I am rearranging the furniture in my house to make space for the crone. Her fierceness. Her wisdom. Her magic. As the natural world turns towards the cooler, darker months I am slipping into my snake skinned robe, lined with tufts of velvet, trimmed with eagle feathers, amethyst & artemisia .

Every transition brings complexity & opportunity. In Chinese Medicine, the yin principle declines as we age. The yin principle represents cooling, nourishing, moistening, suppleness, blood, hormones, collagen & fluids. The myriad symptoms that (may) arrive in menopause - hot flashes, night sweats, dryness, insomnia, low libido, anxiety, poor focus, poor memory, thinning hair, less resilience in body, dry scalp, etc - are the expression of yin deficiency.

Daoist philosophy reminds us that we are nature. We wax and wane. Ebb and flow. Expand and contract. The moon pulls on the tides of our emotions and fluids. The pulse of our living is (still) imbued with the silent cycles of seasons, stars, sun and moon. We experience seasons of lack and seasons of abundance. Every sentient being is a dynamic dance of heaven and earth.

How do we move from the dark, quiet cave of winter to the exuberance of spring in a thoughtful way? We do it with care and kindness. We honor the wisdom of Nature, of body, of soul. We make space to slowly wander out among the still bare trees. We feel the frozen earth thawing into mud beneath our feet. We ground ourselves with calming practices like meditation, tai chi and gentle yoga.