Late Summer is an additional Season (the Fifth Season) that the Ancient Chinese observed existed in nature. It is no longer Summer – it when the days shorten and the evenings are heavy with haze. So if you feel it is no longer Summer and not yet Autumn, we are in Late Summer. This is the time of harvest – the apples are ripe and ready for picking; the farmers are busy in the fields bringing in the hay and the crops; all the fantastic fruits have ripened as the flower fades.
Nourishment and harvest are the two words that characterise this season of the Earth Element. The Earth, like our mother, provides us with all the nourishment we need to live through the year. This is not just the nourishment for the body, but for the mind and the spirit. The long days and the warm nights of the summer have given us time to enjoy everything around us to the fullest and to take in more than we can appreciate at the time. The harvest time is when we not only store our physical crops but our mental and spiritual crops. When the cold sets in during the winter months, we shall have all the memories and fruits of our summer on which to draw. For instance when we sit down in front of the fire in winter and look through our holiday photos, we are feeding our minds and our spirits from those memories and savouring their tastes and flavours until we can harvest again.
A successful Harvest brings security; the same security we get from our physical mother. We know our storehouse is full and we can relax. The Earth element inside all of us works in the same way. Like our mother, the Earth element – when in balance – will nourish all parts of us and share out equally the bounty to support life. What would be the good of a harvest being gathered and stored and then distribution limited to one small area when there is enough to feed everybody at large? Movement and distribution are key parts of the Earth Element. Stability will come from this effective distribution, helping us to feel grounded and earthed. I hope you enjoy the fruits of Late Summer!
