The Third Month of Winter - Rebirth

Although we have already passed the darkest days of the Winter, namely the Winter Solstice, and the days are getting longer rather than shorter now, we are still in full Winter season. The 6th of January has marked the beginning of the third month of Winter, according to the ancient Su Wen text.

Although it may not be the darkest month, it is named by the classics as the coldest month of the year. Temperature wise, this month has the opposite effect to the month following the Summer Solstice when the temperatures increase after the Sun passes its peak. Now, following the Winter Solstice, Sun's lowest point, the temperatures are getting colder and colder. There is little to none Yang to warm the Earth up. The temperatures plummet down as Yin energy continues to dominate in the environment. Some animals which are hibernating have their heart rates slowed down for this period. We are not the hibernating species but we still feel the need to go slow. It will be felt more so this year from mid January when Mercury will go retrograde. Mercury is associated with Water and Winter element as well. So, in addition to things feeling Winter-slow, we will have a sensation that Winter is never going to end. That will only be an impression that will be fading away by the end of the first week of February.

What this month is good for is to ponder on our inner world. Again, Mercury retrograde will help us do so. Considering we have just entered the new solar year and will be entering the new lunar year (Chinese New Year) on the 1st of February, there is a lot to reflect upon. In addition, the new lunar year we are about to enter is going to be the year of Water Tiger. Reflection is a Water element quality when we think about looking at ourselves like in a mirror.

The Water qualities I highlighted in my previous month's update, we can continue to cultivate this month. By that I mean behaving like Water, implementing its energetic qualities in our daily life. We might have done quite a lot of gathering, outpouring and diffusing in the past month whilst celebrating the festive season with our nearest and dearest. Now it may be time to concentrate on other Water qualities such as flowing, being present, compressing the energy and going into the most hidden parts of ourselves.

So, when we examine our reflection and face the most hidden parts of ourselves, we may find both the gems we forgot we had and/or old dusty cobwebbed stuff we forgot we still hide inside. This month is the time to uncover just that what will serve us to achieve our 2022 plans and goals. In addition, us being present will be necessary to feel and assess best the situation we are currently in. Finally, compressing the energy during this month will be essential for starting up full steam when the time is ripe and being able to keep the ambition going all the way until our plans and goals are achieved.

In summary, January is the month of great preparedness of ourselves, our position and our strength in order to wake into a new cycle of life which is about to be birthed.

---

The Second Month of Winter - watch out for extremes

According to Su Wen classics, the 7th December marks the beginning of the Second Month of Winter, the month of the shortest days of the year. This month marks the "dark" side of the year, hence in many traditions we celebrate light festivals, keeping the light going.

As in nature so for us it is the time for exploring our own dark sides, the most inner parts of us that we rarely look into. The "indwelling power" of Water element (element of Winter) is helping us to dwell into our depths to discover or re-discover our true power, strength and identity. Here the light is needed to explore and face the darkest parts of ourselves. In antiquity, it was actually the Water that was celebrated and revered during this time. It was understood that in Nature it was Water that transported light into the dark depths of the Earth as it was the rain that transported the light of the Sun through the Winter clouds.

Therefore, it was time to give reverence to all aspects of Water, which the ancients listed as: gathering, flowing, outpouring, present, diffusing, compressing and hidden. These are both active and static qualities. It is most appropriate to dwell on these qualities in ourselves during December month, both for psychological and physical wellbeing. And as always, the key is in balancing off these extreme qualities. Living in the extreme part of the year we are more prone to extremes ourselves, so there is a word of precaution in the ancient texts.

To give some examples. We organise friends and/or family gatherings in order to connect with our identity but if we rely too much on that we may loose our own personal identity. We may want to take up running as an activity to boost our strength and stamina but we need to balance it with meditation to practice being present. We make and give presents to outpour our generosity but equally we need to save (compress) our forces and resources to arrive to the end of the Winter. Some days we may just feel like we want to hide from the world and literally go into hibernation whilst other days we may need to diffuse some of our essence to mark our presence in the world. So, just as an erratic nature of Water, so are we erratic during its season.

The prevalence of our activity during this month should be, however, of Yin quality (slow and static). Since we will not receive any external energy, as there is nearly none Yang in the Nature, and we may expose ourselves to consume much of our own reserves.

Diet wise, it is advisable to eat root vegetables and anything that has a compressed amount of nutrients (superfoods, seeds) and aquatic foods and vegetables. For those who eat meat you may notice more requirement for meat and fatty foods in Winter months as they are warming and nutritious. In order to compensate for the cold and humid-cold weather, we need to consume hot meals, soups, stir-fried or oven baked foods. We need to choose warming foods and spices like ginger, garlic, leeks, pepper, coriander, nuts, all pumpkins, to name a few. But again a word of precaution, we often go into nutritious extremes when Christmas time comes ;-)

---

The first month of Winter - Moving Slow and Staying Low

According to the Su Wen classic, those of us in the Northern hemisphere are entering the first month of Winter on the 7th Novembre. In more northern parts of our part of the globe the first White Frost has already appeared in the past week. Those more south have noticed the temperatures drop significantly as we have moved into the season of the Water element.

The Sun at this time is said to be "in the tail of the Scorpio". What could be more focused, concentrated and potent than a tail of a Scorpio? That is exactly the energy at the beginning of Novembre. It is especially so after the 4th Novembre New Moon in Scorpio, the influence of which we are still feeling. The drop in temperatures and shorter days, among other, have made us more concentrated in our actions, aiming to engage in and complete only that which is absolutely necessary.

We have started the process of retracting and contracting to preserve our energies for the entire period of Winter. The symbol of Water element in Classical Chinese is associated with a Turtle, which is small but has the hardest physical body known and it lives a very long life. Turtle represents the concentrated strength of our Kidneys. It also depicts the most appropriate way to conduct oneself during the Winter months. So, we go slow, preserving our concentrated essence of Kidneys in order to live a long life.

We also stay low, just as the leaves that have fallen down, the hustle and bustle of our lives has diminished and we take more rests, or at least we should if we want to live a long life. The Winter months are the best months in the year's cycle to recuperate the essences consumed during previous months.

"The Heaven and Earth are no longer communicating" which means there is so much less activity in nature, less growth and less fertility. The Nature is beginning to close down its life force into its seeds and shells. Therefore, diet-wise, we should focus on eating seeds, nuts and other foods that have a shell, including molluschi. That will help strengthen our Kidney essences.

---