Beltane

The transition from Spring to Summer

This is such a potent time of year. It is a time of setting intentions for manifestation, we move from the early growth of spring through a transition phase grounded in earthly energy allowing us to structure our next steps with vigor and focus. Goodbye to the cherry blossoms as they float away with the spring and a welcome to the prolific generation of summer. In the Celtic calendar this transition is observed through the rituals of the Beltane festival. The ceremony is based on the marriage of the May Queen and the Green Man symbolizing the union of fire (sun/yang) and earth (yin). Spring storms are auspicious events, as they charge the energy that will come to fruition in the summer months.

This is a picture of the Beltane festival that took place here in Edinburgh. This was the beginning of the event which lasted a few hours with processions and performances that culminated in a giant bonfire lit at midnight. Here is the May Queen and the Green Man lighting the bright fire together marking the transition into the summer season.

Not surprisingly, this ceremony has a parallel in the East Asian calendar- in this system we move from the grain rain qi node to the beginning of summer qi node tomorrow. We are currently in the yang water dragon month and then the yin water snake month before we get into the yang wood horse month on June 15th - which will thrust us very energetically into summer. This transition where water is balancing fire before moving into the full yang of summer will be marked by balancing conflicts meant to offer a refined path towards action come mid-June. Expect challenges, but know they are meant to elucidate other perspectives you would not have been aware of that will help to inform a best path to well informed decisions.

Recognizing how you are responding to these transition times can clue you into how you can expect your health to go this year. Because this is a fire yang horse year, paying attention to your heart health and any latent heat issues that relate to the endocrine system are of primary importance. Pay attention to body temperature, difficulty sleeping, when you have energy and when you need to rest, your digestive fire which can appear in excess as strong appetite, acid reflux, dry throat and dry skin. The next 5 weeks is when you want to balance all of those conditions as much as possible before entering the summer months.

This will be a summer where keeping cool and not over heating physically and/or emotionally will be essential. Because the heart is the most important organ this year and it is affected by the emotions and well as physical health, we must pay attention to both. Cooling and juicy fruits like melons and cucumbers can be particularly helpful. Lower fat foods and more fish to keep your internal fluids thinner will help as well. If you are feeling body temperature fluctuations with hotter hands and feet, you will want to focus on nourishing kidney yin to balance heart fire. If you are feeling more digestive fire which may be perturbing your heart, you will want more stomach yin nourishing foods.

Kidney yin nourishing foods: alfalfa sprouts, kelp, asparagus, potato, seaweed, sweet potato, yam, string bean, lemon, lime, pomegranate, mulberry, watermelon, black bean, kidney bean, black sesame seed, walnut, clams, cuttle fish, oyster, eggs, millet, barley, mung bean, blackberry, huckleberry, blueberry, water chestnut, sardines, and cheese in small amounts. (Lower protein diets are better here.)

Stomach yin nourishing foods: barley, kelp, potato, sweet potato, seaweed, tomato, water chestnut, apple, avocado, broccoli, beef in small amounts (best if in soup), pork in small amounts, egg, and milks/nut/oak milks in small amounts.

It is a year to be cautious with alcohol as it is considered liquid fire and burns off internal fluids. This can very quickly dysregulate internal systems. If you do drink alcohol, use yin nourishing foods to balance and replenish immediately with electrolytes. Drinking 2 oz of aloe vera juice before going to sleep with the electrolytes will help to protect the digestive lining and balance body temperature as well as it is anti-inflammatory for the thyroid.

If you know you have excess estrogen you will want to look into a DIM supplement and stay away from soy, licorice, red clover, thyme, tumeric, hops, and verbena. If you have low estrogen, these foods may be beneficial, along with the herb black cohosh. Maca root has shown to beneficial for balancing testosterone in men and supporting women through the stages of menopause by balancing hormonal processes along the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovarian axis.

To add a simple activity, or lack there of; balance yin during the height of yang and rest from the hours of 11am to 1 pm. Relaxing at midday tells your body to store yang instead of spending it. This helps to preserve yin and yang and really, who doesn’t love a peaceful summer nap!