Energetic Fall Begins August 7 According to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Why So Soon?

On August 7 we are entering the energetic season of the Metal element or “energetic Fall” according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM); these are factors in your selection of the right skincare products.

The proper PHYTO5 product selection contributes to improving your vital energy balance which is a a most desirable precondition to health and wellness. But the timing of the start of energetic Fall, August 7, seems to be off since we are still experiencing the very hot days of Summer, at least for a few more weeks in most of the Northern parts of the U.S. and well beyond the end of August for the southern region. So in order to respond to many of our readers and consumers of PHYTO5 energetic products, we’re addressing the question: How do the five energetic seasons relate to the traditional four-season pattern?

Clearly the 365 days of the year cannot be divided into four traditional seasons and at the same time correspond to the energetic calendar which divides the same period into five energetic seasons.

First, let’s remember that the traditional four seasons are defined by the apparent movement of the sun. At its apex we have maximum sun exposure with maximum amount of heat and light. At its nadir,* we have the minimum amount of heat and of light. And, of course, what the apex is to the northern hemisphere, the nadir is to the southern hemisphere. When it is Summer in the U.S., it’s Winter in Australia. And in similar fashion when the apparent movement of the sun crosses the equator, we experience the start of Spring in March and Fall in September, respectively. The reverse is true for the Southern hemisphere.

The TCM calendar is also regulated by the effect of the apparent movement of the sun by way of the cyclical movement of yin/yang: The sun at its apex corresponds to the maximum yang energy/minimum yin energy (peak of Fire season) and at its nadir, maximum yin/minimum yang energy (peak of Winter).

The Spring is the emerging of yang out of the yin of Winter and the Fall is the diminishing yang energy of Summer allowing for the emergence of the yin energy.

The big difference between the two calendars springs from the TCM consideration that seasonal energy cannot suddenly disappear to make room for the sudden emergence of the energy of the next season. The rule of nature calls for a transition from one energy to the next. This calls for four transitional periods which altogether amount to the fifth season named Earth—the four periods of the year when yin and yang energies are in balance. Each of the five seasons last approximately 72 days and the Earth season is four times 18 days between:

• Winter/Water and Spring/Wood

• Spring and Summer/Fire

• Summer and Metal/Fall

• Fall and Winter/Water. 

Think of each season resulting from a surge and a slowdown of complementary yin and yang energies involved in a constant energetic dance. Each seasonal pattern becomes the cause of the climatic changes brought about by each season. Let’s call them the effects or symptoms of each season in order to differentiate them from the energetic cause of each season. 

The initial energetic surge does not produce a visible effect right away. There is a lag in time. As the new energy pattern is at work, with one energy ascending while the other descends, there is an acceleration in force reflected by the appearance of the typical effects and characteristics of each season. We could call them symptoms such as heat/cold, dryness/humidity, wind/precipitation as opposed to the seasonal energetic cause resulting from the yin/yang yearly cycle. 

There is also a lag in time on the way out of an energetic season. What we continue to feel and experience as we enter energetic Fall on August 7 is the momentum of the energy causing a continuation of the effects or symptoms of the ending Summer season although the energy of the new Fall energetic season is already at work but has not yet materialized its own seasonal symptoms or effects.

As the yang energy of Summer and the Fire element ebbs bringing about an increase in yin energy, there is a moment when both  yin and yang are in balance, yet the effects of the Summer/yang energy has such momentum that the effects of Summer continue to be felt although the Summer energetic pattern has already vanished to transform into the Fall energy that will be showing its effects progressively during energetic Fall. 

Here is an analogy that might help.

Imagine a jogger pushing a baby carriage on a flat and smooth surface. Now imagine that the jogger suddenly stops running as he or she releases the carriage. Because of momentum the carriage will continue to roll forward for some distance although no one is pushing it. The same is true with the ending seasonal effect of each energetic season. It overlaps into the next season.

Our clients in various parts of the U.S. or internationally frequently remark:

Your explanation of the five seasons might be realistic in the northern regions but in the South we only have two seasons such as “hot and hotter” or “rain and dryness.”

Yet energetically speaking everyone experiences the same energetic pattern though with differences in intensity of the effects/symptoms. This is because all parts of the globe are under the influence of the sun and its apparent movement. No region of the world is immune.

This massive energy drives climate differences with degrees of intensity and duration mitigated by secondary causes such as mountains and oceans.  

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* the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer; the opposite of zenith.

“I and my family lived in Hawaii for several years having come from New England. We arrived there just before Christmas and my children were delighted to go to the beach every day after school year-round for the first couple of years. By the third year we started to feel the effects of Winter and would joke that the surfers without a wetsuit in February or March were either from Canada or Chicago! We were slowly adapting to the local climate and our bodies were reckoning with the effect of Winter energy even in Hawaii.”