We think of the year as containing Four Seasons but for the Chinese there is a fifth. This season can be thought of as what we call Indian summer. However, it is also the energy found in the period between each of the seasons, 18 days of transition.
Earth as an element is the energy that allows you to remain secure and centered within, even as you undergo changes in your life. By nourishing, nurturing and supporting you, earth grants stability and the ability to adjust and cope with your changing circumstances.
Events of the whole year contribute to the harvest. Our personal harvest, this is a time of abundance and fullfillment, we can look back and feel satisfaction for our progress and our produce. Grounded in the present, we gain the ability to integrate and transform life's experience for our greatest good. Life is bountiful. Be Grateful.
The color associated with earth is yellow. The direction is center. Organ associations are to the stomach and spleen. The flavor is sweet. The smell is fragrant. The sound is singing and the emotion compassion/sympathy. Thoughts, inspirations, insights and opinions are also associationed with the earth element . Since an overabundance of a good thing can bring on a state of dis-ease. Ancient Chinese wisdom sums this up in the saying 'all thinking that goes beyond the present situation only serves to make the heart sore'.
In the field of astrology, earth has a feminine association. Builders and planners, practical and constructive, earth signs demonstrate the qualities of reliablity, ambition, steadfastness and discrimination. Earth encompases the world of the senses. Our 'earth' makes us sensual.
Practical suggestions for the season of Earth include: thinking of ways to bring a greater quality of peace to your home; taking time to fully recuperate when you are sick; eating the fresh 'fruit' of the season (apples, tomatoes, corn, squash, grapes and more) without hurry; seeking what you really hunger for, the proper food is not always something for your belly; being active which eases excessive thought and worry besides offering the obvious benefits for your body; buying a new plant.
Sources
Photo 'In the Vineyards, Rishon Letzion' from "Yaacov Ben-Dov, The Development of the Jewish Yishuv in Eretz-Israel from 1907 to the 'Thirties" from the Israel Museum Archives
"Acupuncture, Energy Balancing for the Mind, Body and Spirit" by Peter Mole
"Meridians" the magazine of Traditional Acupuncture Institute, Summer/Late Summer 1998, article by Ann Bailey
"Traditional Acupuncture, The Law of the Five Elements" by Dianne M Connelly, PhD
