Qi Node 9: 芒種 Mángzhǒng (Grain Matures)

This is 3rd qi node of Summer and comes after the 2nd moon of the season. MangZhong finds itself at a crossing point between nascent summer qi and the intensity and grandeur of summer solstice where the potency of Yang is on full display.

As is often the case, the name of this node is a direct reference to the agricultural history of humans and how the rhythmic nature of growing things for survival has shaped our understanding of time and activity. MangZhong is sometimes more literally translated as “Grain in Beard” meaning that the early spring wheat, rice, or millet plants (grains in general really) have matured enough to have a “beard” of individual grains on their stalks. This image is the fulfillment of spring’s promise — that new life and abundance are returning. Here, the grains have grown and expanded and will mean the continuation of the cycle as it is eventually harvested, processed, eaten, and stored over the next several months, leading us back in to the retreat of late fall and winter.

As we mirror this maturation in our daily lives, this is the perfect part of the year to do things. Take trips. Be active. Multitasking is even ok. The planning of Spring is complete and now it is time to execute those plans. Don’t keep planning your jam sessions but instead rehearse diligently for the next gig coming soon. Take that story that has been rolling around in your head for the last few months and put it on paper. Build out that new deck and patio cover. You’ve been waiting and conserving all year and now you can really get in to it.

Your body is supposed to grow and expand just like the grain maturing so stay active, and maintain a strong appetite with a balanced Chinese medicine diet. Two large meals during the day, especially at breakfast, is ideal. Green tea throughout the day and a small and very light dinner serves your body the best. You can make use of light broth soups that are slightly salty in the evening meal position or other easy to digest cooked vegetables and grains.

As always, the Chinese cosmological viewpoint encourages balance and self-control. Even though this is the season for doing, there are risks to this part of the year, just like any other. AS the hot qi of the summer peels away from the wind qi of spring, it can be driven deeply through the pores of the skin and affect the heart and the emotions. Emotional outbursts are more common this time of year and can actually serve to purge some of that accumulated heat, but be careful to not find yourself stuck in a pattern of intense emotional churn. Once the venting is done, further exasperation will cause damage and lead to deficiencies in the coming months. Insomnia patterns can often start during this part of the year too. Make sure your bedroom is cool at night and even through the light is hanging around later, don’t push your own bedtime much past the Sun’s. Remember to breath deeply into your belly and avoid being overly baked in the sun.

Qi Node 6: 谷雨 Gǔyǔ (Grain Rain)

This is the first of the interseasonal transition nodes in the year. Each season belongs to one of the five Chinese phases of qi movement:

Spring: Wood

Summer: Fire

Fall: Metal

Winter: Water

But what of the fifth phase, Earth?

The nature of Earth is to hold space, to be the literal ground upon which everything else is built. It functions as the counterpoint to the ephemeral nature of Heaven by being solid, heavy, and slow to move. This constancy is exactly what is necessary when the qi of the seasons shifts. Moving from any one seasonal qi to another would be jarring without a stabilizing force. The upward and outward movement of Wood, for example, would be severely exacerbated by the intense vertical nature of Fire and would likely result in stronger heat pathogens, more violent storms, and irregular plant growth that could result in die-offs and less yield. All these problems are prevented by the nature of Earth, which presents at four qi nodes throughout the year, each placed between seasons so that Earth can be a neutral meeting place, a context for one season to hand off its reigns to the next season without jostling for control or position. Grain Rain is the first of such Earth influenced Qi nodes.

Of course, this node has its own flavour beyond being an Earth node. It represents the increasing warmth of Yang qi and thus infuses the growing process with a tendency to expand and to replicate. Blossoms appear everywhere, nectar-rich fruit trees call the pollinators from near and far, and the ground is abuzz with activity, promising future abundance. The booming sound of thunder forecasts a healthy coming season and functions to welcome the potency of Summer Yang Qi.

Now is the time to make your own transitions:
Graduate from school, take that new promotion, move to a new house,
play music, and dance.

Special Note: All Earth aligned transition qi nodes pose potential health problems related to Chinese medicine dampness. For Grain Rain, this usually means Wind Dampness showing as nasal congestion, dry throat, seasonal allergies, and indigestion. In many ways, your experience during this node highlights your conduct from last autumn and your investment in cultivating the qi of Spring. If you find your health to be less than optimal, this Fall will provide you another opportunity to make a shift that could benefit you next Spring. Each part of the cycle gives us insight into the way we have adapted to previous parts of the year and provides the opportunity to conform our conduct to our circumstances. Every moment is an opportunity to leverage our activity and headspace in the service of our own wellbeing.

Qi Node 5: 清明 Qīngmíng (Clear and Bright)

From the equality of Yin and Yang during the previous Spring Equinox qi node, now Yang qi emerges as a pure and glowing pristine version of itself, fully reborn into all its active and moving glory. The lengthening days are very obvious now and there is more energy and motivation to spur new growth and the coming abundance of Summer. Yang is fully leading the calendar now. From this node until Summer Solstice, Yin will continue to fade into the background, which should remind us to be mindful of our Yin resources as they are not as abundant through the warm and energetic months of late Spring and Summer.

Culturally in China and other parts of the diaspora, Qing Ming is a festival time that involves abundant rites and sacrifices for the Ancestors, one of two major festivals focused on respecting the relationship between those that are alive and those that are not. Qing Ming is a celebration of the Revered Dead (Yin aspect), a thank you from the living (Yang aspect) for having made it through another Winter. Graves are swept, flowers laid, incense burned, and stories are told. Simultaneously, Qing Ming festival is a time for planting seeds, flying kites, getting outside, and spending time with friends and relatives. It is the perfect opportunity to remember what has past and be hopeful for what is coming.

Practically, the arrival of Qing Ming marks the perfect opportunity to finally pull the trigger on all the projects, ideas, and activities we have been planning and preparing for. If the weather is harmonious and the frosts have passed where you live, it’s time to start putting some plants in the ground that you prepared these last several weeks. It’s time to begin training for that marathon you are going to run this summer. It’s time to break ground on that expansion or to start producing the test versions of that new product you want to develop. It’s go time.

Remember too though that while the vigorous and moving activity of the warmer seasons can begin with this qi node, your conduct should still crescendo at the summer solstice in June. Learning how to modulate our enthusiasm is one of the great challenges of modern life. We treat a lot of things as on or off; do or don’t; when, in fact, healthy living follows gradual increases and decreases over the course of the year. So even though it’s exciting to finally get to do some of the things you’ve been anticipating since January, slow your roll. It’s happening. No need to shove.

Qi Node 1: 立春 Lìchūn (Spring Begins)

Yang Qi Reemerges, A New Year Begins

It might seem strange to have a picture of an icy twig for the Qi node named “Spring Begins,” especially since the name in English comes with lots of expectations of flowers and growing plants and abundance that will come later in the year. But each season in the Chinese calendar begins when the environmental aspects of the previous season recede enough to show the next emerging layer. In this case, the might of Yin Qi reached its zenith in December during Winter Solstice, and though Winter has often felt colder and heavier since then, the truth is that Yin’s expansion after Solstice is driven by the momentum of her growth and not by the potency of her qi. By the time we reach this Qi node, that momentum has been exhausted and Yin qi begins to recede back toward is dark, moist, and nourishing core. As it does so, the retreat exposes the tiniest aspect of Yang qi that has been hibernating deep within the enveloping Yin. This exposure causes Yang to stir and marks the change in the season and setting the stage for Yang’s growth and eventual dominion over Summer.

A NOTE ON THE WEATHER:
Most people associate the seasons with the weather. It’s a totally natural thing to do and often the weather corresponds nicely to certain qualities of the season. But weather is only an aspect of cosmological qi. It is a tangible manifestation of seasonal qi but is not the qi itself. If you live in a cooler climate and you use weather as your primary guide to seasonal shift, then it would be impossible to imagine that Spring begins in February when everything is still covered in feet of snow. Similarly, it was hard for folks in warmer climates to internalize the retreat and cold of Winter solstice when, in many places, they were wearing shorts and flipflops at Christmas. Weather is only an aspect of the qi, not the qi itself. With an increased awareness of this cycle, you will be able to feel the changes in the season irrespective of the temperature or humidity outside and the attitudes and conduct that embody that season will feel increasingly natural even if its 75 degrees outside in December.

Conduct During this Node

Don’t get too excited: While Yang qi has reemerged, it is an infant — weak and dependent on the nourishing presence of Yin. Even though there is a bit more light in the evenings and even though you might feel the slightest lift in your step, it is not the time to start training for your marathon. You can begin to plan your Spring garden, buying your seeds for sowing. You can start to organize your fitness goals for summer and imagine what the training regimen might look like. You can watch some videos about that new hobby you though about over the Winter. But at its core, Spring Begins is just a marker along the annual cycle. One that tells us that change is coming but is certainly not here yet. Going to be early, slow starts to the morning, easy activity, avoiding sweating, and all the usual Winter conduct remains but you can start to get up in the morning ever so earlier.

Renew social connections: much of winter is about retreat and restoration which is often done in small family groups or alone. It was seasonal to minimize social interaction and to not over-extend and so your social interactions are at their most infrequent at the end of Winter. Now it is time to slowly reinvigorate those connections. Have a few friends over for a simple dinner together. Go to a play or a music event with a few people. Start to rekindle the interconnectivity that will help encourage the growth of Yang over the coming. Remember to take it easy though. Baby steps.

Environmental qi is now best around 3am (which emphasizes the continued importance of sleep) and physical activities should remain indoors where it is warm and free of drafts.

What to Do:

• Continue with easy, non-exertive exercise

• Plan your Spring garden. Buy some seeds.

• Crack into your stored pickles from the Fall to access some of that delicious Summer vitality.

• Call your friends for a casual dinner hang

• Check in with your body and feel the very earliest shift toward lightness

• Feel the excitement of the coming Yang but resist the urge to run out into the cold and do too much.

Qi Node 17: 寒露 Hánlù (Cold Dew)

Yang Is in Its Final Retreat

Cold Dew marks the point at which Autumn shifts toward Winter. Temperatures are becoming cooler, especially in the mornings when there is an almost icy dew that covers the plants. This qi node marks the finally retreat of Yang as it drains downward and inward toward the vastness of the growing Yin. The quiet that has been the theme of Autumn now moves toward silence.

Historically, outward activity appears to cease. Animals are burrowing in for the coming Winter. Plants are shedding leaves and drawing fluids back toward their centers. Healthy human bodies that had their Yin fluids near the surface of the skin during the Summer to protect against the heat, evaporating as sweat and cooling the system, can now feel that moisture thicken and concentrate, pulling inward, encouraging a kind of conservation of resources that will become the theme of Winter. This transition of fluids has been ongoing throughout Autumn and often contributes to seasonal allergy and congestion in people who have some imbalances at play. Now that process is nearly complete and embodies a kind of slowing and simplifying that are key to a successful Winter.

Conduct During this Node

The key to this qi node is to recognize its call to slow down. Make your morning and evening processes more ritualistic, creating routines to carry you through the coming cold and dark. It is no longer a time for impromptu adventures or unplanned events. Retreat, relax, restore. This is the mantra for the Winter that is about to bloom.

Environmental qi is now best around 7pm and physical activities should be moved indoors where it is warm and free of drafts. Sweating should now be avoided however so that those nourishing fluids can remain internal to support your organs and body systems instead of being drawn to the surface.

What to Do:

• Take in your final harvest from the garden

• Preserve and can the fruits of your labors. Make jams and pickles!

• Restart your sourdough mother for all your Winter baking needs

• Retire vigorous cardio exercise in favor of indoor calisthenics and deep stretching

• Get back into your favourite book or podcast series

• Make a cup of coffee or tea and start letting your mind wander in the early morning

Qi Node 15: 白露 Báilù (White Dew)

Yin Descends to Take Charge

Yang has continued to collapse as part of its regular cycle and is no longer violent and pernicious. The dew begins to appear in the early morning as a whisper of the coming cooler season and its eventual snow. Days tend to still be warm but evenings are increasingly cool as Yang ebbs, and Yin begins to coalesce and strengthen. These cool early mornings are a time for clarifying the edits demanded of the fall season and to appreciate a kind of graspable stillness only available during nodes of nascent Yin qi.

At this point in the year, Yin is like a young girl taking her grandfather Yang by the hand and showing him around his house. He may not remember where he left the paper or the remote or that he needs to cook lunch for himself, but she is his helper. He may not be as invigorated as he was in years past, but she reminds him of his youth and her presence forces him to remember things he thought were lost to time. She, meanwhile, listens to his stories and encourages his reminiscence because there is wisdom she can absorb and integrate into herself as she grows and takes a larger and larger role in daily life.

Activity Moves More Indoors

Outdoor exercise should be minimized and activities that induce a lot of sweating should be edited down. Preserving your body’s fluids during this time of the year is essential, as the fall season is dominated by dryness and a cooling wind that can exacerbate yin deficiencies if we aren’t mindful of our activity. Eating in the evening should grow increasingly light, with meals becoming more vegetable and broth based to supply essential moisture during the dry time. Avoiding eating after 7pm is increasingly advised to avoid overtaxing the waning yang qi who is weakest in the evening phase of the day.

Classical Prescriptions

Enjoy foods from this time of the year. Squashes and final tomatoes. Corn and wheat being harvested. Potatoes before they are prepared for storage. Fill your diet with moist foods and focus your eating to the daylight hours.

If you carry latent heat conditions, especially damp-heat conditions, start your morning with a barefoot walk in the dew. Dress warmly and then go out and take a five minute stroll through the wet grass. Feel the wet and cool entering your body. Then return inside and dry your feet, rub them to get warm, and immediately put on socks.

Continue the cognitive editing you began with the first moon in autumn and begin to organize it into your “intellectual harvest” of habits and activities that will serve you well in the internal and reserved season to come.