Spring officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere on March 20th (for those in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the beginning of fall). We’ll have relatively equal hours of day and night, as the sun rises and sets due east and set due west worldwide. For us in the north, the days will grow longer until we reach the summer solstice on June 20th. This is a time for new growth; a time to refresh and renew yourself and your space. Yang energy will dominate for the next six months, until we turn inward again with the autumn equinox.
Spring: The Wood Season
The Wood element characterizes spring. Nature pushes upward, outward, and downward deep into the roots and foundation. Spring and thus the Wood element are about new beginnings, new expressions, and new growth. The liver (yang) and gall bladder (yin) are the organs affiliated with spring and Wood. Your liver processes toxins and eliminates them from your body. After the slower and darker days of winter, this is a time to lighten up, to reset and recharge.
One way to revitalize your body is to do a cleanse. There are various methods. You may have a favorite. A light juice cleanse is a good way to begin. Reduce and then eliminate heavy, winter foods. Eat more fresh greens and lighter foods with high vitality. Doing so will help to rejuvenate your body and spirit.
Spring Clean!
A deep spring cleaning is a good way to revive your house. Reach deep into the corners, both high and low. Remove the dust that’s accumulated, shake up and wake up the stillness. Windy March days are optimal to open your windows and encourage fresh air to blow through. Trim overgrown house plants to encourage new growth. Lighten up fabrics and colors. Toss out accumulated paper, including catalogs and magazines that you no longer need.
Thunder and Wind Trigrams
Wood is an activating energy, associated with the trigrams of Thunder and Wind in the I Ching. Thunder is the yang energy and Wind is the yin component. Thunder is arousing whereas Wind is changeable. Thunder expresses itself as anger whereas Wind is more confident and graceful.
Wood Attributes
Wood activities are represented by upward expansion, growth, and forward momentum. Thunder breaks through boundaries (sometimes leaving rough edges in its path), opens new pathways and overcomes obstacles. Wind works through obstacles with confidence, grace, and ease. Appropriate risks are taken, stress is managed, proper decisions are made, and natural leaders take charge.
When Wood energy is deficient, you may feel apathetic, sluggish, irritable, emotionally sensitive and bogged down. Overactive Wood expresses itself in angry, hostile, irritable, impatient, and impulsive ways. In balance, look for gentleness, kindness, and grace, as well as growth, change and innovation. If you recognize yourself or family members in deficient or overactive patterns, adjust the Wood element in your home to bring yourselves into balance.
Family and Prosperity Bagua Sectors
The bagua areas associated with the Wood element are Family and Prosperity. Family (Thunder trigram) is the left center sector when you overlay a grid of nine spaces over your floorplan (plot plan and rooms too) and Prosperity (Wind trigram) is the back left corner. If you’d like to shift or strengthen these aspects of your life, working with the feng shui of your space can help.
Wood shapes resemble tree energy: tall columns, vertical rectangles, and stripes. Plants and flowers are part of the Wood family too. Thus, Wood energy extends to all florals, floral fabrics, and floral art. Wood fabrics are cotton, linen, denim, seersucker, corduroy, jersey knit and elastic. The texture is crisp, stringy, and ribbed. Wood colors are green and blue. Think: vibrant spring green. Green is the color for the Family gua and purple for prosperity.
This is a Time for Growth
Spring is a time for growth and renewal. Whether you begin with your home or you begin with yourself, chances are you’ll want to change both … your inner and outer energy is deeply connected. Change on the outside leads to change on the inside and vice versa. Enjoy the journey. Everything is energy!