Autumn

Autumn is the time of year when the harvest is over - the light changes - the air smells differently. Leaves begin to change color and the trees let go. Sap is drawn inward. Acorns and chestnuts fall from the trees - a bit of precious DNA and enough energy to grow a whole new tree. Having provided the harvest, Nature now makes everything bare. In this season Nature lets go of its abundant creation of the past year in a grand final display. Autumn marks the end of the growing season - a turning inward, a falling away of outer-directed energy. Leaves turn color and drop. The old leaves go back to the earth, enriching it to promote the coming of new leaves, a new harvest.

Nature instructs us about our own cycles of creating and letting go: Trees in autumn don't stubbornly hold onto their leaves because they might need them next year. Yet how many of us defy the cycle and hold onto what we've produced or collected - those decayed leaves, that old negativity? How can we hope for a harvest next year unless we let go of the old and start afresh?

The energy of this season, more than any other, supports our letting go of the waste, the old and stale in our lives, leaving us receptive to the pure and new, granting us a vision of who we are in our essence.

For more information see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

Some of this text is from Neil Gumenick's site - an amazing resource for Information on Classical Five-Element Acupuncture.