Autumnal Equinox in Feng Shui Terms

Anjie Cho September 25, 2019

Maybe you know this Monday, September 23, was the autumnal equinox this year, but what exactly does that mean?

The autumnal equinox is one of two times per year, the other being spring equinox, that the sun crosses the equator, temporarily rendering day and night the same length and signifying the change of seasons from summer to fall. These times are also referred to as the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. On a more scientific level, the autumnal equinox occurs when the Earth's equator crosses the center of the sun, meaning that for one of two times each year, the Earth is not tilted one way or the other in reference to the sun.

Since autumn is ultimately a transition into winter, it's important from a feng shui perspective that we take time to nurture ourselves in preparation for colder, darker months. Below are some tips to help you and your home fall back into autumn in harmony.

De-Clutter Your Closet

It is that time again - time to put away the off-season summer clothing and bring out the warm, autumnal gear. While you go through your clothes, take some time to de-clutter your closet. If your closet is full, you are energetically telling the universe you have no room for anything new. Make space for some amazing opportunities!

Refresh Your Bed Linens

As the weather gets cooler, adjust your bed linens accordingly. Autumn and winter lend to soft blankets and heavier duvets. If possible, treat yourself to some organic bedding. The chemicals used in conventional fabrics not only off-gas VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), the toxins also get absorbed into your bloodstream through skin contact.

Also think about the colors of your bedding. Warmer earthy colors like burgundies, browns and taupes are great for the cooler months.

Deep Clean The Refrigerator

Along with the clothes you wear and bed you sleep in, the change in season also lends to a change in the food you eat. This is the time to transition into warmer, cooked foods, and fewer raw, cold foods. Look at this as an opportunity to deep clean and de-clutter. Empty out the refrigerator and remove anything expired, old and/or spoiled. Spoiled and expired food symbolize neglect of one’s overall health. If possible, compost the organic material, or find a compost drop-off location and recycle or reuse the glass and plastic containers.

When cleaning the interior of the refrigerator, I prefer to use natural non-toxic cleaners, such as baking soda to scrub, and a mixture of vinegar, water and eucalyptus essential oil to wipe down and disinfect. Then open up a new container of baking soda to absorb any odors in your newly organized and clean refrigerator.

I also keep a clear natural crystal quartz in my refrigerator. I program that crystal with the intention to enhance the life energy and nourishment for the food that I will later eat.

Let's welcome the autumnal equinox with positive feng shui adjustments to our home with these three simple tips.

Also be sure to read my interview with Angela Mastoris about the Chinese Medicine considerations for Adjusting to the Fall Equinox here!

by Anjie Cho

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Adjusting to Fall Equinox: Angela Mastoris

Anjie Cho September 21, 2014

Just in time for fall equinox, my bestie and esteemed Chinese Medicine expert, Angela Mastoris, is back with another set of tips, this time for dealing with the physical and emotional stress put on us by the changing seasons from summer to fall.

Check out her advice on meditation, yoga and dietary changes to ease transition into our next season!

AC: Can you tell us a little about fall equinox?

AM: In Chinese Medicine, there is a school of thought called Five Elements Theory. The general idea is that each of us has, within our own body, a microcosm, like our planet. Each element has its own set of meridians and special qualities associated with it.

The fall season is part of the Metal Element. Metal rules the Lung and Large Intestine meridians, as well as the skin, which is not a meridian, but very important, because if you have a skin issue- it is not easily ignored.

How does the fall equinox affect us as humans?

Think about what happens to the earth at this time: she begins her process of death, so she can come back to life in the spring. This also happens in our own bodies. There is a bit of grief always associated with change. People inherently have difficulty with transition; they have trouble letting go.

Do you have any tips for dealing with that transition?

If someone is having a hard time with a change or transition, or any other emotion in excess, mysterious physical symptoms show up and a person may not know why.

In general, at this time of year, meditation, yoga, eating appropriate foods and treating your body gently is a great place for all of us to begin preparing ourselves for the great introspection and internal growth of Winter.

Does the fall equinox affect us physically?

Absolutely. This time of year is almost as much of an assault on our immune system as the springtime. The environmental change causes a change in your body’s defense mechanisms, or immune system.

What sort of dietary changes can assist in adjusting to the fall equinox?

The diet should get heavier and more cooked, less raw, as it gets colder. Omnivores- you’ll be eating more meats and dairy products. Vegetarians- lots of grains, some nuts, beans, seeds, as well as more dairy and eggs if you are lacto-ovo vegetarian. Vegetarians can warm it up. If you want to warm up the body, root veggies are great- ginger works wonders in food and as a tea.

As it gets colder, you want to eat heavier foods. You can all eat in accordance with how you want to live, but some great additions to the fall diet are: baked squash, pumpkin, wild rice, brown rice, mushrooms, soups in general, vegetable barley soup, root vegetables: carrot, turnip, onion and garlic; cooked greens: celery, comfrey, dandelion, kale, watercress, and spinach; sea vegetables: dulse, kelp or nori seaweed; miso paste for broth base; seasonings: rosemary, cayenne, and ginger. Pumpkin seeds are really good for the intestines.

Detoxing is good this time of year. You can wean yourself off sugars easier because they become less a part of the diet when it gets colder; you have less fruit in your diet normally, because it's not as available.

Cutting back on caffeine, sugar, and alcohol is also helpful, as these substances aggravate irritated skin. They also cause changes in our metabolism that our body has to readjust to afterwards, which further taxes the immune system. If you drink less caffeine and eat less sugar temporarily, you will give your body a break, so your immune system can go on fighting off the new Autumn pathogens in the air. It helps your skin and immune system to clean up your diet temporarily, or forever!

How do these changes help?

In between seasons, you always want to eat foods that are gentle. They tell us in Chinese Medicine that you always want to return to the earth element, our earth, our digestive system, between the seasons, because our bodies are literally weakened by the environmental change. If you eat gentle, easy to digest foods (cooked and not too cold or too spicy) you make the body’s job easier and more energy can go to balancing out your immune system and adjusting to environmental changes.

by Anjie Cho

Angela Mastoris is a certified Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner, health educator, writer, research assistant and lecturer. She is a Diplomat of Asian Bodywork Therapy (NCCAOM). Health education and acupressure was the approach of her private practice in the past, as well as creating self-care routines that match her client’s bodies specifically. Angela facilitates the healing of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual issues using Traditional Chinese Medicine, Five Element Theory, Indigenous medicine, and shamanism.

Her career goal is to participate in projects that include Chinese Medicine and scientific research, combining and utilizing her experience as a holistic medicine practitioner, a western medical research assistant, and her writing skills, honed at the University of California at Berkeley as an English department graduate.

Contact her at: sevensistersha@gmail.com

Find her on Facebook at: Seven Sisters Healing Arts

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Acupressure and Chinese Medicine Tips for the Spring Equinox

Anjie Cho March 16, 2014

Angela Mastoris of Seven Sisters Healing Arts is one of my best friends and a gifted Chinese Medicine and Acupressure practitioner. Feng shui and acupressure have much in common and both focus on moving chi smoothly. Feng shui looks at chi in your environment whereas acupressure seeks to unblock and balance the chi in your body. So in essence, Angela works with the feng shui of your body! As she says below in the interview, "human touch is a master healer".

In light of the Spring Equinox which falls on March 20th this year, Angela generously shared some of her knowledge with us about acupressure and considerations for Spring!

AC: What is Acupressure and what are the benefits?

AM: "Acupressure is an ancient healing art that uses the fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body's natural self-curative abilities,” in the words of Michael Reed Gach, author and founder of the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, CA, which I attended. We are working with acupuncture points (reservoirs of energy in the spaces between the muscles, bones and connective tissue) and meridians (rivers of energy on which the points exist). We hold a point until we feel the point ‘pulse’, which indicates the chi is moving. When chi does not move, we have pain and pathology.

An acupressure practitioner works with the same body of knowledge as acupuncturists; it is acupuncture without needles. For example, a practitioner would hold a point on the back called a shu point, that connects directly to a point between the vertebrae corresponding with the meridian one chooses to bring into balance. With the other hand, the practitioner would hold remote points on a meridian to affect whatever purpose he is looking to achieve. I find that it is a great place to start for people who are interested in Chinese Medicine, but are afraid of needles. It is also extremely effective in people suffering from emotional trauma. Human touch is a master healer, and it is underutilized in the United States and many other places.

How do you look at the Spring Equinox from your Chinese medicine background?

I look at the Spring Equinox from the Five Element Theory point of view. I consider it to be the most difficult transition for us in every area: mind, body and spirit, because one is making the transition from being very internal to very external, and rather abruptly. It can shock the immune system. In Five Element Theory, we experience five seasons. Winter is the Water Element. It is very internal, deep, and emotional. Its emotion is fear or anxiety (out of balance) and wisdom (in balance). We retreat in winter. Spring or the Wood Element is the exact opposite. It is external: wood grows and expands. Wood is associated with anger and creativity; it achieves goals and is out in the world creating. It’s the very opposite of winter, the Water Element. Winter is time to recharge our batteries before bursting forth in spring, with the Wood Element.

What simple tips can you offer the readers in consideration for the upcoming Spring Equinox and this difficult transition?

Focus on immune system support with diet, supplements and activities. I view the Spring Equinox as difficult for the body because of external, environmental changes. As the weather warms up, one should change their diet; it should become more raw, more alkaline, and vegetable based. In winter, we eat the roots of vegetables and hot energy spices (like cayenne) to move the blood and generate heat in the body to combat the external cold, which is an environmental creator of pathology in Chinese Medicine. Also, a concern with the environment is the onslaught of allergies due to nature becoming alive and awake. The allergies we get from dust and pollen lowers the immune system. Most people will get allergies, and then get sick, because the body is compromised. A practitioner would focus on something called Wei chi, the body’s defensive chi connecting to the Lung meridian and the nose, the first frontier for the body and the outside world. Also, it is a great time for Spring-cleaning. Clean the slate in your environment to bring in new energy, which is symbiotic with nature’s process. Restart and recalibrate your self-care routine to match nature.

My acupuncture point selection for the transition from Water to Wood, or winter to spring, is a group of special points called the Four Gates

The Four Gates are exactly what you think they are: points that move energy around or out of the body. They are the points between the webbing between the first and second digits of your hands and feet. The first set of two gates is Large Intestine Meridian/ LI 4, which is located at the web of your thumb and first finger. LI 4 is one of the most well known points in the acupuncture system. It moves things down and out of the body, much like the large intestine organ itself. It’s a good thing for the body to “let go” of toxins and things that built up emotionally or physically over the winter. This detoxification of the body helps boost the immune system. The Lung meridian is the Large Intestine’s partner that faces the outside world. You are letting go of heat and external evils you don’t need in your body. The Lung Meridian is closely connected with Wei Chi or the body’s defensive chi, or immune system.

The two points remaining in the Four Gates are: Liver 3. Liver 3 and Large Intestine 4 are also called ‘Source Points”. Source points are the most powerful reservoirs of energy on a meridian and can help move the chi in other closed points on the meridians. Liver 3 is source point for the deep, yin, internal, and masterful Liver meridian. The Liver Meridian’s chi is the most powerful in the body. It is also one of the most powerful points for Spring! Spring or the Wood Element is concerned with new beginnings. That is why it is popular to do juice cleanses and detox diets during the spring. Liver 3 is located in the webbing between your big toe and second toe.

Those are the Four Gates: to let out the old and bring in the new. Applying daily pressure to these four points (LI 4 and L3) will help ease the transition from winter to spring. See images.

Finally, how do you create a relaxing "holistic space" to practice on your clients?

It would be the same approach one would have in Feng Shui. I find that a womb like environment works really well for patients. A pale pink or peach wall, with soft lighting is comforting. You want the client to relax so that their chi will move easily, so that they are receptive to touch and change. Then you have created an environment where blocked or closed acupuncture points easily open for chi to move. I liken treatments to spiritual surgery. You want to create a comforting environment for the patient, a safe, supportive environment. You also want to make sure the room is warm, as the body temperature will drop during a treatment, so we use hot packs and heat lamps. Plants bring a nice energy into the room, as do other prizes from nature: stones (the Metal Element), plants (the Wood Element), a fountain (the Water Element), maybe a bee’s wax candle (the Fire Element), and an offering to the patient of Chamomile tea (harmonizing for the Earth Element). It is nice to have all of the Five Elements represented to honor nature and our body, our earth.

Read my other articles about the Spring Equinox and Spring Cleaning here

by Anjie Cho