Melancholy, Autumn and Acupuncture
utumn, for some, brings a sort of melancholy. Metal in the five elements of Chinese medicine is associated with the fall. The element of metal is related to beauty, extravagance, our animals self, pairing down, clearing out. The popular Swedish death cleaning would be a perfect metal activity.
Metal Is about beauty and extravagance. It’s about luscious meals prepared with visual and taste in mind. (Thanksgiving anyone?) Note it is beauty is not perfection. Perfection can destroy beauty and is a complication of the metal energy. When we search for perfection, we can get lost in a despair, because perfection even if it’s met, will only last a moment.
This search for perfection this longing, is part of the metal energy. Many other cultures have names for this, that longing for the divine, or the unknown. It’s a mystical feeling. For some, it can get scary. Fall takes us from light to dark. Do we trust the darkness? Do we trust the unknown? What will we hold onto and value and what will we let go of?
I personally love the melancholy of fall. It can be a bit frightening, sometimes, because it can at first feel like it will never end. But if we allow ourselves the breathing in and breathing out of the emotion, great insight and wisdom is often there for us to see.
Breathing in and breathing out, the lungs are associated with metal. Those who have weak lungs might be more affected by the season.
As the light starts to change as we go more towards dark, our animal self is activated. we live in a world to ignore anything about us that is actually an animal. We are affected by the light and dark. We are affected by the temperature getting cooler.
Care for yourself this season. Allow yourself to rest. Allow yourself a break. Allowing is a strong part of metal energy. Most of us sometimes are in this breathing in -in -in, we forget to finally exhale.
Sleep can be affected during this time. Allow yourself sleep. Allow yourself to digest the year. It’s a good time for journaling or being in nature. Time to ponder what do I truly value?
There are acupuncture points that are related to this time of year. Acupuncture is very much based on the seasons. I will choose points based on what we are working on along with what season we are in. Where we are in nature effects where you are in your life.
Go through your photos on your phone and clear out all the images you don’t want anymore. We’re preparing for winter, going within, to see who we want to be in the new year. Now is a time to get rid of all the things you don’t want that don’t reflect who you are anymore.
And acupuncture is a great tool to help move through the beautiful melancholy of fall.
