by Deborah Redfern
In the Five Element system of Chinese Medicine, Winter corresponds to the element of Water. The bagua area for the Water element is Career, meaning Deep Water. Did you ever wonder what the connections are between Winter, the element of Water and the Career area?
Water tells us more about transformation and the alchemy of change than ony of the natural elements of nature. A single drop of water in the life cycle undergoes the most radical of alterations: from cloud to fog, mist, rain, snow and ice; from fresh to salt water as it makes its way to the ocean; from part of a glacier or iceberg, to a waterfall or greak lake; a rapid river, or a tiny stream. And. at the end of the cycle the sun evaporates this water drop and returns it to the clouds to become again a drop of rain. Through all these states, water is quintessentially, water.
Deep Water means to go very deeply inside on any inner journey to find the quintessential nature that is you. I believe that through this journey you can find your personal alchemy which gives you the opportunity to turn your life around. It is a chance to transform from a person who is just putting up with a situation, to a person who is living their passion – a person who has found the gold.
– Deborah Redfern, Odyssey of the Heart:
Winter is also a time of dramatic transformation and alchemy. The growing season is over. It gets colder, there are fewer hours of daylight, and the trees are bare. In many places in the world plants whither and die back, and the earth is blanketed in a thick cover of snow. It is a time for outward stillness and dormancy. Deep inside the earth – perhaps under that blanket of snow - and inside trees, preparations are underway for the coming spring, and the season of rebirth.
People too need times of quiet and seeming dormancy in order to fully absorb the work we have done. The energy of Winter and the Water element helps us in our inner journeys. It is a time of assimilating wisdom and preparing our inner ground as we consider what is next for us – where we are happy in our lives and where we wish to bring in change. It lays the foundation for us to be receptive to what is next: new ideas, inspiration and experiences, and to let go of what does not fit for us, with a goal of getting closer to being our quintessential nature.
Does it mean that Winter is the only time that we can do this work?
No, it simply means that the cycles of nature provide us with a natural opportunity to do the work, whatever season it is and the more in tune we become to the cycles of nature, the more natural the work becomes. As well, the energy of the Element and season is often woven into our culture, in one way or another. At this time of year – year’s end – do we not naturally review and evaluate the past year, and makes New Year’s Eve Resolutions for the coming one? Although there are several months of winter and the dark time of year left, we begin to set the seeds in late December and early January.
Through using feng shui, we can also step into the winter/water element energy every time we make enhancements to the Career area of our homes, especially when we use a much deeper, contemplative approach. Enhancements (cures or remedies) using this method would likely be totally unique, and can then be activated by using the traditional Career/Water Element enhancements.
Wishing you a juicily contemplative Winter season!
© Deborah Redfern, 2009-2010. All rights reserved.
Tags: Five Elements, Water Element
