How has this summer been for you? 

Many I have talked to have been through a kind of expansion. That expansion may be personal, emotional, social or all of the above. Whatever the case, it hasn’t always been comfortable or easy. What it has been is necessary. It would have been impossible to get through this summer without growth of some kind, without some form of expansion in the name of embodiment and joy. Maybe we reconnected with ourselves, or broke down old stories that kept us hidden. 

Now as the summer wanes, we encounter the stark reflection of autumn. Maybe that sounds harsh, but autumn will be an opportunity to refine the connection and wisdom we gained from an embodied summer.

Autumn is about refinement, distillation, reflection, clarity and ending. Think of the metal element as a tree pruner. Autumn is a time of judgement, where extraneous stories and aspects of our lives get cut off. Maybe, during summer we recognized a part of us that is no longer authentic and no longer healthy to sustain. Autumn is a time to prune that branch for the sake of the whole tree. 

Autumn will help us to find the true value of relationships and connection.

Late summer is the earth element, a time of transition.

Luckily, we do not fall directly into fall. There is a grace period where we can digest the past few months. The earth element is connected with the stomach and spleen, and is deeply present with all forms of digestion. Digestion is another word for processing that is done on the physical level. Processing is digestion on the mental levels, and comprehension is digestion on the spirit level.

Sometimes this period of earth can feel like being stuck in the mud. So much has happened and we have now entered a kind of retraction. It can feel like a sudden stop and can change the rhythm of our emotions and our lives.

During this time, it is best not to force anything. WE have to waiter clarity to come, for the mud to settle. It is a perfect time to rekindle routines like meditation, yoga and mindfulness. It is a great time to eat warm, cooked foods like sweet potatoes, beans, squash, kitchari. The way we move in earth time should be slow and deliberate. Practices like yin yoga, walking mediation, poetry, forest bathing will amplify their benefits during this time. 

Autumn and the Breath

Autumn is the season of the element of metal. Metal is the substance and vibration that makes up fall, grief, refinement and the lungs

The lungs are the vehicle for heartfelt understanding to pervade our beings

In Chinese medicine, the lungs are called the minister of the heart. The heart itself lives in its chamber, and does not directly influence the outside world. The lungs are the way in which the heart communicates with the body and emotions

The lungs are called the forest canopy of the body.

Think of each in breath as the quality truth from the heart

The breath purveys meaning to the physical body. Without the breath, we immediately die. Without meaning, we whither. Without heavens direction, we fall apart. All of this comes from the pure untainted breath.

In fall we

Accept our emptiness

And the inherent value

That arises from loss

When there is nothing but breath

The light can glow

When the breath is stuck, there is anxiety, ungroundedness, lack of focus.

When the body lacks breath it is numb, heavy, painful.

When the breath enters the body, when all the channels are open through and for the breath, we feel light, in the body and peaceful

The po is the spirit of the Lung.

The Po is an earthly spirit, it thrives in earthly creature comforts— the sun on a rock, a cool stream, touch, fresh air.

When the po is fully empowered, our spirit has an outlet. When the po is blocked, we drown in rumination.

The thinking, churning digestive energy of the earth element must have its outlet into the metal element. The earth element is late summer, metal is fall. Metal distills all the accumulated harvest and information, it transforms raw substance into essence.

Reflections on Summer/Fire Horse 2026

It may be that the fire element will pervade this entire year.  This fiery energy is an opportunity to continue to expand our horizons as it comes to relationships and personal connection. As the summer and fiery season itself wanes, we can begin to rest in a joy that has become stronger, clearer and more reflective of who we are. 

Where before, maybe we chased other peoples ideas of what embodied living looks like. Now, we have a clear view of who we are and what we need. This new knowledge means we can rest in an inner glow, as well as leap at the opportunities that are exciting to us as individuals.

Metal is the perfection of raw material. Metal is like a diamond, carbon under thousands of years of pressure that turns to perfect clarity. This clarity is something that exists within us and our spiritual process. All of the difficulty has been worth it for the sake of the precious gem of clarity.

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