This is the time of the Autumnal Equinox where the day and the night are of equal duration. It is a time to seek more balance in our lives. In general, the weather is milder than it has been or will be, so our energy level may be affected. It is harvest time both on the inner and outer planes. Nature is preparing to go dormant. We are pausing before the holiday season with it's round of social activities. I feel the holiday season starts with Halloween, but for others, it starts with Thanksgiving.
Physically, this is a good time to do detoxifying cleanses which should be done when the weather is not extreme, so that there is less stress on the body. I plan to do one starting next week for five days, and we'll see how that goes.
Astrologically, with the equinox, we moved into Libra which is characterized by the scales. This relates to ourselves as social beings. It is important to strive for a balance between our inner and outer lives - a balance between time spent alone and with others - a balance between giving and receiving.
These flower essences from the Flower Essence Society can help with achieving balance. When I recommend these essence each week, I do not mean to imply that all you have to do is take the essences and magically your life will change. Rather they serve as energetic boosters to intentions you may already be working on in other ways. I also do not wish to suggest that any of the issues relate to you at this time or ever. If something is relevant and you feel inclined to explore how essences might support your process, I invite you to try them and see what happens. In most cases, there are other essences that deal with the same issue. The ones I feature are the ones that have been selected. If you are interested in learning more I invite you to read the suggested books or take some classes yourself.
Corn Zea Mays (yellow-white)Positive qualities: Alignment with Earth, especially through the body and feet; grounded presence.
Patterns of Imbalance: Inability to stay centered in the body; disorientation and stress, particularly in urban environments.
The Corn essence addresses the soul's need for spaciousness -- its desire to live freely within the vast matrix of Nature and Cosmos. It is especially helpful for those ancient souls who find it extremely painful to "contract" into the modern conditions of living. They naturally prefer rural or uncrowded areas where they can feel in harmonious communion with the Earth. But these persons must also grow and evolve, learning how to make the body itself a microcosm of the Earth. The whole body, but especially the hands and feet, must learn to radiate this grounded spirituality. Without this shift in consciousness, the natural healing and teaching capacities which many of these souls harbor within them are never fully realized. Such individuals feel a great deal of pain and discomfort in the congestion and chaos of urban and technological environments or in any restricted living situations; and yet it is often necessary for them to experience just these conditions in order to promote the transition from a macrocosmic to microcosmic soul consciousness. Corn helps to balance and guide the soul in expressing its vast spiritual nature through the limitations of the physical world and physical body.
Morning Glory Ipomoea purpurea (blue)
Positive qualities: Sparkling vital force, feeling awake and refreshed, in touch with Life.
Patterns of Imbalance: Dull, toxic, or "hung over," inability to fully enter the body, especially in the morning; addictive habits.
The soul must be constantly be on guard to align its astral body with its physical/etheric components. The astral (or star) body is naturally akin to the forces of night, and, if left unregulated, will not hesitate to devour the etheric (or life) body. Individuals with this imbalance typically crave late-night activity and have erratic eating and sleeping rhythms. The etheric body is more akin to the forces of day-time, especially early morning, and is greatly abused by such astrality. If such abuse continues over a long period of time, the individual will experience increasing difficulty incarnating in the body, not only in the morning, but throughout the day. Unable to use the natural energy of the etheric body, the person will crave stimulants such as caffeine, and in extreme cases, cocaine or amphetamines. As this astrality continues to predominate, the individual will display increasing erratic patterns, possibly deteriorating into destructive and violent tendencies. Many levels of physical illness may occur, especially compromised immune response, nerve depletion, and disturbances in vital organs such as the liver. Morning Glory helps the soul come to greater awareness and respect for life and the life processes of the body. The individual learns to adjust its rhythm so that it is more in tune with cycles of Nature. Through Morning Glory, the soul learns to experience more natural states of energy, and thus the gift of life itself.
Mugwort Artemisia douglasiana (yellow)Positive qualities: Integrating psychic and dream experiences with daily life; multi-dimensional consciousness.
Patterns of imbalance: Inability to harmonize psychic forces, tendency to hysteria or emotionality, overactive psychic life out of touch with the physical world.
The soul is only half alive if it does not experience itself when asleep. The body may vegetate during sleep, but the soul has the capacity to awaken to another dimension of life. Mugwort enhances the receptive quality of the psyche, allowing greater awareness of dreams, so that the Self can gain insight about the affairs of daily life and can access guidance and direction from the spiritual world. This essence particularly helps the soul to navigate within the flow of psychic life, so that it is neither lost nor overwhelmed. It helps to balance transitions between day and night consciousness, assisting the individual to remain connected in a healthy way with the practical physical world. This balance is very important, for when the moon forces become too predominant or inappropriately expressed, the soul becomes irrational, hysterical or overly emotional. Mugwort helps to direct the psychic life into its proper sphere, gradually opening the soul to expanded consciousness.
Nicotiana Nicotiana alata (white)(Flowering Tobacco)
Positive qualities: Peace which is deeply centered in the heart; integration of physical and emotional well-being through harmonious connection with the Earth.
Patterns of Imbalance: Numbing of the emotions accompanied by mechanization or hardening of the body; inability to cope with deep feeling and finer sensibilities.
In the struggle to achieve balance, the soul needs to receive strength and stability from the Earth. However, if the heart is not sufficiently engaged in this process the finer etheric sensibilities and feeling may be stymied.
While the flower essence of Nicotiana is strongly indicated for those who are healing their addiction to tobacco, it also has a much wider application, representing a soul condition which pervades the whole of modern culture. Nicotiana is a very important remedy for the heart, helping it to find true energy and sustenance which is not divorced from the life of feelings. It is very helpful for those who cope by numbing their feelings, hiding behind a tough or "cool" persona, or for those who seek stimulants of any kind that harden or falsify the body's experience of the Earth. The flower essence of Nicotiana re-instills the true spiritual teaching of the Tobacco plant, which is used reverently and judiciously in peace pipe ceremonies by Native Americans. This teaching is that real peace arises from being able to feel deeply with the heart, and that these deep feelings give us our true connection to the Earth and all living beings.
Excerpted from The Flower Essence Repertory by Patricia Kaminski and Richard Katz
Photos from the Flower Essence Society website.
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