In numerology 2021 is said to be a year of the universal 5, resonating with the energies of freedom and change.  According to numerologist Felicia Bender "Overall, the 5 Universal Year is a time demanding change on a radical level."  
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You can read more about what this means on her page here but what this means for most of us on personal level is that the blanket is being shaken.  Our comfort zone hasn't been comfortable for a while now, the global pandemic one major factor affecting all our lives.  Instability, unpredictability, disruption are a given, but all create opportunities for evolution, expansion and transformation.
 
One of my favourite astrologers Alchemise offers that 'the power of 5 will be a vibrational reminder of the power of creativity and your own creative life force.'

Five Element acupuncture is at its very essence a transformative medicine.  It can transform dis-ease and imbalance into health and harmony.  Not only that but one of the fundamentals of this system of medicine is the Creative Cycle, or the five phases that tell of the never-ceasing transformation of yin to yang and yang to yin.  The cycle of the seasons ever-creative but also ever-destructive; both healthy, both necessary.

This Creative Cycle - and its counterpart, the Destructive Cycle - are also at work, or at play, within all of us.  We are microcosms of the macrocosm after all, so it would be arrogant to assume we are above the laws of nature!  But, being human, we resist both of these things at times.  Man has become accustomed to feeling he has mastery over nature.  Change and transformation can be uncomfortable, demanding.  Destruction or letting go of that which no longer serves us can make us feel fearful of what we are losing rather than curious about what we are making room for.  

So could Five Element acupuncture be the ultimate medicine for this time?  At its very heart is the teaching that we are offering a way to allow people to return to their true, authentic self and inviting them to live in a way that is a true, healthy expression of that self.   Living in this way gives us incredible strength as well as a trust in the process of life that helps us embrace the full, messy, human experience.

It helps us live with courage, creativity, love, security, humility, strength, a deep knowing that whatever life brings we can be ok.   It allow us to be fully inside our own 'creative life force'. 

So yes.  The perfect medicine for our time.  The time is now. 

One of the teachings that Five Element acupuncture gives us is that we have everything we need within us.  We are connected to the Mother Earth and the Heavenly Father, living and breathing in  between both, a unique manifestation of Qi.  

It is so easy in life to lose this perspective, which is why being out in nature is so important for our mental, physical and emotional health.  To be in nature, under the sky above, is to essentially spend time with our parents.   It reminds us we are part of something greater that ourselves; that we always have the earth beneath our feet and the sky above our heads; and that whatever else happens that is unchanging.

Of course we also have real world parents, who may not be so silent and accepting, whose love may not be unchanging or unconditional, who may not be so reliable.   Sometimes we look to our partners to provide this for us, or our friends. 

But here's the wonderful thing that we learn.  When we become adults, in full maturity, we realise we are responsible for ourselves and our own mental and emotional health.  We can become our own parents. 

Today, in the grip of a pandemic in the UK, another long lockdown in the middle of Winter, I invite you to be your own Mother if you need reminding that you are loved, supported, held, wonderful, trying your best, finding your way. 

Whether you are struggling with providing for yourself, your family, homeschooling, trying to conceive, trying to find work, trying to cope in a living situation that is challenging, you can turn to yourself for some comfort in a conscious way. 

Here are some ideas for engaging with your inner Mother:
Write yourself a letter, telling yourself all the things a mother would tell her child when she sees it struggling or needing encouragement and love.  Be the mother you need, not necessarily the mother you have!  

Recognise how hard you are trying, how hard it is, how well you are doing, what you are trying to overcome, that there is no perfect way to handle life, that mistakes are OK.  Talk to yourself with compassion, with love, with encouragement and reassurance.  

Give yourself an actual hug.   You know the ones you used to do at school, when you made your mates laugh because you were pretending you were necking?  Same as that.  

Spend some time lovingly massaging your lower abdomen, your womb, where you are connected to the generations before you and the potential for life (not just children), using a sweet essential oil - Coriander Seed, Geranium, Rose (if you can afford a good quality one), Jasmine, Bergamot, Neroli, Ylang Ylang are some of my favourites.  You can use one, or blend two or three together. 

Buy yourself a little something.  A book, a bunch of flowers, a cream cake - something just for you, that you don't need but that you'd like, just for you.  

Being kind and loving to ourselves doesn't always come easy, especially if we have lots of other people to look after.  So here's your reminder.   You are important enough to be taken care of.  And you can take care of yourself. 
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Talk about tough, right?  We are ALL feeling a bit less resilient than usual this Winter.  Indeed some of us are truly struggling, with issues around our mental and emotional health, the realities of our lives under lockdown and the impact of the astonishing twists and turns of global political and environmental factors.

So my main message as we kick off this New Year is to Go Easy.  Winter is a time for deep rest, when the edict of nature is to rest and restore.  

We have a cultural expectation in the West that we should start the year strong, with resolutions to change our lives, our lifestyles, our health, whatever it is we feel like we need to 'fix', but in reality - if we are working in harmony with nature and the energy of the seasons - this is a time to be still, go deep and spend some time considering where and on what we want to spend our energy over the coming year. 

Taking some time for reflection now means we can focus our intention and prioritise what will make us feel more fulfilled or happier in the coming months with clarity.  A pause in the year to catch your breath and assess where you are and where you want to go allows you to be proactive rather than reactive in terms of how the year ahead might look.  Energy flows where intention goes after all!  

Equally important is taking the time to live more quietly and replenish our energy (go to bed earlier, eat warm foods, nourish, nourish, nourish) in order to ensure that when Spring comes and the sap rises we are able to meet the powerful energy of the new season with a renewed sense of purpose and the power to bring our plans to fruition.

Within each season is the harvest of the next.   When we recognise the seasonal cycle and the gifts each brings then we can live in a more powerful way.

So for now?  Go easy.