During the month of February, a subtle shift happens in nature as the deep yin of winter begins to stir and transform into yang. During this transitional period, buoyancy rises in all living organisms like something floating to the surface of the water: the upward force of plants breaking the surface of the soil, animals stretching their limbs after hibernation. Our eyes are drawn upwards to the fresh Spring buds on the trees, and the first bulbs to burst from the thawing ground tell you Spring has arrived. While nighttime temperatures are still cold and Winter clings to the Earth, some days become much warmer and crowds spend more time outside, basking in the long-awaited heat. Life begins to pick up speed, however Spring energy, associated with the Wood element, is not smooth and fluid like water. Rather, it moves in a jerky manner with sudden growth spurts, outbursts of energy, erratic expressions of life surging from deep within the Earth. By observing how you feel during this transition, you can learn a lot about your constitutional Wood energy.
Lichun, or the Beginning of Spring, is the first of the 24 solar terms on the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, the New Year is celebrated on February 10. This year’s animal sign is the Wood Dragon, which brings the opportunity for personal growth, career development, profound innovation, and partnerships. We’re encouraged to embrace our passions wholeheartedly, collaborate fearlessly, and pursue our goals with confidence. This is not a year to wait back and see what happens. As the luckiest and most auspicious of the 12 animals, the dragon is thought to signify unprecedented opportunities. According to Taoist Astrology, during a dragon year people able to harness the creature’s intelligence, leadership, and skill to pursue their dreams with creativity and courage. The Wood energy of spring supports the clarification of one’s vision, plan, path to achievement, growth, and personal expansion. By reflecting on the themes in the Seasonal Tea Club and past ones on LivingTea.net, you can harmonize with the energy of the season and potentiate your vision.
Vision and Execution
In humans, the spirit of the Wood element inhabits the vaporous, ever-changing regions of our visions, dreams, and imagination. It is the animating agent of all mental processes. In the Spring, form emerges from the formless depths of the Water element; pure potential transforms into possibility, vision, and planning. The seeds of our deep wishes sprout from the wisdom of the Winter.
Just as nature stretches its limbs, we stretch our imagination with creative activity, clear planning, organizational structure, and bold decision-making. Wood energy is an unstoppable, dynamic force for action. Obstacles cause the energy to build up and look for ways around and through. This jerkiness is seen in the volatility of weather changes throughout the Spring as yin transforms to yang. The force of upwards Wood energy is what allows us to achieve our goals, desire, and intentional, decisive actions. We set strong goals in the Spring and ride the Wood energy to their completion.
The way we respond to limitations or obstacles shows us the health of our Wood element. In balance, we see the situations clearly and recognize that challenges are opportunities to clarify and refine. We move with smoothness, flow, equanimity and flexibility (like bamboo). By incorporating more physical movement and supporting the liver (the principal Wood element organ), we’re able to embody Wood energy more skillfully. We’ll explore these practices in the following sections.
Some questions worth exploring throughout the Spring: How is your vision for your own future? How clearly do you see the path before you in your own life? How do you feel about the direction your life is taking? What are your plans in the short and long-term? Are you flexible in changing plans as circumstances unfold? Are you taking steps boldly, and what stops you from making decisions?
Roots and Canopy
The gifts of an element become available to us when the element is in balance and harmony within. This can be particularly tricky with the Wood element because the upwards energy is so strong. The Chinese character for wood is mu, which consists of a vertical line- (the tree trunk) a crossing horizontal line (the branches), and two downward diagonal lines from where the branches meet the trunk, representing the roots. Much of the tree is below the ground, and a healthy Wood element requires deep rootedness or groundedness. The potent directionality of the tree is upward towards the sun, while the rooted trunk sways gently in the changing winds, steadied by its roots. Finally, for a tea tree, the canopy grows proportionate to the size of the root structure. The deeper the roots, the larger and healthier the canopy.
Humans grow like trees with deep roots, sprawling branches and fluttering leaves, which represent our dreams, visions, and wishes. We must have deep, organized roots to realize our visions. Where might you better orient your root system?
Roots also refer to our relationship to our families and the place where we predominantly grew up. Is there anger (stagnant liver energy) that you carry with any family members or friends that might be addressed over a cup of tea, with the intention of cultivating compassion, understanding and benevolence? When was the last time you walked barefoot mindfully, got your hands dirty in the soil or watched the clouds pass overhead? These simple exercises help us connect to our roots, which allows for greater vision. With a clear, strong material foundation, we create fertile conditions for our inner work. I remember a spiritual teacher once telling me, “Unless and until you can hold down a steady job that aligns with your values, and amply address your material needs, you are unfit to undertake serious inner work.”
Vision, Purpose, Clarity
Traditionally, the transition from adolescence to adulthood was marked by an initiatory rite of passage. This initiation bestowed a vision for the individual that would shape and guide their destiny. As Daniel Pinchbeck points out in How Soon is Now, “The yearning we feel as adolescents, when all of our senses strain for some deeper intensity of being, is the desire for initiation and transcendence. We seek access to something sacred – something greater than ourselves. Because our culture denies us the fulfillment of this yearning, we become alienated and jaded. We are forced to accept degraded substitutes- to find a limited form of transcendence in media spectacles, sporting contests and artworks… modern civilization is founded on this original betrayal (28).” Without a deep understanding of oneself and one’s life purpose, we struggle to clearly express our creative power. This stunted growth leads to stagnation and frustration, which over time often becomes anger and resentment.
If you don’t have a teacher to guide you through some initiatory practice or rite, you can create a practice for yourself. There are many forms of initiation, but most of them include stillness, meditation, confronting fear, working with plant medicine and allowing for a vision for one’s life. A committed daily tea practice and meditation can serve as a form of initiation, if taken seriously. While this practice likely won’t involve risking your life, facing your deepest fears or entering visionary states, it can over time get you in touch with deeper aspects of your aspirations, dreams and purpose. As we enter Springtime, ask yourself honestly: Do you have a plan for your life that is informed by vision?
The clarity of our thought depends on a healthy liver and liver blood. Consider a liver cleanse by juicing oranges, beets, cranberries, cruciferous vegetables, dandelion greens, and milk thistle, which provide vitamin C, proanthocyanidins, and potassium to protect liver cells, reduce inflammation, and lower blood pressure.