5th Season — Late Summer

The other day I drove to Packwood and back for a gig. It was about 3 hours round trip and on the way there the cloud cover was thin but Mt. Rainier stayed hidden. Returning it rained as the light faded. The cusp from Eastern to Western Washington is a curious place and we are in an almost mischievous time of year. 

According to Chinese thinking there is a 5th season between Summer and Autumn. As per Dr. Elson Haas here are some notable characteristics and associations for this time of year: 

• Element: Earth

• Color: Yellow

• Quality: Transition

• Sense Organ: Mouth/ Taste

• Sound: Singing

• Emotion: Empathy

• Direction: Center

Harvest is soon but not quite here! I can see the butternut squash sizing up but it isn’t time yet. I live on zucchini & eggs. This time of year has substance! It’s not as tired as Fall, inward as Winter, explosive as Spring, or as joyful as Summer, but it is rich in manifestation. The apples are literally almost ripe. Maybe a month? Seasons are fun because they’re ephemeral and this is the briefest of all!

The Autumn Equinox always seems to me like the moment of entering free fall. Here at the end of August we’ve dropped into the darkness slightly but it hasn’t overwhelmed… quite…yet. Now is a time to set intention. A time to fix goals in your mind and prepare for the frigid months. How will this night be passed? The cold and dark can diminish and sap life if you let them but the warmest fires seem to burn on the coldest nights. But that is Winter’s problem! For then we’ll contemplate what now we must activate. 

Now is the time: when your feet leave the ground and the merry-go-round is flying; when the ball leaves your hand; when the chord is half strummed. It’s the moment the leaf is leaving the branch, not yet fallen, like a final breath before beginning to speak. 

Darkness and fire later! Now, spark!