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The Elements

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I heard the cicadas a few days ago, a reminder that Earth time is around the corner. The Golden Rod is the next symbol of late Summer. It will pop up everywhere shortly. I am hoping that the second part of Summer will be calmer, not as tumultuous with thunder storms, smoke, and a plethora of snakes. Earth time is fundamentally representative of the Mother in the classic sense, the Yin mother, the Mother Mary kind of symbolism. If we follow this line of thought, we would have a docile nurturing Mother figure that forgives and loves unconditionally. But that is not aligned with the current state of affairs, with Women’s rights under fire and Women’s health care relegated to the dark ages. Women and children considered second class and third class citizens. Women everywhere, in this country expected to just eat it, suffer from lack of health care, support…

I just do not have it in me to write another Fire post. I used to spend days organizing my elemental posts, doing research and all. Now as the season hits us I feel totally averse to creating a post. I guess that can be construed as Fire as well, because it is passion. I passionately do not want to write something about love and connection. I would like to talk about transmutation. Right now in this minute in time, I see the change a coming- laid out in front of us, it is happening. It will be powerful, the people are lining up and they are ready to fly. Photo credit: K.Nagy

IT is the mixed upside down season of March. IT is snowing, nope it is nice and sunny. IT is windy and blustery, it is muddy and brown, many hues of grey. Welcome to March Madness. The stirrings of seedlings, as they breathe. Life rustling, hope is on the horizon. Do you feel enlivened? Ready to deep clean the house and start some projects? OR are you the hibernating wood type, reluctant to leave the cozy cave of security? For you the Spring movement doesn’t feel as welcome. Either way a good time for a treatment. A Spring Tune Up.

It is Water season, or in other words, Winter. The weather is colder, the days shorter and light is waning. We head inwards, both physically and metaphorically. It is the time for gestation, incubating in the dark, where we bide our time and make ready to experience a rebirth in the Spring.

I picked this idea up from someone, somewhere and I do not remember where that was. My understanding is that before the post-transformational calm, there is a chaotic burst of energy, or there will be a chaotic burst of energy before we all go Extinct. Your guess is as good as mine, the path that the future will take. Mythically, there is often an epic battle between the good forces and the bad. And just when we think the bad is going to win, the good prevails. I know that is the way most of us are hoping the current events will go. There have been plenty of times, historically, that the bad forces won in the world. Whole populations perished, because let’s face it, God is one kinky fuck and really lets anything happen. Or is it that Human beings let anything happen? Not really sure. I do know…

-Charles Bukowski Love, the union of opposites, the strongest magic that we puny humans are capable of conjuring up. It comprises the absolute best in us, without Love we are nothing but cold heartless robots with a desire to destroy. We can shut down our hearts because it is too painful to feel, let our fire go out, however, it can always be resurrected. The warmth and light of joy sustain us in times of sorrow, in times of fear, in times of anger, in times of worry. Our hearts whisper to us and keep us on a path of learning and stretching ourselves. The big question How can we function when the world around is falling apart ? The answer is to take care of hearts and to let the love grow. “All I plead with you is this, make love of yourself perfect.” -Sri Nisargadatta

I think we all harbor a resistance to the Fall. There is a brief flare of incredible beauty in the turning foliage, in the indigo sky, in the bounty of harvest and then it all descends downward into a season of death and stillness. Every year I feel this desire to turn away from the emotions of Autumn. I console myself with the busyness of the impending holidays and the many festivals and events. There is a lot to unpack here, collectively as a culture we tend to edge away from all things involving death and dying. I am no exception, yet, in order for things to begin, they need to end. It is just a simple fact. The birth, death and rebirth cycle. In the time of Metal, there is an end, a decomposing of nutrients, a return to the Earth. There is a space created, this can be…

Can Mother Earth sustain me? The art of giving and receiving nourishment. If I steward the Earth, will she in turn, take care of me. A relationship…. We are in an ongoing pandemic, the weather patterns of the planet are shifting drastically. There are less of the basic resources such as wood and clean water available. The balance of nature and human life is disrupted. Earth season is a good time to nurture and exchange healthy energies with the planet. There is an abundance of vegetables and fruits for our current consumption and to put in storage for the coming colder months. It is time of deep gratitude and appreciation for the planet and for the cycles of life. It is a time of stability, containment of boundaries- holding the energy as it transforms- there is always flux. We have an opportunity to collectively heal some of the traumas of…

We crash right into the zenith of the year. It is a hot and fiery season. The height of Yang, bees buzzing, multitudes of insects moving, birds singing, flowers expanding in bright blossoms of color and scent. Let’s romance the fuck out of ourselves, open up the throat chakra and let out a blood curdling howl. It is Fire time, Fire time, Fire time, a mantra of devotion. It is an orgy of experience, a fest of light, an expression of Love. The healing of hearts happens now. We can harness the fire energy and open ourselves up to new experiences, let our inner truths fly. Express our desires and practice communication. Sing, laugh, chant, yell, dance  and cry, it is a time of union. Make love to yourself, by feeding yourself nourishing delectable foods, go skinny dipping under the full moon, build a fire, make ritual, have enriching conversation with your…

According to Ibram X. Kendi, you are not officially an activist unless you were responsible for changing or creating new policies. As far as I know, I have not been a catalyst for any policy shifts. But I would call myself a pedestrian activist, I have been instrumental in shifting many a mindset and overall acceptance of the rainbow of expressions of the human form, including the myriad of ways in which we love each other. The Wood months, a season of renewal and growth. Time to do that “Spring cleaning”, this is not limited to a physical act, it is more akin to a mental and/or emotional experience. The root of illness is found in an imbalance within, a resistance to transmute or to simply allow change. What are the blocks stopping us from morphing with the trend of our lives? This is the essence of Wood season. The…