Winter Wisdom Through The Five Elements Lens
Winter, the most yin of yin seasons, The time when life begins from the depths of the earth and the depths of the womb. Life seeds again.
The water element is considered the most complex of the seasons. Makes sense right? Look at all the processes that have to happen to make a seed develop into a full tree or person. And..in order for any seed to germinate it needs water.
Winter is associated with the water element because water comes from the sky, penetrates deep into the earth where life begins.
During the germination period we naturally go inward. We drink hot soups, take hot baths, and warm up by the fire. The nights are longer, so we sleep longer…as nature intended. Animals hibernate and everything becomes still.
Farmers land appears barren. Yet there is a lot going on underneath the earth, deep in the womb.
And even though we expect there will be new life born in the spring, we don’t know how that life will develop or if it actually will become. If we have not prepared well and unless we build up and maintain our stores and reserves in the winter there can be no growth in the spring and summer and no harvest. This can bring anxiety, not just over whether we will have a good harvest or bad harvest, but even the prospect of having no harvest at all. Just the thought of that brings the deepest fear we can imagine. That of survival and the uncertainty of the continuation of life.
How we take care of ourselves during the the winter is directly related to how well we will do in the spring.
If you are a water element personality type, you are known as the Philosopher/Sage.
The water element archetype represents the power of the water energy to transform fear and doubt to wisdom and trust and to promote acceptance of the unknown and the unknowable as part of life.
As a sage water type you need wisdom to navigate the dangers that comprise the inner experience of your life. You have deep knowledge and experience accumulated by past generations and the awareness and patience to understand how to apply these lessons.
You are one who has a slow, allowing rhythm, seeking deeper meaning in life and all that you do.
Many water types are keen observers, clever, wise-possessing street smarts while understanding the complexity of life. You have the capacity to become Self-Actualized and can draw on your deep faith that that the world is a safe and supportive place. That faith, like a perpetual well, comes from the deepest energetic core and contains the knowledge that there are enough reserves to ensure survival and the ability to manifest your unique destiny.
