Gathering the Harvest - The Earth Month of 戊戌 and the Five Element Teaching
The leaves are turning. The air has sharpened. The mornings carry a crispness that wasn't there two weeks ago. And somewhere beneath all of it, something ancient is happening - the great gathering-in that defines this part of the year.
October brings us into 戊戌 (Wu Xu) - the Yang Earth and Earth Dog month. A series of Fire months has finally come to an end. After Fire burns, ash is left on the ground and eventually returns to Earth. The cycle completes itself.
This is the Earth season, and the ancient Chinese medical classics have a great deal to say about how we should live within it.
What the Huangdi Neijing Teaches
The Huangdi Neijing (黄帝内经), or The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, is an ancient Chinese medical text compiled more than 2,000 years ago. It gives us beautiful guidance on how we should live during autumn:
「秋三月，此謂容平。天氣以急，地氣以明。早臥早起，與雞俱興。使志安寧，以緩秋刑。收斂神氣，使秋氣平。無外其志，使肺氣清。此秋氣之應，養收之道也。」
"The three months of autumn are the time of settling and maturity. Heaven's Qi becomes brisk, while Earth's Qi becomes clear and bright. Go to bed early and rise early, arising with the rooster. Allow the mind and intention to become peaceful and tranquil, easing the severity of autumn. Gather and draw the Shen and Qi inward so that you may remain harmonious with the Qi of autumn. Do not allow your intention to wander outward, and keep the Lung Qi clear. This is the way of responding to the Qi of autumn - the way of nourishing and gathering inward."
The important message here is 收 (Shou) - to gather, collect, and bring inward.
As we move through this Earth month and closer to winter, perhaps we do not need to keep adding more to our lives. Try finishing something you have already started. Clearing clutter from one area of your home. Returning to regular meal and sleep times. Choosing warm seasonal foods. Taking a quiet walk in the crisp autumn air. Or simply spending a little time without your phone or other distractions.
Autumn teaches us to gather our Qi in preparation for winter's 藏 (Cang), or storage.
Instead of asking "What else should I be doing?" perhaps we can ask "What can I simplify, complete, and bring home?"
Earth: The Centre of the Five Elements
Among the Five Elements, Earth has a very special place.
Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water represent energies and movements of the Universe. When we speak of Wood Energy, for example, we are not literally talking about wood or trees. Wood is a metaphor used by the ancient sages to describe a particular movement within the laws and cycles of the Universe. It represents an expanding energy - a movement that emerges as contracted, inward Yin transforms toward expanding, outward Yang.
The Five Elements gave the ancient sages a language through which these movements and relationships could be observed, understood, and discussed.
The energies of Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water move through the Universe, reach the Earth, interact with it, and continue their cycles.
Earth is the centre where these different movements can meet, mingle, transform, and harmonize.
In this sense, Earth contains something of all the other energies while expressing its own unique qualities of balance, integration, nourishment, and unity.
Why Earth Teaches Us About Harvest
This is why Earth Energy can teach us so much about harvest and gathering.
Nothing grows through one energy alone. A vegetable needs warmth and sunlight, water, minerals, the movement of life, and the Earth that receives and integrates them all. A harvest is the result of many different forces working together.
This is also why Earth months feel the way they do. There is a sense of things coming together - the fruits of the whole year's cycle landing in one place, finally ready to be gathered.
If spring is about planting and summer about growing, autumn is about receiving. The question is no longer "What will I grow?" It becomes "What has grown?"
Gathering Doesn't Only Mean a Dinner Table
Earth Energy is also about mingling and mixing.
With Thanksgiving coming up, this can be a wonderful opportunity to plan a gathering, share food, and spend time with family or friends.
And if you would rather spend an autumn day without humans, that is completely understandable - I would be perfectly happy having my own gathering with dogs and goats. Gathering does not have to mean a crowded dinner table. It can simply mean spending time with the beings, places, and things that make you feel connected and grounded.
The important thing is the gathering itself, the small act of pulling yourself and the things you love into one place for a little while.
Match Your Pace with the Earth
Most importantly, this month is not about rushing forward.
It is about slowing down, looking around, and matching our speed with the Earth and the Universe.
Sit outside for a while and simply observe. How fast is the wind blowing? How quickly is the river flowing? How slowly are the leaves changing colour and falling from the trees?
Nature does not rush simply because our calendars are full.
Listen to the Earth. Notice its rhythm. Rather than asking nature to move at our speed, see what happens when we begin to move at hers.
Gratitude as Earth Medicine
Earth also reminds us of gratitude - gratitude toward the Earth that supports us, toward the Universe and its continual movements, toward the people and animals with whom we share our lives, and toward ourselves for being part of it all.
Look back at what you have already grown this year. Your harvest may not be something you can hold in your hands. It may be a relationship, an experience, a lesson, a change you made, or simply something you survived and learned from.
Before looking for the next thing to grow, take a moment to appreciate what is already here.
The Simple Message of Wu Xu
So perhaps the message of this 戊戌 Earth month can be very simple:
Don't add more. Gather what you already have.
Don't scatter your Qi. Bring it home.
Nourish the centre. Settle the Shen.
Finish what is unfinished. Prepare for winter's storage.
Just as nature begins drawing its resources inward, we can do the same.
Slow down. Look around. Gather. Give thanks. Listen to the Earth - and come back to your centre.
Or feel free to text 519-781-6957 or email info@trilliumchinesemedicine.com with any questions.
May this October be the quietest, most grounded month of your year.