Water is Medicine
Taking a moment to revisit the basics of life
Hello, new year! Another Winter Solstice has come and gone. This evening as I was driving home from visiting my mom, I suddenly realized that it was after 5PM and there was still some light in the sky. Hallelujah!Â
As the new year begins in New Jersey, the natural world lays in rest, waiting for the call of warmer days… And me too! The holidays can already be stressful, but add in a few variables that are out of your control and now you’re talking. The week of Christmas was greeted by a massive, record-breaking storm system. First, strong winds from the approaching storm knocked our power out for a night & day. Then on Christmas Eve, when the lights finally came back on, the temperature plunged almost 30 degrees within a couple of hours and the world froze solid… including our pipes, some of which gave out and cracked. That was fun!
Usually, that level of stress would totally fry my nervous system, leave my immune system vulnerable, and result in an acute infection. I tend to be sickly and melancholy in the cold months, something that I have been actively working on this year with holistic herbal protocols. In this culture we are obsessed with polar plunges, freezing showers, etc. but personally, I am a big proponent of hot baths and saunas in cold weather, especially when I’m starting to feel run down. Something so simple can help so much.
Systemic patterns in the mind, body, and soul are not altered overnight but, for the record, I’ve certainly been feeling better than usual. Which is a good sign! You can only help to heal others as far as you’ve healed yourself. My herbal studies, as well as the apothecary, are coming along and I have started practicing with clients (internally). More on that coming soon! It’s going to be a good year.
In the spirit of fresh beginnings, I wanted to start off this year talking about one of the most basic requirements of life, and something that I have been focusing on alot to get me through this winter: Water.
2023 is ruled by the water element, according to the Chinese zodiac. If the last number of the year is…
0 or 1, the element is metal.
2 or 3, the element is water.Â
4 or 5, the element is wood.Â
6 or 7, the element is fire.
8 or 9, the element is earth.
It’s something that’s easy to overlook on a planet that is about 70% covered in the stuff. But water is an absolutely magical substance! It is both the medium and the container of life on Earth- we are water. It is the first substance to fill our lungs yet, once we take our very first breath of oxygen, we would drown from doing so. Still, water is what sustains us. Too much water? We die. Too little water? We die. Water is not forceful, yet it has the power to cleanse, shape, heal, and destroy. Water is incredibly powerful, though it possesses a neutral electrical charge. It is one of the only substances on this planet that exists as a solid, a liquid and a gas.
In vitalist herbalism, we view each element as a living consciousness. We also see how each element relates to a part of ourselves, in both a physical and spiritual sense. So how do we, as humans, embody water? Water corresponds not only with how hydrated we are, but also to our emotional flow.Â
Emotional flow being measured by like, how able are we to stay buoyant in times of hardship and distress. Do our days drift with comfort and ease, or are they stiff or swampy? Do our thoughts ebb and flow, or do they swell or flicker out? Take a moment and think about that.
In astrology, the Moon corresponds to water. The Moon governs the tides of our oceans, as well as our emotions. Which makes sense because again, humans- like our planet- consist mostly of water. Our Moon sign is said to represent the expression of our emotional life. The full Wolf Moon in Cancer is tomorrow, the first full moon of 2023. Cancer is the cardinal water sign. :)
Ancient wisdom suggests experiencing water when we are feeling ungrounded, dry, obstructed, vulnerable, hardened, etc.. To be in touch with the water in ourselves, we need to interact and connect with water. We can do this with simply a little intention. Visit a body of water. Submerge yourself in water. Drink water. Know that we are all connected, by water.
So happy 2023, friends! This year are you going to sink… or float?