Summertime, South on the Great Wheel of life,
Home of the Healer archetype
Summertime, South on the Great Wheel of life, is the home of the Healer archetype, one who advocates good relations with both one’s inner family as well as outer family. A healer models quality communication skills and love in action. According to the teachings of White Buffalo Calf Woman, we are all one family…the earth, the stars, the four legged, two legged, winged ones, waters, winds, trees, those that creep and crawl…we are all related and we are to be in good relations. At a cellular, spiritual level, we are the same. South, summer, is the season for advocating our intimate connection with all.
Summer is fire element in the Oriental Five Element health system focuses on the Heart, Small Intestine, Triple Heater and the Pericardium (the liner of the heart). Simply stated the heart is the spiritual center/fulcrum of the body and the small intestine, our ability to digest emotionally what life gives us. Indigenous people speak that fire was a gift from the Creator/God to we ‘two leggeds’ to bring light, warmth and the ability to be fed. Fire is the agent of change.
Our life must have heart and meaning. Literally the heart receives and disperses blood, the essence of aliveness. The small intestine receives nutritional matter and then with help from the kidneys disperses its contents. The healthier foods we consume, the more peace we have while taking in the nutrition and the easier it is for the small intestine to process and move on the fuel for our vitality.
The fire element in the Five Element health system is quite complex as it has a component called the triple heater, which roughly translates as our ability to heat up and cool down with the changing of the seasons and passions. We in the Western world may find this quite foreign. The pericardium, the liner of the heart, figuratively connects with one’s ability to have healthy boundaries, safety. In life through challenging relationships with self, with others, with nature, with spirit and so on, one sometimes incurs violations, misconduct, and illness. Many, after repeated chapters of mistrust and hurt, either consciously or unconsciously go about barricading the heart, putting up blocks that prevent us from feeling connected to another being or situation.
Summertime, the South on the Wheel, the elements of heart, passion and assimilation all demand that each of stop, reconnect with the universal heartbeat that makes us register that if one part of the Circle of Life is hurting, we are all hurting. It is the time to support that which has heart and meaning and can be felt through our senses. The outside nature of Mother Earth reflects the nature of we human’s body, our earth.
Sometimes the lightning bolt figuratively and literally comes down from the heavens and gyrates back to the sky unless something grounds the electricity which will create a fire. Remember when you last felt the singe of the unexpected bolt of energy that came from nowhere? Did your life change?
When water, like the blood of we humans, is depleted it is harder to keep things vitally alive, green. According to the Oriental Five Element Theory, when the water element is out of balance, immediately the fire element is injured. Issues of how one is handling issues of relationships, health and communication are destined to be a priority this summer season
Simply stated, the heart is the spiritual center/fulcrum of the body. Our life must have heart and meaning. Literally the heart receives and disperses blood, the essence of aliveness. The small intestine receives nutritional matter and then with help from the kidneys disperses its contents. The healthier foods we consume, the more peace we have while taking in the nutrition and the easier it is for the small intestine to process and move on the fuel for our vitality. Another way of talking about the small intestine is it is responsible for digesting our emotions. Consuming food when distressed results in health complications. Eating foods that are ‘dead’, laden with toxins or oils or in poor combinations create a great challenge for our body to be nourished. Being dependent on chemicals, whether we call it false spirits (alcohol), strong medicines or sugars challenge our internal organ and glandular system greatly.
I love the Cherokee teachings of the guardians of the directions. My teacher Dhyani Ywahoo, a 27th generation Cherokee medicine women, once told me about the three grandmothers, called guardians, who watch over the South on the wheel. She described them as swaddled in cloth wraps such that only their noses and eyes can be seen. They are in the South because they want to help families, children, loving, and the way of healing harmful patterns to the family of life. Then Dhyani’s voice softened and she whispered, “You know that the guardians are really grandfathers who are tired of the way of war, maiming and killing. They have come from the North, the home of the Warrior, to the South, the home of the healer, where they feel they can be more effective.”
Ah, maybe it is time for each of our own warrior natures to show up in the South to help in the healing process.
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
while loving someone deeply gives you courage. — Lao Tzu
Four Human Resources
Four Arms of love Power*Love*Vision*Wisdom
In life, you will realize there is a role for everyone you meet.
Some will test you, some will love you and other will teach you.
But the ones that are really important are
the ones who bring out the best in you.
They are the rare and amazing people who reminds you why it’s worth it. Jenny McCarthy
