This evening America will fall under the path of a total solar eclipse. This ‘Great American Total Solar Eclipse’ will darken skies all the way from Oregon to South Carolina. This particular eclipse is special because it is the first total solar eclipse in almost 100 years that will be visible from most of the country. And although the Summer season technically goes on for about another month, I think all of us can agree that as August draws to close we start to feel that those care-free Summertime days are surely numbered.
Eclipses are a time of rapid change. This eclipse is symbolic of the energy transition that happens from late Summer to Fall. The Summer, a bright energetic sun full of light and life, eclipsed by the cool, dark, quiet energy of the moon felt in the Fall and cooler seasons. The abundant energy of Summer will soon give way to a slowing down of sorts, a time to take harvest and collect ourselves.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine Late Summer belongs to the earth element. The earth element invites you to come ‘home’, back down to the earth. A season that urges you to relax, eat fresh foods and enjoy gathering with friends and family. Feeling bouts of fatigue and exhaustion are common, triggered by the over-exertion or lack of sleep from the spirited activities of Summer. If you really listen and tune in to these signs from nature and from your body you’ll hear them asking for proper rest, slower movements, calmness and seasonal sustenance.
Late Summer Energy Hacks:
Take more breaks
Gather at home; plan a dinner party or a small casual get together, start a book club
Stay Local
Eat seasonally; sweet corn, tomatoes, okra, peppers, blackberries, fresh figs, melons
Watch the sunset, embrace the change.
I personally love this time of year.
There’s a magic in the light.
The sunrises and sunsets seem to be more epic.
The pace of life begins its slow down.
There’s a feeling of abundance that comes with harvesting your Summer garden.
The slight changes in the temperature…as if the Fall time is sneaking in with the cool breeze.
I will savor it though, the last of the Summer heat, tonight I will wrap it around me like a soft blanket as I watch the moon slowly make its way across the face of the Sun. I have this feeling about this astrological phenomenon - as though when the sun comes out from beneath the shadow of the moon on the other side of the eclipse, she will be different.
Tonight mother earth gently ushers in change.
Inevitable.
Welcomed.
Feared.
Growth…
Change.