Do you see and hear
the vibrant awakening
Of our insect kin?
Hello Friends of Flying Needle!
Happy Awakening of Insects!
- third vernal solar node -
Hope this finds you well during these interesting times!
Seasonal Musings & Reflections
The three months of spring one calls “issuing and laying out”.
Together Heaven and Earth give life,
The myriad creatures thereby blossom.
Sleep at night and rise early,
Stroll at ease around the yard,
Loose the hair and relax the body,
Allow intent to come to life.
- from Suwen Chapter 2
March 4th was the first day of Awakening of Insects. Sitting outside on the evening of March 3rd I saw my first mosquito of the year, followed shortly by either a southern or black house spider. Have you met with any of our insect cousins yet this season?
Here in the North Carolina Piedmont, days are appreciably longer. We're seeing deer, hearing owls, woodpeckers, wrens, cardinals, and bluebirds. I heard a hawk as I wrote that last sentence. Warmer nights are sometimes bringing spring peepers, and American toads into the chorus of frogs.
Daffodils continue to herald the season. Violets are popping up. Japanese magnolia is in it's glory. Redbud is beginning to spring forth. The vibrance of Yang abounds!
The Neijing Suwen tells us that when the handle of the Big Dipper moves towards the east the celestial tone Jué (A#) sounds in the heavens and through the principle of resonance Spring begins here on Earth.
One of my first teachers of Chinese medicine used to say, “Different aspects of a phase (In Spring's case, Wood) aren't like each other. They are each other.” To grok this, we have to make the shift in our perception from correspondence to resonance. If I play an E on one guitar in a room filled with guitars, all the other guitars will resonate in sympathy. What is it like if we imagine that we are all sympathetically resonating with the season?
We have a cultural notion that rhymes with this – Spring Fever.
What is Spring through the lens of resonance?
Spring is wood is east is wind is thunder is sinew is liver is gallbladder is eyes is courage is creativity is discernment is anger and rage.
For some of us this seasonal shift feels awesome, for some of us it can be challenging. How we respond is based on a combination of our constitution and our context. Or phrased differently - what we came in with, what we've experienced, and where we're at.
For those of us who are in a state of excess, or deficiency within our Wood phase, we are more likely to experience challenges during this time of year. Creative expression, easy flowing movement, and eating seasonally can all help us harmonize.
Another simple Yangshen (life nourishing practice) is Combing the Hair. While some suggest using a bone, horn, or wooden comb, the simplest way to do this practice is to briskly rake the fingers through the hair and across the scalp from the hairline at the forehead to the base of the skull. Repeat 100x both morning and evening during the spring. It is especially helpful in the early springtime.
The understanding behind this practice is that the nails are within the Wood phase. The head is the most Yang part of the body, and the meeting point of all the Yang channels. Given that Spring is the rebirth of Yang after deep Yin of Winter, Combing the Hair helps the body to harmonize with this shift by guiding Yang through its natural pathway by waking up the ends of the Yang channels. Stimulating the ends of the channels encourages breath and vitality to circulate through the entirety of the channel pathway.
It also feels pretty awesome. If you experiment with it, let me know what you notice.
If you feel like you need more robust seasonal support, please don't hesitate to reach out.
May your Spring 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!
The Dipper rings a
Resonant tone calling forth
Spring on planet Earth
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