Turning towards Big Yin
Nature comes to rest during
Winter's cold and dark
- the tortoise, or tortoise snake is the totemic animal of winter -
Hello Friends of Flying Needle!
Happy Lesser Snow!
- third winter solar node -
Hope this finds you well during these interesting times!
Seasonal Musings & Reflections
While it was 70°F on Thanksgiving day here in the North Carolina Piedmont, the morning low as I was writing this was 19°. Winter's cold has well and truly arrived, at least for the moment. Our days have become noticeably shorter. This shortening is further pronounced by the clocks having fallen back.
Dawn's colors have shifted towards their rose gold Winter palette. There is a quiet stillness to cold December mornings which feels like an invitation to drop deeper into the embrace of pre-dawn meditation, or stay snuggled under the covers, depending on the day. I often split the difference: sit up in bed, wrap the covers around me, and greet the dawn with silence.
Once the sun is up vultures and hawks are on the wing. Squirrels continue their play, though at a somewhat subdued pace. At times I have glimpsed raccoons sunning themselves in the trees. Due to the recent warmth, there's still quite a few brilliantly colored leaves hanging about. Given the cold snap I'm endeavoring to appreciate what are likely to be their last few days this year.
How are the changes where you are?
As we approach the longest night of the year, maximum yin, it is useful to think both of deepening quiet contemplation, and guarding/fostering warmth.
Dress appropriately for the weather. Keep your head and neck covered in the cold!
Enjoy warming foods: duck, chicken, lamb, beef marrow, leeks, honey, apples, walnuts, chestnuts, carrots, and yams.
A hot water bottle on the low back is a lovely way to warm up if you're cold, and also gently tonify the kidneys. See if you can feel the warmth flow down the back of your legs. Alternatively, place the hot water bottle on your lower abdomen. Delightfully coze, and a great way to encourage awareness to settle into dantian during meditation.
And, if you have access to a sauna, now is a great time to enjoy the heat!
Winter is the season of the Water phase. Water is consolidation, darkness, ancestry, endings/death, fear, mystery, and the formless. The vital force of life moves deep into the earth and transforms through its hibernatory retreat to burst forth in Spring.
Winter teaches us to remember that we come from and return to darkness and mystery – the void, space, the womb, sleep. We abide and move within a wondrously complex world, within an infinitely complex universe. Taking the time to rest in this aspect of our experience through contemplation is always nourishing, and in Winter helps us to harmonize with the resonance of the season.
It seems to me that, in times of great uncertainty, cultivating a friendship with not-knowing is one of the most practical courses of action we can follow.
May your Winter days be filled with beauty, mystery, and friendship!
May you and your kin feel both rooted and free!
May we walk in gratitude with our Ancestors!
May all being and becoming receive nourishment!
In uncertain times
making friends with not-knowing
is a sagely play
It is my sincere hope that you have found something of use in these words.
If you know folks who you feel would enjoy this newsletter, please forward it their way! Thank you!
Wishing you and all your relations wellbeing and good medicine!
With gratitude,
Taran
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