Wood Element and the Vernal Equinox

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
- See more at: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/2009/03/Great-Quotes-and-Sayings-About-Spring.aspx#sthash.KZqZsRnO.dpuf

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
- See more at: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/2009/03/Great-Quotes-and-Sayings-About-Spring.aspx#sthash.KZqZsRnO.dpuf

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
- See more at: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/2009/03/Great-Quotes-and-Sayings-About-Spring.aspx#sthash.KZqZsRnO.dpuf

Spring - an experience in immortality.  ~ Henry D. Thoreau

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley
- See more at: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/2009/03/Great-Quotes-and-Sayings-About-Spring.aspx#sthash.KZqZsRnO.dpuf

The unpretentious crocus vernus quietly awakens in the early hours of spring heralding the resurrection of nature. Thoreau witnessed the immortality of the earth from the woods of Walden Pond and suggests that we all may share in its experience of eternal life: Shall a man not have his spring as well as the plants.  All across the world, the Spring Equinox marks the beginning of a new year. It is the season of planting, the time of year when people and animals come out of hibernation, venture outside to enjoy the fresh air, and reconnect with the stirring earth and warming Sun after a long, cold winter.

Each year spring arrives in March for those of us living in the northern hemisphere. As the Sun crosses the imaginary celestial equator, it marks the Vernal Equinox when day and night, light and dark, are momentarily equal.  During the previous three months, the light (yang) has been slowly increasing as the darkness (yin) recedes, reaching this point of equanimity. The spring equinox is one of four turning points of the year marked by the path of the Sun: spring equinox, summer solstice, fall equinox, and winter solstice. As I discussed in my previous post, the solstices mark the most and the least daylight in any given year, whereas the equinoxes mark momentary equilibrium of light (yang) and dark (yin).  In Taoist philosophy these four points are illustrated in Fu Xi's bagua and hexagrams of the I-Ching, theBook of Changes. Winter is associated with 2 K'un/The Receptive (six broken bars - most yin), Summer with 1 Ch'ien/The Creative (six solid bars -- most yang), Spring with 11 T'ai/Peace (three broken, three solid) and Autumn (three solid and three broken) with 12 P'I/Standstill.

The spring hexagram T'ai denotes a time in nature when heaven is upon the earth.  The trigram of heaven (three solid bars) is placed beneath the trigram of the earth earth (three broken bars), and their powers unite in deep energetic harmony.  According to the I Ching, its meaning is as follows:

Heaven exists on earth for those who maintain correct thoughts and actions. . . See yourself as a young tree now.  The ground around you is fertile; sun and water and wind are plentiful.  By maintaining your focus on moving upward toward light, clarity, and purity, you can reach great heights. If you become entangled in inferior things, you will not enjoy the full benefit of this gracious hour.  Stay balanced, innocent, and correct, and good fortune is assured.


The Wood Element

In Taoist traditions, the spring season is associated with the wood (mu) element, whose character is similar to its mother element water (shui), but the lines are more connected and rooted like trees, which the character resembles.   

Bamboo is the iconic model of the wood element as it is known for its quick growth, deep roots, and flexibility -- all signs of healthy growth in nature. This innate urge for growth has a pushing or moving quality.  Think of seedlings pushing against the resistance of the earth and soil to expand around rocky obstacles, reaching toward the the source of life: light.  When the impulse for growth is obstructed, anger and frustration arise.  The high road is to remain flexible like bamboo and gently bend or grow around the obstacle; but if we become "entangled in inferior things" this expanding energy becomes stagnant leading to dis-ease.  During this period of rising energy, there is sometimes a feeling of restlessness in the air manifesting in nature as wind and storms.  The blustery winds of spring are another manifestation the rising energy of the spring season separating from its mother water energy of winter.  Winds stir up our energy fields on many levels.  Physical signs of wind include headaches, muscle twitches and spasms, or pains that change location. Diseases that are carried on the wind, such as colds and allergies, occur more frequent during this time.  The emotion most associated with wood is anger which the spring winds stir up like a storm that may clear the air, or unroot us.

According to the oldest acupuncture text, the Neijing Su Wen (The Yellow Emperor's Classic on Chinese Medicine):

The months of spring season bring about the revitalization of all things in nature.  It is the time of birth. This is when heaven and earth are reborn. During this season it is advisable to retire early and arise early. Also go walking in order to absorb the fresh, invigorating energy. Since this is the season when the universal energy begins anew and rejuvenates, one should attempt to correspond to it directly by being open and unsupressed, both physically and emotionally. On the physical level it is good to exercise more frequently and wear loose-fitting clothing.

This is the time to do stretching exercises to loosen up the tendons and muscles.  Emotionally, it is good to develop equanimity.  This is because Spring is the season of the Liver, and indulgence in anger, frustration, depression, sadness, or excess emotion can injure the Liver.  Furthermore, violating the natural order of spring will cause cold disease, illness inflicted by atmospheric cold, during the summer.

As this passage indicates, the organs associated with the Wood element are the Liver and Gallbladder.  In Chinese medicine, the Liver, and its yang mate the Gallbladder are considered responsible for the smooth movement of qi, or energy.  Taoists believe that the Liver stores the blood when it is not being used for physical activity.  During exercise blood is released to nourish the muscles and tendons, like the sap of a tree.  Thus any stagnation of energy will effect the muscles and tendons causing inflexibility, twitches, spasm or pain.  In Chinese Medicine these wood conditions are treated by moving the Liver and Liver qi with acupuncture, cupping, and moxibustion.  In particular, cupping  effectively pulls out toxins stuck in muscle tissue by opening blood vessels and suctioning the stagnation out of the body to the surface of the skin.

Traditional fire draining cupping

An example of cupping results which may indicate the level of stagnation.

the astral body

In my last post I described how each yin organ also houses an aspect of shen, or spirit.  The Liver governs the hun, meaning "cloud soul," or ethereal body.  According to the Chinese meditation treatise Tai Yi Jun Hua Zong Zhi (The Secret of the Golden Flower), the hun resides in the eyes during the day, and in the liver at night.  During the day it provides vision to the external world and allows us to see, during the night it gives vision of the internal or ethereal world of dreams.  According to Five Element practitioner Lonny Jarrett, this illumination, or ming, is the functional relationship between the Liver and Gallbladder.  The Liver empowers our internal vision, or intuition, and the Gallbladder executes its plan in the physical world, and conveys the results back to our inner depths. Thus any inbalance in the wood energy may effect not only our sleep, but also our ability to make decisions and carry out our vision for life.

In addition to seasonal acupuncture treatment, the best way to keep our Liver healthy is to unburden it by investing in a detox cleanse every spring and fall.     

 

The color green, and sour flavor is associated with the wood energy.

As you can see from this image, green fruits, leafy vegetables and sour flavors, like lemon, are the food remedies for the Spring.  By taking a break from consuming fatty foods and stimulants like sugar and caffeine, the Liver doesn't have to work so hard and can focus on restoring the blood and our vision.  Taking long walks increases circulation and moves out the toxins that may have accumulated in our lymph, tendons and joints during the winter, while each breath brings in fresh air to rejuvenate our spirit.  Use the Wood energy of spring as an opportunity for renewal.  By following nature's way, we may emerge into spring raring to go, with clear vision and a sense of purpose. Now is the time to plant seeds for a future harvest, to look ahead and make new plans, formulate new ideas, make decisions, and determine our direction for the coming year - and, most important of all, to take action.

Remember the I-Ching message for spring: Stay balanced, innocent, and correct, and good fortune is assured.

Namaste!