Note: I’ve been reading and listening to podcasts about Astrology lately. There is something familiar about learning the significations of planets, signs, houses, transits, etc. East Asian medicine—which includes the study of acupuncture, herbalism, biomedicine, and metaphysics—has particular cosmological correlations based on astronomy. While there are differences between Western and Chinese astrology, it has been exciting to find the similarities. Today’s letter weaves in some of this learning through a brief discussion on the energetics of the season, as best as I currently understand it.
A song to set the vibe:
Outside my window, the sky is a chalky gray. I can see the veins of trees in the distance; their leaves now provide sustenance for the earth. I am covered head to toe in a soft, warm blanket. It reminds me of the hazy sky. The chills and achy feeling I’ve had all weekend have slightly subsided, thanks to the warmth. The flu made its rounds through our home this season, and thankfully, we are equipped with good medicine. As I sip my tea, I think of people displaced from their homes and witness my gratitude transform into grief. Time passes, and the sky, still gray, holds more contrast. Looking out is also looking in.
When the sky is gray, it is often referred to as a “Yin Day,” in Chinese medicine. The hazy atmosphere, thick with large water molecules, scatters the light. Water is a powerful source, and for the next several months, we’ll be guided by its wisdom. On December 21st, we welcomed the Winter Solstice, which marks the longest night of the year and ushers in a seasonal shift. In the northern hemisphere, we are hunkering down and moving inward through the colder months. On December 26th, during the last week of 2023, the last Full Moon of the year will enter the sign of Cancer. As we close out the year of the Rabbit there is an opportunity to explore both the known and unknown aspects of life. Here, we can assess how our relationships influence decisions, and, ultimately, impact the outcomes of our choices. We might consider where challenges emerge, with whom, and in what environment.
Nestled between the Winter Solstice and the Full Moon in Cancer, we arrive at the final reading. Appropriately, we close out the series on “nature writing,” with “Naturing Writing is Survival Writing: On Rethinking a Genre” by science journalist Michelle Nijhuis. In her essay, Nijhuis calls for an overhaul of the genre that has been historically exclusive, predominately white and male. Centering narratives of the privileged never leads to liberation, as Nijhuis writes, “Meanwhile, writers in every genre and discipline are wrestling with the relationship between humans and the rest of life, recognizing that while writing about other species is often about wonder and uplift, it is also, inevitably, about survival—the survival of all species, including our own.” Curating and writing this series has taught me that there is always more than one way to approach a situation or a solution. There are always myriad ways to have a conversation, including how we utilize language to communicate and convey meaning.
I’ll close out today’s letter with a question I am sitting with:
Is there tension between my desire to achieve and be witnessed, and how I care for myself? If so, how can I transform it?
Thank you for traversing through this series with me over the last five months. It has been a pleasure to be in conversation with you, to reflect, and to share. Next week’s missive will index all the writings in the series. After that, I’ll be back the second week in January in time for the first New Moon of 2024, in the sign of steadfast Capricorn.
Many blessings to you and yours!
With gratitude,
Christian
Updates
None to share at the moment.
Reading
I’m currently reading Post Colonial Astrology: Reading the Planets through Capital, Power, and Labor, by Alice Sparkly Kat. It is replete with information and insight. I am taking my time with this one!
Creating
I’ve managed to get in a doodle or two here and there in between wrapping up year-end obligations and getting over the flu.
Thank you, Christian. I soaked up this piece, and have book marked your more recent piece too for future reading.
Kathryn, thank you for reading. It means a lot to me, and I appreciate you. Many blessings!