother’ with the idea of nurture, receiving and maintaining life, support, feeling home, feeling safe, that we have enough, that we are enough. What is provided for us will sustain us. Some of us just expect to receive. Especially in this modern society where everything is ‘on demand’. Once we were hunter/gatherers in search of food and shelter, living among the earth, with nature. Now, we spend our time surfing the internet searching for endless things to ‘fill us’. Will we ever feel full?
This constant need to produce and to be productive, is very Yang (masculine). Capitalism is very overpowering, always doing, taking, relying on production. We don’t really encourage the feminine (Yin), which is more about nurture, nourishment, relaxing, allowing time for self. I do see that things are starting to change. That more and more people are understanding that there has to be a balance. That we need rest in order to be productive. However, those that still believe in the capitalistic way of living, having to be productive, not understanding the importance of self care, are truly driving the destruction of our earth, our home. If we don’t have a planet to live on, we won’t exist.
There has to be a balance. And right now, our planet is telling us, I’m not getting enough back. Think about the ways that we are destroying our earth, the way that we treat the feminine in our society. If we think about the feminine, if we think about ‘mother’, when we think about the relationship to our own mothers, ideally there is a sense of connection, a sense of nourishment, support, of unconditional love. Knowing that there is enough, that there is a supply. However, a lot of us have complicated relationships with ‘mother’. I think that does stem from our society. If we look at how long our society has been pushing down the rights of the ‘feminine’, we can see generations of trauma. We feel that our ‘feminine’ ancestors weren’t valued and that gets passed down to us and the younger generations. Obviously, the concept of mother can be very loaded for many of us. Not all of us had that idyllic support, that mother that cares and nourishes, that is calm and steady and provides unconditionally.
The emotion of Earth, of Mother, is all about sympathy and empathy. Being able to stand in another’s shoes and to feel insight into how someone else is experiencing life and be able to provide support with empathy/sympathy. Think of how sometimes we turn a blind eye to the struggle of others or even the harming of our mother earth. News seems too much to take in so we bury it or turn away. On the other hand, what if we feel so much for everything and everyone. Too much coming in may result in overwhelm. How might this show up in our body, physically, mentally and emotionally. Both of these scenarios are imbalances.
The earth element is all about harvest, bringing in all the things we have grown in the summer months. Everything was at full bloom and maturity and now we are able to take nourishment in everything we have grown. If we prepare this nourishment properly, we can use it to sustain us through the winter months when things don’t grow readily. When we should to be at our most yin, at our most centered, at our most calm.
Let’s also talk about nourishment and the quality of ‘food’ that we take in. Quite literally the food we take in, not figuratively the things, concepts, news, insults that we need to digest. So much of our ‘food’ in America has been so GMO’d to the point that it no longer has nutritional value. That’s most of the reason we are so deficient in so many minerals and vitamins needed for good healthy body function. Why do so many of us suffer with a myriad of symptoms relating to digestion, weight, concentration, cognitive function, circulation (cold hands & feet), fatigue and so much more? Big companies have sold us a lie that processed, non-natural foods are more than ok for us, saying that they are even good for us. If we have used GMO seeds to grow in ground that is not nutrient dense, we are unable to digest any nutrition from our food. When we are getting our food FROM THE EARTH, we want the best quality food we can possibly get full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients because THAT is how we nourish our entire body, mind and spirit.
The ease at which we can get non-quality ‘food’ in our country is frightening. We have created areas of ‘food deserts’ full of processed and fast food, void of actual nutrition, that keeps people unhealthy and craving more. Think about the idea of eating with the seasons, growing what you need, eating the things that are ripe and harvested at the right time, canning or pickling the surplus in order to have nourishment when things are not growing steadily. Think about how that might feel to be in nature with this cycle.
WAYS TO CONNECT TO LATE SUMMER ENERGY
Eat seasonally
Enjoy time outside
Practice mindfulness
Set intentions for September, a time of transition
Keep hydrated with room temperature or warm water/ teas, avoid cold and dairy
✨ Get Acupuncture ✨
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Late Summer belongs to the Earth element. The energy of the Earth Element represents transformation, which is governed the Spleen & Stomach. These organs are responsible for breaking down and transporting the food we eat into nutrients our body uses to build muscle and blood. These organs function their best when not burdened with cold and dampness so we want to avoid or limit those foods which we ate readily during the summer.
The colors of late summer are yellow/orange/brown. Eating foods of these colors are seasonally ideal. The stomach also works best with food that is warm and slightly bland/sweet in flavor, so roasted vegetables (parsnips, beets, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, carrots, figs, walnuts) porridge/congee, oatmeal, fruits such as figs, apples and pears are great options to support the earth element.
When out of harmony, the earth element can lean toward cyclical, ruminating thought, worry & pensiveness, digestive issues, mouth & gum sores, fatigue, confusion, muscle weakness, poor concentration and weight gain.
