Be like a tree and let the dead leaves drop. -Rumi
The shift in seasons is Nature’s way of reminding you to pay attention. While it seems apparent that you adjust your outer life to acclimate to the changing weather, you may often forget the shift that is necessary for the inner realm when seasons change. After the Fall Equinox of September 21st, we now officially entered the season of Fall. I like to analyze each time of the year from three major knowledge systems and approach to achieving ultimate health and balance: Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the Native American Medicine Wheel, and the Four Directions.
Fall Association in Traditional Chinese Medicine:
Element: Metal
Yin Organ: Lung Yang Organ: Large Intestine Emotion: Grief/Sadness Climate: Dryness Stage of development: Harvest Flavor: Pungent Color: White Sense Organs: Nose Tissues: Skin Sound: Crying Healing sound: sssssssssssssss
Fall is associated with the direction of the West and the time of sunset when we enter the stage of completion characterized by both LETTING GO and CELEBRATING THE HARVEST. There is a need for a lot of gratitude and recognition of what the seeds that you planted brought to you – the beauty of what had manifested and what life lessons they taught you. Watch out for resistance for let go. Learn from Nature and its example of the leaves falling off the trees without any resistance, creating a potent compost that will nurture the seeds that will germinate in the new year and in the new cycle. So have gratitude for what you accomplished, celebrate, and let go.
Traditional Chinese Medicin associates this season with the element of Metal and the Lungs, which govern the organization, setting limits, and protecting the boundaries. It is time to finish projects that we started at the beginning of the year and enjoy the results of all the hard work. Symbolically, this is our harvest, and we are ripping what we had sowed in Spring.
The energy of the Lungs is “letting go” and be mindful of letting go of everything we had been holding on, from cluttered home to deep core emotional wounds and behavior patterns that we store in the body and energy field.
The Fall brings emptiness that can leave us feeling exposed and vulnerable. But it is also filled with possibility. It is a time when we, too, can strip down to a quiet essence of being and savor the simplicity. According to Ayurveda, The Fall brings with it a predominance of air element and prana (the vital breath, the subtle essence of life) is abundant in the atmosphere. Autumn is characterized will further your sense of stability doesn't it sound exactly like what we are encouraged to be doing in Fall? aggressive music, fast driving, and excessive sexual activity. Try to be in bed by 10 p.m. so that you get plenty of rest before dawn.
One of the most effective ways to support Vata is by establishing a daily routine. Try to do the same things (wake up, exercise, eat meals, go to bed, etc.) at roughly the same time each day. Set the tone for your day by rising early, taking full advantage of the silence, stillness, and peace that are intrinsic to the early morning hours. Some gentle yoga and ten to fifteen minutes of meditation will further your sense of stabilitDoesn't it sound exactly like what we are encouraged to be doing in Fall? aggressive music, fast driving, and excessive sexual activity. Try to be in bed by 10 p.m. so that you get plenty of rest before dawn.
Dress in Fall colors when appropriate—reds, yellows, oranges, and whites—and wear enough clothes that you stay warm throughout the day. When you step out into the elements, cover your head and ears to protect them from the biting wind and cold.
The bright, vivid Fall colors remind me of one of my absolute favorites of the flower world - the Lantana flower, which I pick as a perfect plant energy ally to support you through the season.
Though none of the plant’s part is edible, it compensates adequately with its energetic properties. Lantana is associated with an element of Fire and governed by the Sun and Mars. The reason I am writing about this plant in the context of Fall is because of its incredible ability to break old patterns, karma-cleansing action, getting energy moving, space clearing, speaking your Truth, strengthening your will, and your boundaries. Doesn't it sound exactly like what we are encouraged to be doing in Fall?
Lantana Camera is a woody, shrubby perennial plant native to the tropical regions of the Americas. The symbolic meaning of the lantana flower is generally associated with rigor, the element of Fire, masculine energy, and planetary rule of Sun & Mars. It grows anywhere and everywhere; it is invasive and takes over any spot where you might plant it; it does not contain easily. This energy is especially helpful in the aspect of protecting and guarding our boundaries and seeing clearly if someone is invading our personal space. Another aspect of this intense energy is getting clear on who we are and receiving s motivational jumpstart when we start something new or move through, especially challenging times.
Plant the Lantana around your home. It does great in soil, container, or even large pot and will protect your home from unwanted guests (physical and nonphysical). You can spend time, meditate, and inhale the smell of the flower while setting the intention of strengthening the boundaries, getting clarity, or move the stagnant energy. And you can dry your flowers or flowering tops, and burn it just as sage for space clearing or use its multiple benefits in the medicine bag. this purpose, I suggest taking two drops of the flower essence under the tongue or in water twice a day, while setting the intention to strengthen your boundaries.
As Tess Whitehurst describes it, Lantana acts like a virus scan that can uncover and dismantle harmful patterns stored in our subconsciousness, energy field, home, or workspace. We all have inherited issues stemming from our childhood experiences, and going back to our ancestry and past lives. Lantana can be an ally to end these patterns right now by taking its essence, spending time with the plant, creating a charm or medicine bag.
The energy of Lantana is clear, dynamic, bright, and positive. It can’t co-exist with the stagnant, heavy, muddles, negative psychic energy, or unwanted entities. My favorite form of use is the Lantana Flower Essence - a safe but so potent vibrational medicine preparation.
To clear your aura or living space from negative energy or unwanted entities, try smudging with a bundle of white, feather, or desert sage first. Then mist the area with an energy clearing spray that contains the Lantana flower essence. You can make your homemade smokeless smudge by adding sixteen drops of the Lantana flower essence into a hydrosol like Palo Santo, White Sage, or saint water. Or grab my newly created Energy Clearing smokeless smudge spray.
Sometimes our energy gets stagnant as a result of that we don’t want to look at or something we’ve learned we are supposed to repress. And once that happens, every aspect of our mental and physical health suffers. We lack motivation, direction, and clarity. Lantana helps to cure those challenges by taking you directly to what your psyche blocked from your conscious awareness. While it might not feel so pleasant in the beginning, Lantana can get your energy moving in the right direction by taking you straight to what we so cunningly blocking from conscious awareness. That is why Lantana, together with the Black-Eyed-Susan, are my go-to flower essences for the Shadow work. And since our bodies and minds are connected, unblocking your energy flow can also help get our organs moving and flowing healthily.
If you want to experience the energy of fiery Lantana, there is a very potent batch of Super Mars/Fire Enhanced Lantana Flower Essence created on February 21st, 2017, Waning Moon in Sagittarius, on Tuesday (a day ruled by Mars) at 9 am (Mars Hour) from the wild-growing plant in the mountains of Costa Rica. The crystal bowl with flowers was placed on the Flower of Life Crystal Grid with six high-altitude Himalayan Crystal Quartz points.
Plant the Lantana around your home. It does great in soil, container, or even large pot and will to protect your home from unwanted guests (physical and nonphysical). You can spend time, meditate, and inhale the smell of the flower while setting the intention of strengthening the boundaries, getting clarity, or move the stagnant energy. And you can dry your flowers or flowering tops, and burn it just as sage for space clearing or use its multiple benefits in the medicine bag.
Fall is the time to release in terms of making room for new projects, relationships, and experiences.
Since you have the support of Nature on your side, consider the following ways you might shed your dead leaves at this time of year:
Let go of grudges.
Be easier on yourself.
Take a break from self-improvement.
Remember, a seasonal routine is an investment in your own health and vitality. And while the specifics may vary from one person to the next, we all stand to benefit from aligning ourselves with the rhythms of nature throughout the year. This Fall, embrace the unique gifts of autumn and—with the help of an appropriate seasonal routine. Enjoy it from a place of stability, humility, and gratitude.
Notice what you complain about most often, then choose to either address the root of the complaint or vow to stop complaining altogether.
Let go of your thoughts and feelings of insecurity. Replace them with affirmations of the mature adult.
Purify your body. Fast, cleanse, or do what is necessary to get your digestion on track. (Fall season is also associated with Large Intestine in Traditional Chinese Medicine).
Stop trying to people-please and putting other people’s needs before your own.
Simplify your schedule. Shed excessive socializing or over-scheduling. Prioritize. Clear up your clutter. Throw things away. Even though you may correlate this activity with Spring, clearing away the brush in the Fall makes sense. Weed out what’s weighing you down.
You can get additional support from the plant world to gracefully flow through Fall and its energy of release and let go.
Navigating Life aromatherapy line (formerly known as True Self) was created to support you through the changes of seasons and cycles of life. Use “Maitri/Love” and “Release” formulas to your benefit and to work productively with the energy of Fall.
Maitri/Love formula will warm you from inside and wrap in a cozy blanket of self-love, compassion, and acceptance of yourself fully as you are in your body. You will be more in-tune with the needs of your body and soul, knowing when to push yourself forward to get to the next level, and when to push back, relax and give yourself maximum rest and self-care.
The Release formula helps to release trapped emotions and trauma: through tears, spoken words, movement, yoga practice, and breath. Massage both recipes over the third (solar plexus) and the fourth (heart) chakras to help balance both so that our relationship with our personal power is restored with (and healed) by love. A very effective way to apply the Release formula and Lantana flower essence is directly on your body where you feel tension or chronic pain to help dissolve negativity that we often store in our body. I just made a very special small batch Release, where I add the crystal chips of amethyst to every bottle!
Remember, a seasonal routine is an investment in your own health and vitality. And while the specifics may vary from one person to the next, we all stand to benefit from aligning ourselves with the rhythms of nature throughout the year. This Fall, embrace the unique gifts of autumn and—with the help of an appropriate seasonal routine. Enjoy it from a place of stability, humility and gratitude.
Stay healthy and balanced with the seasons - physically, emotionally, and spiritually!