What Season are you?

What season are you?

Do you have a favorite season? Maybe it’s Summer with its hot, sunny, long days, time to visit the beach and have fun in the evenings with friends. Or maybe Summer is your least favorite season. You hate the humidity, and the bugs, the long days are tiring and you long for a cool crisp day. What does that say about you? Dipping into the nature based wisdom of 5 Element Chinese Medicine theory may shed some light on your own nature.

What are the five elements in this ancient method of healing? It might make sense to you to discover that each element is linked to a season. Looking at your favorite or least favorite season may offer insights into your personal strengths and challenges. Understanding each seasons’ energy is a helpful way to understand human energetics. Looking at the defining characteristics of each element, both the balanced and unbalanced versions, can be eye opening.

We are a part of nature and we have all the Elements within us, for most people though, we have a Guardian Element that colors the lens through which we live our lives. All of the elements and seasons are important because each has a role in the cycle of life and of nature. When we are healthy and in balance we demonstrate the strengths that each element possesses. When we are out of balance, we often demonstrate the lack of the characteristic strengths of these elements. This may define our struggles and challenges.

Let’s start with the season of Winter, the element associated with Winter is Water. Winter is a time of withdrawal, a time to pull in and spend time being quiet and dreaming. It is a gestational time, where one rests and stores energy for the journey ahead .Like the seed waiting in its winter habitat, water people have the ability to dream about what they want to grow into, or make happen in their lives. They also have the ability to manifest their dreams. Water people know how to survive, they have the smarts, the patience, the perseverance, the ambition, and the fortitude to “make it through the winter”. They can survive the hard times and always arrive at where they want to be or what they want to achieve. Water has many forms; the crashing wave, the stagnant pond, the glacier, the bubbling brook, the single drop. Water people have the gift of transformation, they can adapt to the situation or company in which they find themselves.

In order to manifest one’s dreams takes courage and the flip side of courage is fear. It can be scary to step into the unknown to make your dreams come true. The element of risk is ever present within a water person and anxiety or fear is always underlying what they do. A healthy version of fear is knowing when a situation is too dangerous, it keeps one safe. A water person out of balance can often be filled with irrational fears, immobilized by fear, or they can become confused, unable to discern healthy from unhealthy risks and be daredevils, foolishly brave. The strength and power associated with water can be lacking or misguided in these cases.

Transitioning to Spring, the energetics of the season shifts dramatically. No more gestating in the dark. This is the time of renewal, new growth, creativity, pushing, and forceful energy. Wood holds eternal hope. Think of an acorn, surviving the winter and when the days lengthen and sun shines warmer and brighter, the seed begins its journey. It must have enough energy to break open the hard seed shell, send down a root and also send up a shoot into the sunlight. It must work its way around and through obstacles– it is determined to grow, to become a tree. The Spring season is linked to the element of Wood.

Wood people are filled with youthful energy, they are creative and have a desire to get things done. Organization is important to them, so is a sense of order, boundaries, structure, and to be in control. Wood people have a vision, a plan and the focus and ability to make the decisions to manifest their dreams. They can be audacious and uninhibited, full of youthful optimism no matter their age. As “idea” people, they need to learn to be flexible and creative and “blow with the wind" in order to achieve the plan. They are good at getting things started and moving forward. If something gets in their way, or doesn't go as planned they may become frustrated and angry.

Anger is the positive emotion of wood. Like a seed pushing through the weight of the earth, anger is not an improper emotion because it can create change and get things moving forward again. However, an out of balance Wood person may have an undercurrent of anger. This anger is not constructive, it has the opposite effect on moving forward. A person who seems stuck with little vision or plan or the inability to make decisions has a problem in their Wood element. They might be stubborn and prefer to do things their way– they always want to be in control. In this case, think of a temper tantrum or vitriolic anger. Like a tree that is too rigid, unable to bend, these folks need help to become more flexible.

Spring slips into Summer when the sun is bright and warm, helping the plants to grow, it is the young adult of the seasons. These plants are blossoming, growing leaves and flowers, an exuberant form of themselves. It is a time for play, joy and laughter, discovering and exploring one’s sexuality. This is a time where young adults are aware of themselves and begin to become aware of others. Now is the time to develop relationships of all sorts, colleagues in work and school, friendships, and love connections. Summer is the season associated with the Element of Fire.

Fire people are passionate and playful, accessible, warm and open. Learning how to negotiate the world of relationships is important to a Fire person. They want to be happy and want others to be happy around them. If there is a task to be accomplished, certain Fire people are the ones that will focus on the task at hand and on all the individuals working on the task. They make quick decisions, they are good at resolving conflict and try to iron things out promptly. Harmony is their goal; they will get the job done and then there will be time for play. These Fire people have a seriousness about them, but still have that warmth. A more extroverted type of Fire person may be the life of the party and help people feel at ease with their humor and joy.

When a blossom is open to the sun and insects to pollinate, it also allows for the chance of harm. There is a vulnerability that comes with the Fire element because of this quality. There is a wide variety of Fire type people, but there is always this sense of vulnerability within them. It may feel like there is a hidden wall that keeps people or certain relationships at a safe distance. Fire people are so engaging and fun, it is necessary for them to be able to discern which relationships are safe and which are not.

Out of balance Fire people may be depressed, experiencing a lack of joy, unconvincingly happy, laughing at everything, sometimes inappropriately. They may struggle with relationships, unable to access the warmth within themselves–the fire has gone out. It might look like the person who is the life of the party, but can’t allow themselves to get emotionally close to someone, or the person who jumps into relationships repeatedly, lacking any discernment. Sometimes with an out of balance fire person, it is hard to know how to be in a relationship with them because their fire goes hot and cold and you never know what response you may get. Their Fire Element needs a steady temperature and stoking.

In Five Element Chinese Theory there are five seasons and here is the one you may not have heard about– it is Late Summer. Late summer is a time of ripening and bearing fruit, it is the Harvest, the full adult in all its maturity and abundance. The Element associated with Late Summer is Earth. The energy of the previous two seasons is received here and it shifts to a groundedness, a gathering of loved ones to both nourish and be nourished. Here is Mother Earth nurturing and abundant, generously providing what we need. Late summer/Earth people are thoughtful, you can count on them. They are good listeners, offering understanding and sympathy to those who need it, so generous and caring. They crave the company of others, and like to be in the center of things rather than on the fringes.

We all know the airplane drill, the mother puts her oxygen mask on before she can attend to her child, and this is the case for an Earth person. They must take care of themselves first in order to take care of others. This is a healthy aspect of Earth. We talk about physical, emotional and spiritual nourishment here. An Earth person is always balanced on the edge of filling or emptying themselves. Because of this, there can often be a quality of neediness about them. An Earth person out of balance may give and give and never replenish themselves, or that person may find themselves overflowing with abundance and not be able see anything to give away. A struggling Earth person may be self centered, selfish, complaining, overly needy and never satisfied. Or they may be stoic, taking care of others at the expense of themselves, refusing help. They need to be brought back to the center, to be grounded.

Now we turn to Autumn. It is the ending of all the activity that got us here. We look back and take stock of all it took to get here and we mourn the end. It is a time of loss, a bittersweet time of year. This is the season where it is time to let go. The leaves fall off the trees providing fertilizer for next year's growth. The plants die back, everything is stripped of its vegetation, getting ready for the dark and quiet time of winter. But did you know that when the leaves fall off, the buds are already there, ready to burst forth next spring when the right time arrives? The pure essence of that plant is there still, in the buds, in the roots, in the seeds, waiting. What might be our purest essence? In The 5 Element model, you can strip away all of our trappings and what’s left is our Spirit, our true essence. This is the most precious thing about us, a thing of value and worth. For this reason, we associate the season of Fall with the Element of Metal. Think precious metals, gold and silver, expensive and glistening.

Spirituality is at the very heart of a Metal person. Their quest is to find the pearl. They may be devoted to a spiritual practice, searching for meaning and a divine connection. They have a high regard for justice and fairness. Integrity is very important, and there can be a sense of seriousness to them. Metal people can be perfectionists, and may have difficulty letting go of things thinking that it’s not up to their standards. Feeling as if they have a special calling or something of value to share with the world is fulfilling to them. Appreciation and acknowledgement of these gifts are important as well. Appreciation and grief are two sides of the same coin, so a person will not feel grief if you did not appreciate what you lost. A metal person may feel grief very deeply and sometimes has a challenge letting it go. They are very good at recognizing the value in others and helping them to find a way to share those gifts. Remember, though, that these are no nonsense people ( the trappings are swept away) so they can seem sharp and cutting at times. There may not be a softness to their help or advice, but there will be honesty.

An out of balance Metal, may not accept a compliment, or never get enough of them. They may get stuck in grief, feeling regret for a loss in the past, a sadness for what might have been that now never will be. They may have an overzealous desire to collect valuable things, or have trouble recognizing what is of value and what is not and so have trouble letting go of anything. They may be seekers willing to try many different methods to find connection to perfection, that spiritual pearl–and they may bounce around, collecting experiences of different types, some healthy and some not. They may become discouraged in this search and feel as though it is pointless, that they themselves are failures. These people need help discovering their value again, to receive acknowledgement, and to find a meaningful purpose.

The defining moment of our tour through the seasons is to reach a pinnacle in Fall, reaching for that which is just beyond us, and then to realize as Winter/Water settles in that we are all one. The individual perfect drop reunites with the whole of creation. Water’s purpose is to reach the sea, to become one with all the other drops of water. Here we are making a cycle through the seasons to start again and start over. Life is a series of cycles– we are born, we grow through childhood, we discover ourselves, we harvest the fruit of our being, we age and lose our youth but retain our precious spirit and then go back to where we came from, that Fertile Void, the source of Infinite Spirit.

How about that for a journey!

Maybe you found a description of yourself or someone you know in the above explanations, or maybe you see bits of yourself scattered throughout the seasons. Your affinity or lack of fondness for a season/element doesn't necessarily mean that this indicates your Guardian Element. There are plenty of other factors to consider when establishing that and a Five Element Chinese Medicine trained practitioner knows how to evaluate these things.

We are a part of nature and we exist through all of the seasons. We are complicated living beings. Knowing a bit about how we fit into the macrocosm of Nature can shed light on our interconnectedness. We can appreciate our differences– and still know that we are all an essential part of the cycle.