The energy that comes forth in the Fall is an invitation for the entire planet to embrace the cathartic releasing of what no longer serves us. We see this in the trees losing their leaves, the animals shedding their antlers, summer coats, and even dying to make way for the new generations to come. We've also entered into the season of Fall during our very unique time in human history.
Each of the Five Elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood) coincides with a particular season. Fall embodies the element of Metal with its colorful leaves, nostalgic, ethereal mist that appears with the cooling temperatures. Metal appears in the sounds of chainsaws, clearing old debris and growth from the summer storms. Metal appears in our emotions, too.
Below you will find how we are more in tune with the rhythms of the earth than we are taught. After studying the Tao, the foundation for the laws of the Five Elements, it makes it easier to understand what is going on with the collective. Tuning into the Earth cycles allows us to find a better balance as we navigate unknown terrain.
If you are feeling grief, depression, worthlessness, nostalgia for what once was, or are having a hard time letting go of the old to embrace an unknown new, then you are right on par with the Earth herself!
Unfortunately, our world has taught us to live against these Earth rhythms. Most of the planet lives by "Modern Time" instead of "Nature Time". Modern Time is run by the 24-hour clock. We add light to our darkening skies, so we can go about our business as usual. Our mind thinks in terms of the workweek. Humpday and TGIF project our thoughts forward, searching to be free of our
obligations. We think in terms of our to-do lists, appointments, and social requests. We were trained to look at time as something that runs us, controls, and dictates what we do.
If there was no clock. No calendar to fill with plans and agendas, then what would our existence look like? What type of clock would we be using instead?
We'd go by the sun and where it is setting in the sky. We'd rise with the sound of the birds instead of an alarm. We'd get to experience more moments of being rather than doing. We'd start to learn a pattern in nature guiding us to seek shelter for storms, to know when it is time to plant and harvest, to know when we need to rest. We'd listen so much more closely to the internal wisdom of our body without that manmade construct we call time.
The Fall is the moment in the Nature Time where the energy coursing through all things starts to slow down. A second in the Spring and Summer is much faster than a second in the Fall and Winter. In Nature Time, that is. Nature Time is not a consistent marker to denote moment by moment like a second. Nature Time ebbs and flows with the seasons, the tides, and the trajectory of the sun in the sky. The concept of the second changes and morphs from expansive outward growth and into introspective decline. Everything, including us humans, is affected by this shift.
As the energetic output of nature slows down, preparing for winter, so do we. Energetically. That means a transition that we are going to feel.
We are meant to start slowing down, becoming more reflective of the past. Taking into our hearts what brought joy, lessons, roadblocks, and what we value. Since our entire world is reconstructing itself to shift priorities we're seeing a lot of undulating emotions full of uncertainty, judgment, criticism, and shaming. We're seeing it all over social media and the news. This is the shadow side of the element Metal.
The collective energy feels so much with the upcoming elections, fires, protests, and not to mention a pandemic. We're all trying to go about our day as if its another day. Trying to stay on time with things. It is no wonder that so many feel out of whack!
We've stepped into the shadow side of Metal this season. The shadow aspects harbor the darker emotions that can come forth during this time. But what if I told you, that if we can understand Metal's shadowy aspects to unearth inside ourselves, then we've got a chance to transform them. We can use them as our teacher, to help us navigate the complex emotions we are all experiencing.
Shadow Emotions of Metal
- Low self-worth
- Judgement, Criticism
- Finger Pointing, Shaming
- Feeling isolated and alone
- Inability to let go of the past
- Struggles finding value
- Using one's power for malevolence
- Perfectionist mentality towards oneself and others
- High standards that are difficult to reach
- Seeks validation through materialism
- Seeing extreme imperfection and flaws in self or others
Light Emotions of Metal
- Finding appreciation for what is around you now
- Seeing the value and wisdom of lessons learned
- Shifting judgment into grace. Where one releases the binds of judgment on themselves and others.
- Discovering awe-inspiring reverence
- Epiphany that 'I am enough'
- Uses one's power for the greater good
- Metal can be brittle, unyielding. The warmth of love can soften that inner critic, allowing one to enjoy life for what it is rather than how we think it should be.
- Realizes we are worthy regardless of our status in society.
- We are beautiful in our own unique way
Can you see how humanity is dancing in the shadow of this season?
Can you see how you might be struggling with that, too?
We often think that what we are experiencing is uniquely ours to suffer. Yet, when we tune in to Nature Time and realize that the entire planet is going through a paralleled experience, something shifts inside.
Recognizing that our emotions are in sync with nature allows us to learn the valuable lessons of letting go.
How does one let go?
How does one embrace difficult change?
How does one move through a difficult time?
The trees teach us this valuable lesson. They actually don't let go. They hold on. They hold onto everything that is valuable to them in the form of nutrients. They pull what is of worth out of the leaves and shunts this valuable nutritional currency into the deep recesses of its being.
The act of letting go happens organically.
Even what the trees find invaluable becomes of great importance to something else. Whether that is the value of appreciating the beautiful fall colors, or important organic material for all the other plants that grow amongst it, or the bedding for a winter's den.
Even as the trees render themselves into ashes they are becoming value to the generations that come. Their sacrifice becomes the continuation of the Tao. All things come to an end. There is no chance of escaping change. Even a boulder that sits for a million years will eventually be pounded by enough water to erode back into the sediment. The trees recognize their limitlessness. So do most of the animals. We share a sense of responsibility for their demise and that can create immense grief in some.
Our responsibility though is skewed. The shadowy aspect of grief is feeling a sense of responsibility for our environmental crisis. However, the light aspect of Metal would translate this emotion differently. We feel this sense of intense loss with the fires because our inner knowing, our childlike hearts, our joyful wonderment knows that we are stewards of this earth. We know, that we are meant to have a life that allows us to respect, take care, and deeply value our world. We know this so innately.
The whole world is grieving in some way because this is the season to be grieving. I invite you to embrace whatever dark shadows are lurking behind the societal mask. Riffle through it like you would a junky closet. Assess whether these shadowy thoughts have a nugget of value for your self-growth.
Could they reveal an emotional pattern you've seen before?
Could you be projecting from a previous wound?
What is your part in creating these emotions? What is your part in creating emotions in others?
What lense of perception are you seeing your situation through?
Is it the wounded child, hurt and abandoned that is seeing your world?
Or is it your limitless, most powerful self peering through the looking glass of your life?
The earth is supporting us all to reclaim our self-worth in the simplest of tasks. The earth is inviting us to release our tears into her soil and put to rest what isn't serving our lives anymore. That could be an emotion, an object, an attitude, a career, a lover, or an agenda. We all hold on to varying things uniquely catered to the reality we have created for ourselves.
To find the upmost metal inside of you, I invite you to go into a forest. When you step into this forest think of it as stepping into nature's grand cathedral. Give yourself a moment to be in awe. Pause. Breathe.
The cycles of the Tao involve birth and death, intertwined as a living expression of life giving to life and giving to life some more. This is transformation. The emotions are an expression of our living experience. They want to transform too. The earth is asking us to transform. We all know it in our bones that change is imminent. How we honor ourselves in the process of this change is where we have the power to choose.
I share with you my mantra, which helps me to slow down, calm myself, and recenter.
Breath by Breath.
Step by Step.
Let My Heart do the Rest.
Sahara Sun is a licensed Five Element Acupuncturist, Intuitive Healer, Shamanic Practitioner, Author, Artist, and Educator. She works worldwide offering online Telehealth Sessions addressing the body, mind, and spirit of a person. She weaves her knowledge of science, natural medicine, and spiritual healing together for an immersive experience to fully heal. www.SaharaSun.co/book-online
