Autumn Feng Shui In Your Environment
Autumn is in the air in the northern hemisphere and with it all the brilliant colors, scents and flavors of the season. As trees and plants prepare to go inward for the winter, they send out acorns, berries, pine cones and brilliant foliage during shortened daylight hours. Colorful pumpkin, squash and root vegetables are bountiful, allowing us to eat in season and the animal kingdom to store food and shelter for the coming winter. These gifts of nature adorn the landscape, nourish the body’s yin chi and warm the cooling environment in shades of crimson, gold, orange, purple and green. Autumn is the season to gather the dwindling harvest, plan how your time is best spent and share whatever warmth you can with others. Indoors, signs and symbols of autumn also make beautiful arrangements and serve as a reminder of time and nature’s ever-changing cycles.
Autumn’s element is Metal, engendered by earth and linked to the evening hours, setting sun, clarity, structure and purity. This is purposeful, alchemal energy that slowly transforms, moving back toward its source (Earth) in a never-ending cycle. In autumn, there is no time to waste readying for winter’s deep, placid Water season, but your activities should be more strategic in now. You may want to keep that in mind when decorating your home or business, especially if you are trying to grow or expand your ambitions or career.
For example, it is best to avoid dreary, lifeless scenes and lots of twigs, hay and dried flower arrangements in your surroundings since Feng Shui teaches these once living plants represent the past rather than the future and may counter your attempts to move forward and grow. Instead, choose colorful natural fresh mums, pine branches, pumpkins, berries, leaves and cabbages for display and bring nature’s bounty indoors with you. Clear clutter wherever it exists for Metal chi encourages you to function efficiently with minimal distractions. If your physical space is disorganized, you may find it difficult to get things done, manage others, live up to your responsibilities and commitments and harmonize your relationship between work and home life. These transitions are easier when you can see the path set out clearly in front of you and a little bit of planning goes a long way.
It is also helpful in autumn to spend as much time as possible in natural outdoor spaces. The terrain has changed and you might notice things in scarcity that looked differently in summer when canopies block out the shape and wonder of trees. The woods too are teeming with life in transition and offer the gifts of nature that help us to thrive.
Wishing you good chi,
Diane Gallin, CFSC
