On Episode 1: Justin interviews Acupuncturist and Herbalist Claire Wigglesworth to discuss the transition into Wood Season (Spring) from the perspective of Chinese Medicine and the 5 Elements. Claire shares the wisdom of how this season shows up in our minds, bodies and spirits, as well as tips for how to work with this new energy. Justin also speaks to the astrology of this Spring season and what that might mean for us on an individual level.
Topics discussed:
Links:
http://instagram.com/shenmoonmedicine - Claire's Instagram
http://www.shenmoonmedicine.com - Claire's Website
https://hawthornrising.com - Justin's Website
https://hawthornrising.com/book-now/ - Book a Reading with Justin
On Episode 1: Justin interviews Acupuncturist and Herbalist Claire Wigglesworth to discuss the transition into Wood Season (Spring) from the perspective of Chinese Medicine and the 5 Elements. Claire shares the wisdom of how this season shows up in our minds, bodies and spirits, as well as tips for how to work with this new energy. Justin also speaks to the astrology of this Spring season and what that might mean for us on an individual level.
Topics discussed:
Links:
http://instagram.com/shenmoonmedicine - Claire's Instagram
http://www.shenmoonmedicine.com - Claire's Website
https://hawthornrising.com - Justin's Website
https://hawthornrising.com/book-now/ - Book a Reading with Justin
Justin Plunkett:
Hello, Hello, and welcome to the first episode of Nectar of the Heart. I'm your host, Justin of Hawthorn Rising Astrology + Apothecary. And I'm so glad that you're here. The intention of the show is pretty simple. I just want to have meaningful conversations and heart to hearts with friends and people that I admire in hopes of giving your mind and heart something valuable to listen to. The episodes on this podcast will cover a wide variety of topics ranging from astrology, herbalism, living in tune with nature and the seasons, Earth-based knowledge, and more.
On today's episode, I spoke with one of my really good friends, Claire Wigglesworth, and we discussed this time of year that we're in right now, the transition into spring. Claire is an amazing acupuncturist, so we discussed the season of spring from the perspective of Chinese medicine and the five elements. This episode is so good. It's filled with so much wisdom and how this turning of the wheel can show up in our minds and bodies and spirits, and I'm super excited for you all to hear it. With that being said, thanks for being here and let's get into the episode.
Hey, Claire, welcome to the show!
Claire Wigglesworth:
Hey, there!
Justin Plunkett:
Thanks so much for coming on and being here and being my first guest. It feels really good to have you as the first guest. I mean, we've known each other for what, like, almost six years at this point? So…
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah!
Justin Plunkett:
…or going on six years, and through that process, I've been able to see you go through your schooling with acupuncture and Chinese medicine. So it just felt like the right move to bring you on and have this discussion. And I guess—just a little intro to the concept of this episode—
especially in astrology, too, when we go through these seasonal changes in the year, it's definitely big transition moments, and I think it's seasonal living and seasonal changes are something pretty universal to most people, unless you're living in a place that kind of gravitates towards one or two of the seasons. But, yeah, I think it's something universal for us all. And so hopefully the intention of this episode—or the effect of this episode—will be how to harmonize with that change. And me being an astrologer, I've always kind of looked at the world through the four elements and then through my journey with going to acupuncture for some of my health stuff, it's been so cool to learn a little bit more about the five elements and just like, “Whoa, there can be five and not four?" And through that process, yeah, I've just loved how holistic of a worldview it is, and the ways that we can overlay that same understanding on so many different areas of life. So I'm really excited to get into this with you. Yeah, I mean, Chinese medicine and acupuncture has definitely been the most holistic healing that I've experienced in my life. So, yeah, hopefully a little bit of that comes through today and what we're going to share. So go ahead and introduce yourself in whatever way feels best.
[3:50]
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah. Thanks, Justin. Yeah, thanks so much for having me here. I feel really blessed and honored to be your first guest, and I thought it came at the perfect time. You know, you like “I'm starting this podcast, do you want to be my guest?” And with this springtime energy, it's all about, like, creativity and new ideas, and I was kind of in a similar space in my life, feeling really inspired about my herbal medicine business. So it just felt really aligned with the seasons and with both of our backgrounds to just come together and talk about this medicine and this part of the cycle. So I'll talk a little bit about how I got into Chinese medicine…I was first exposed to it through a five element school. Basically the five elements is focusing on the movement of the cycles of nature, the seasons. And I saw this program and was like, “Oh, my gosh, I can study, you know, the springtime? and how that looks in my body? and my homework can be to like… sit and observe a tree? and — and how that feels in my body? Like, please sign me up!”
Justin Plunkett:
Yes!
Claire Wigglesworth:
You know? So like, that foundation was all about just witnessing the seasons and then kind of like superimposing the way that observing the seasons outside shows up in our bodies on a day to day basis, on the yearly cycle, then our entire life cycles. The springtime being like birth and childhood and this expansive upward rising energy. So, yeah, I just felt so inspired by the fact that Chinese medicine, a lot of it, is just about our connection with the Earth and with nature and basically mimicking or allowing and witnessing how our bodies mimic the movements of nature.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. And like, the movements of the heavens too, right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely. It's all about us being us—“man”—humans being this conduit between heaven and Earth and this kind of in between, and so I feel like that also mirrors astrology and that relationship.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, definitely. I've been reading a little bit of I mean, I'm just starting the book, but it's like a comprehensive guide on Chinese astrology. And I kind of just got it in passing as, like, a Christmas gift a few years ago randomly, when someone was shopping at a used bookstore, and they got it for me, and I was like, “Oh, my gosh, I don't know if I can open this book. I still have so much to learn about the astrology that I'm learning.” But one day I just decided to open it and I've been drawing some really cool conclusions or comparisons between the two, and it's really cool to see that.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely.
[7:15]
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, and I think we wanted to kind of qualify, too, that the intention here is to provide a little bit of our perspective. But of course, that's not our perspective alone, you know? We kind of wanted to say that we're two white people that have been influenced by this medicine and have had a lot of healing from it, but it's of course not our own thing, and there's already a pretty intense racial history of acupuncture in America—I guess more so TCM specifically, if you want to expand on that. But yeah, just that the intention here is not to cause any harm, but to just provide some perspective.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely. And just to acknowledge that this isn't our culture, and it's a really beautiful medicine that has impacted both of our lives in a big way, and so… honoring the roots of where this medicine came from and where this inspiration came from.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, and like, who knows? I would love to have someone on sometime that it is their medicine but, it is my first episode…so let me just go with someone that I know.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely.
Justin Plunkett:
Okay, let's get into it and let's talk about the five elements and what they are, who they are, the whole lens and everything.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, sure. So I wanted to preface with saying when we talk about the five elements, also known as the five cycles or changes, I can — I sometimes might use the word springtime energy. And that's synonymous with the wood energy. So the wood is the element, and then the spring is the season. And so the cycle of the seasons is known as the Sheng cycle. So…Wood feeds into fire, the Wood creates the fire. Then the fire decomposes into the Ash, which is the Earth. Then the Earth turns into the Metal, it compresses into these fine metals, and then the Metal moves into the Water element, which is the winter.
So right now we're in this time of emerging from the winter, which is the utmost Yin time. So that was a time of—you know—really being slow and internal inside of our bodies, kind of letting the seeds rest through the winter. Like outside everything looks dead, but really it's just deep, deep in the Earth and kind of rejuvenating waiting for the warmth of the springtime. So, the seeds kind of just resting in there, waiting to emerge comes spring time. Also, like, all of these ideas and plans and new life and birth that's been not quite ready to emerge is now coming out with all the little sprouts and flowers and the trees and all the green that's coming! And it's just like this upward-rising, young, and expansive energy that we're seeing right now.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, and I love that you pointed that out about how things might look dead in the winter, but it's more of like a dormant sea state or it's more of the inward. It's like bringing the life down into the middle to protect it. And then it's like, “Okay, now there's more life around me again, things are green and it's warm enough, I'll bring the life back out.”
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. It's like that conserving of the energy before we had refrigerators and the grocery store and all these things, people would can everything from the summer and late summer seasons. You know: can it, store it, like the squirrels collecting all their acorns and nuts over the winter so that they can survive through the winter.
[11:43]
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. So tell us a little bit more about the perspective of the water element. That relates to the kidneys, is that right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right, so the water element relates to the kidneys and the bladder. So the kidneys are kind of our innate energy, like the energy that we've been born with that's given to us from our parents. And so, during the winter (and all the time) it's important to not just be using all of our kidney energy sporadically day to day. It's good to have Yin time. Have time of slowness and mindfulness to make sure that we don't just use up all of that energy early in our life and then decline quicker. It's about conserving and moving slowly, self care, you know? Taking time to—in a world that's so busy and so young, and all about production and creation—it’s taking the time to be still, and to be slow, and to witness. Just to really slow down and take care is important for the winter time and for the kidneys all throughout the year.
Justin Plunkett:
And it sounds more like a still water, than like a moving water.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
And I guess if you think about winter, that's what happens with the water, like snow or ice, right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, right.
Justin Plunkett:
It’s like a slower, stiller water, rather than like a moving rapids or something. But yeah, living in this world that is so go-go-go, I feel like a lot of us don't get a true winter. We don't get that chance to truly rest. In some versions, of course we do, because we want to stay inside whenever it's cold. So that's a version of some rest, but, enough?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right, we often just push past that because—y’know—our hours of working don't cut back in the winter. So, yeah, it’s important to honor that. Okay, nature is slowing down, the bears are hibernating, the squirrels are not out and about harvesting. So how can we mimic that and sort of root down like the trees are go deep into ourselves? And it's a time of sitting with what's to come, planning and thinking of maybe not planning so much as sitting and witnessing what's emerging. Like what do we want to come or what is emerging that wants to come? Not necessarily what do we want, if that makes sense.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. Is it like a time for dreaming too? Is that what you mean by that?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, like a time of allowing the possibilities to come through that are then going to really show themselves and emerge in the spring and then the summer.
Justin Plunkett:
And then, like you were saying earlier, how the cycles of the seasons, the cycles of the elements, are also reflected even within daily life. That makes sense that like water would be like, the night time that we need to rest, and need to revive, and give us that downbeat before we go back in the mornings.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
Which is where we're at now.
[15:45]
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah. So, the liver and the gallbladder are the organ systems that are governed by the Wood in the springtime season, and those are active through the middle of the night. So often people are dreaming during that time. People that maybe have an imbalance there might have very vivid dreams where they wake up feeling, like, not rested because they're just like, in this dream world, creativity. Or often artists might have a hard time sleeping between, like, 1 and 3 AM. And that's their liver energy, the springtime energy that just has so many ideas and wants to just create and make all the things. And it's really important to use that time to rest so that those ideas can really have a foundation to be birthed from. Because if we're just, like, dreaming, creating all times throughout the night, we don't have a route from which that can be birthed.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. And here we are. We're recording this right around the Aries (♈︎) new moon, like a day or two after. So we're already past the spring equinox. But it's kind of reminding me when we're talking about this idea of dreaming, but a way to ground the dreams so that they're not just so out there.
Absolutely.
Justin Plunkett:
It reminds me of what's going on in the sky right now. We've got some really beautiful energy happening in Pisces (♓︎), which is very dreamy right now. Jupiter (♃) and Neptune (♆) are coming together in Pisces (♓︎) and they meet up every 13 years about but they haven't met up in Pisces (♓︎) in the last, like, 160 years or something like that. So but what I'm saying so Jupiter (♃) is a lot about our dreams or, like, making meaning in the world: positivity, joy. And the Neptune (♆) is a lot more related to collective consciousness or the ways that our energies have no boundaries. And coming together in this dreamy sign of Pisces (♓︎), which is, you know, like, watery as well.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
I mean, we’re all having these big dreams right now about the way that life could be, or having bigger feelings of compassion for the world. So that's happening in Pisces (♓︎), but next door in Aquarius (♒︎), there's been a lot of other stuff happening. And throughout the winter, we had a really deep Venus (♀) retrograde experience. So like, right now around this new moon, Mars (♂) and Saturn (♄) are getting pretty close together in Aquarius (♒︎). And Mars (♂) is the ruler of this new moon. So, whenever we look to the ruler to see what they're doing in the sky, that adds a little bit more context to the story. So Mars (♂) and Saturn (♄) getting close together is a lot more of like a deliberate action needed or tough decisions to go through. But yeah, like hard work and persistence and the capacity to complete projects. Yes. But on the other side, it can be like a tendency to feel like a victim or oppressive work, or like bitterness and hate. Yeah, we're having these two opposing forces. Like, we've got some of the best of the best right now with Jupiter (♃) and Neptune (♆) and Venus (♀) will be there soon, too.
So it's going to be very juicy in one part of our life, but another part of our life is, like, tough stuff going on. And we can see that in the world, too. Obviously, there's wars happening, there's horrible atrocities happening all the time, but at the same time, we're also having these experiences inside that feel different. I kind of went on a tangent there, but I feel like it's relevant because what you're saying about finding a way to make the dreams more real is like, we're having to go through that Mars (♂) Saturn (♄) process to make those dreams possible.
[19:58]
Claire Wigglesworth:
Definitely, yeah. That reminds me of the relationship between the liver and the gallbladder. So in Chinese medicine, the liver is sort of the planner. So, the liver has these ideas and this creative process, and then the gallbladder is required to follow through with those things. So some people may have all these great ideas, but then they don't have the drive or the courage/ability to follow through to the end. So that kind of sounds similar to what you just mentioned. The follow through.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. And the New moon in Aries (♈︎) is always, like, a significant point because it's the first one of the first zodiac sign of the year.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right, yes.
Justin Plunkett:
And sometimes it can feel like we're supposed to set these intentions right now for the year, but yeah, it's like we have a whole year to follow through? Or is it better to focus on the follow through in the wood and the fire season? What do you think there?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Oh, ooh… that’s a good question. I think, for me at least, it's easier to take things, like, piece by piece, you know? Like season by season, and not necessarily the whole Cycle. But I'm sure people are different in that. What do you think? Like, how do you go about your planning or your intentions, specifically with the Aries (♈︎) new moon?
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, because other new moons, it feels like we're kind of thinking about that current moon cycle, or like, at least until the next time we have a full moon in that sign, which is about six months. But yeah, this Aries (♈︎) one just seems to hold a different kind of weight where we're thinking about all these possibilities of where we're going to go this year —
Claire Wigglesworth:
—Big plans, right.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, I'm sure there's no one right answer. It's just totally thoughts. We talked about how water leads into wood or how winter leads into spring…
[22:22]
Without getting too much into the summer, what’s the dynamic there of how wood turns into fire? Because it sounds like it gets burnt up, but hopefully that's not what happens to us, but some of us it does.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right? Yeah. So my interpretation is obviously the wood creates fire. We burn wood to make fire. So to me, it's just like this continuation of these ideas and these dreams really like taking force and taking action—
Justin Plunkett:
Getting fueled?
Claire Wigglesworth:
—yeah, getting fueled! Exactly. Into a big expression of what was once the seed in winter.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. What's the relationship from, I guess, water quenches fire, right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. Yeah. Within the five element cycle, there is also the control cycle. So the water controls the fire. So if, for example, if we never leave the winter season and stay in this cold, internal, frigid place from the winter, and we don't allow the birth, the rebirth of spring to come, we're just going to be putting out that fire that could be these great potential and these great ideas that are expressed in the summertime.
Justin Plunkett:
Wow.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, so it’s… right now, this choice of, “Okay, I'm ready to be reborn!” What can we bring? and what can we birth? and what are we excited about to bring into life this year?
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. And I feel like—to talk about Venus (♀) for a second—I said a second ago in the winter, we had a pretty deep Venus (♀) retrograde experience that was in Capricorn (♑︎), and it was snuggled up to Pluto (♇) for majority of the time. So we had platonic themes going through all of our Venus (♀) experience in life. And Venus (♀) speaks to the pleasures and desires, connection, arts, and beauty in life. But I think a lot of us are (maybe I'm just speaking personally for what happened to me) but it was big on my values, because Venus (♀) is related to our values.
[25:00]
For a while I kind of was like, “Yeah! Venus (♀): values, sure!” But I didn't really have the felt understanding of it until this retrograde experience made it really clear for me. So, yeah, we were having this deep experience of that through the winter, and then Venus (♀) moved into Aquarius (♒︎), and was then sandwiched between these two planets, Mars (♂) and Saturn (♄), which are a little more uncomfortable planets for Venus (♀) to be boxed in by. In ancient technical terms, it's called a “besiegement,” so it doesn't really sound very nice, does it?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Haha, no!
Justin Plunkett:
I think a lot of us have kind of been in between a rock and a hard place. And it's like, “Okay, I have these new understandings of my values, I have these new ways that I'm relating to people or connecting or harmonizing in the world, but I'm also feeling a little stuck between these things.”
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
So maybe you can speak a little bit to what helps the liver to not feel stuck? Or, what we can do to not feel stuck in between that re-birthing process?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely. So I think I'll talk a little bit about how that liver stuck-ness can feel through this time: Definitely throughout school. I mean, really, all the time during the season, you might notice just like this constriction where we're ready for the warm days and ready to, you know, be wearing, like, shorts and just, like, frolicking around barefoot! And and then the the winter keeps, like, coming back and forth. You know, there's this period where it's like, okay, one day is, like, 60 degrees, 70 degrees—
Justin Plunkett:
Literally!
Claire Wigglesworth:
—and then the next, you know, it's it's hailing. We've had that recently. It was snowing. This happened the other day. I was like, are those flower buds, like, falling off this tree, or is that snow? I don't know.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, this morning I had to defrost my car for the first time in so long, and I was like “What??”
Claire Wigglesworth
Right. So there's just this kind of back and forth energy that when we're ready to be reborn and ready to be in this expansive place, it can be hard to navigate the going back and forth and the cold constricting again. And so sometimes we can feel, like, frustration or irritability anger, where there's just something's preventing this young energy from rising, and it can feel really uncomfortable, sometimes. You know? it can just feel like, I want to pull my hair out.
[28:12]
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah.
Claire Wigglesworth:
So, some of the best ways to move through that are just, like, moving our bodies, exercise, stretching, like, really mindful stretching with our breath to activate the sinews. So the sinews are associated with the wood element, so any ways that we can warm up and move our muscles and our ligaments is going to help to just relieve that tension. So yeah, stretching, walking is going to be really good. Like, just gentle, brisk, mindful walking.
Along with that, the eyes are also associated with the wood element. And so one of my favorite things in the springtime is to really activate my eyes every single day, whether I'm going for a walk or while I'm driving someplace, just being aware of each day, like, what's new? Something new. This bloom that yesterday was, like, one inches. Now two inches. Just activating those eyes to really take in this change. And I feel like that helps me to incorporate it in and know, like, “Okay, we're moving. Like, things are slowly, sometimes not so slowly, like, expanding and getting more alive and more vibrant as we move into the summertime.”
Justin Plunkett:
Wow, that makes so much sense. It’s like, even just the stretching and breathing, it made me think of, like, you're getting back into all the little crevices and caverns of the body that were originally in the winter, like, trying to hold the Yang in, and now it's like, we need to get the Yang out to the surface.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely.
Justin Plunkett:
Have you heard someone say that in the winter, our pores are more closed, and then the spring and summer, they're more open?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
It’s interesting, just down to those tiny little details. But that's so cool about the eyes and taking note and kind of seeing the world as it changes? I'm sure it makes a lot of sense that that helps us to guide our internal changes, too.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely. Another one of my favorite things to help release that constraint is it's like a very simple qigong inspired exercise where, basically, I've used my forearms like the inside of my forearms to just rub on the sides of my rib cage. So, the liver channel goes up along the sides of the ribcage. And so freeing up that area and releasing the diaphragm like massaging under the ribcage is going to be just a good activity to help keep things moving and flowing.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, because that makes a lot of sense. Like somatically when we're feeling constricted, we're not going to be taking as deep a breath or getting down into that diaphragm. So yeah, even just bringing your little forearms there and touching, rubbing. Wow, I can take a deeper breath again.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely.
Justin Plunkett:
That’s so special.
[31:48]
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, you know, like you just mentioned, just deep breathing is really awesome to free up that constraint to help open up the heart and the ribcage. Because when we think about these elements (we talked about the kidneys being related to the winter element) the kidneys are kind of like beneath and below the ribcage in the back, and then the liver is a little bit higher, and then the heart is related to the fire element and so the heart obviously is above those. So if we can open all of that up, it's going to help this energy move from the kidneys, then up into the heart space to be in this expansive, loving, compassionate space come summertime. Yeah!
Justin Plunkett:
Wow. Yeah, and then I guess not to get too far ahead because we'll probably do an episode for the summer or the winter for fall too, but that makes sense. We're going up to the heart and then I think you said that the metal element of fall is that related to the lungs.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, yep.
Justin Plunkett:
So then it's like we went up and then now we're starting to travel back down.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right, yeah. So then the lungs, you think about this deep breath in and then the exhale falling back down and moving from fall into winter again.
Justin Plunkett:
Like the reciprocity of the breath and oxygen with the trees and everything.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely.
Justin Plunkett:
Wow.
Claire Wigglesworth:
It’s—yeah. This medicine is so beautiful and that it's all connected in every way.
Justin Plunkett:
Truly. So, yeah, I guess, any other examples of the wood element in nature? It’s funny because admittedly the first time I heard wood, I didn't go straight to just trees, I didn't think that, I honestly just thought of timber, like wood that you buy at the store, which is so sad that I bought that first. Damn, not thinking of a tree, I was thinking of like a tree that's been chopped down.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right…
Justin Plunkett:
So that's something I had to think about.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Totally.
[34:17]
Justin Plunkett:
But yeah, I mean, wood is growing upward, it makes sense that — I don't know. Is there anything else that you wanted to share about Wood in nature?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, actually I'm glad you asked. Wood, it’s this upward rising energy. So it's the trees, but it's also like anything that's sprouting up, like a flower or a bush… whatever it is, a blade of grass. And I feel like one thing that's really beautiful and poetic about the wood element is: it’s all about our unique expression. You know? There’s no two trees that are the same or two plants that are the same, just in the way that there's no two humans that are the same. And so it's just this beautiful vision of each of us as our own unique… individual and unique expression of the heavens, and to have compassion for that. I was reminded of this Ram Dass quote about we don't look at a tree and judge it and say, oh, it's why did it bend this way? Why did it bend that way? So why do we do that for humans? Why are they this way or that way? We just understand this tree maybe didn't get enough light at some point to have compassion for ourselves and to see ourselves again as a mirror for nature.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. Wow. And it brings me down to mycorrhizal networks and underneath the trees where maybe that one tree didn't get the right resources, but underneath the surface, some of those other trees could be sharing resources with them. And it makes me think of mutual aid and how—yeah, we don't all have the same resources in life.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
And it is the idea that we want to follow those our own unique expressions, but sometimes we need the help of others to be able to accomplish those things.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely. I love that thought.
Justin Plunkett:
Thanks, yeah. It’s very… Aquarius (♒︎).
I guess…What else can we do to help the liver be functioning well at this time of year? I know that I always hear people talking about a lot of the greens and a lot of the flowers that are coming up at this time of year are going to help us to move the waters of the body. Whether it's like violets or chickweed.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
But beyond just that, because those don't grow everywhere that maybe everyone's listening to this podcast, but just like foods that we can do at this time of year that are going to be the best for us. Definitely. Maybe you said the ribs that we can work with, but if there's any other points on the body that are safe to work with.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, food wise. So this time of year, anything sprouted. So sprouted grains sprouts this like… newness and birth. Mint tea is a really good one that helps free up the liver chi. So it's going to help with that frustration that some people are feeling. And then a few herbs that are great to cook with at this time are basil, fennel and rosemary are all really good, and some people might be able to be growing those right now. And also this is a good time for raw foods, which, within our medicine, we generally are very cautious around raw foods and definitely don't recommend them in the winter, or most other times of year, but… if you have a strong digestion, this is the time to be having your smoothies, your salads. It's the safest time of year for that. You know, if— go ahead! —
Justin Plunkett:
— I was just going to say, is there a reason for that, that it's like that in the spring rather than in the summer? Because I would almost think that our digestion is at its peak in the summer.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yes, summer too, but this is more so like an alignment with that birth and newness where we're like, okay, we can have the more really fresh greens and things like that.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice!
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah!
[38:52]
Justin Plunkett:
What about—back to those three suggestions of like, basil, fennel and rosemary—
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah—
Justin Plunkett:
I know that fennel is good for digestion and after meals and stuff — very aromatic…
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right!
Justin Plunkett:
Could you speak to a little bit of why those herbs are good for us right now?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah. So they're somewhat like pungent and aromatic, and that just helps to kind of awaken our digestion from this kind of slower state that it was in in the winter, and to give it a boost.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, and then any other points on the body that are safe for us to work with if we don't really have experience with acupuncture?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah! So there's a point just on the temples, like just outside of the eyes that's really good. That's the first point on the gallbladder channel, so just kind of rubbing there can help to activate the eyes and to open up our senses to all the changes that are happening. And really, there’s uh— so, along with the costal region, there’s a point within the ribcage, so it's like on the breast line just below the breast, there's a space within the ribcage that most people that you palpate it on, it's going to be really tender. So if you just kind of feel around in there and there's a couple of points, but just feeling for a tender spot like with your thumbs is going to be a good one. To, again, loosen up that stagnation.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. I feel like I remember you putting a needle in that area for me one time whenever I came with you.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, probably. It's one of my favorite points.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. I love that. Like I said, we've been talking a good bit about how the wood season, the wood element shows up in the body and the mind, too. We've been talking about creativity and decision making. I guess, if you want to, if you feel like we're complete with that part, maybe moving into a little bit more of the spirit or energetic side of it? Because for me, in my journey with acupuncture, just learning that the liver or the spleen have a little bit of a spirit to them, and those spirits might need certain things from us—I could be wording that's totally wrong too, but—for me, learning that the spleen has to do with mental digestion was a big moment for me of like, “Oh, no wonder! I work a job where I have to constantly be taking in charts and data and numbers.” So it’s like, “Mm, I’m sure that my spleen, the spirit of my spleen, is, like, exhausted!” Like, poor little guy…
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right? Totally.
Justin Plunkett:
So, liver and gallbladder: what do those spirits ask of us? What do they need on an energetic level?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, so the liver and gallbladder, again, are all about creativity and new ideas and letting things come into fruition. So really what they're asking of us is to follow through with our ideas and to not just let them pass by. To really have some curiosity about, “Oh, wow, I'm having all these thoughts and these ideas, and which ones am I ready to let to rest? And which ones do I really want to — am I inspired about following through with and seeing to fruition?”
And yeah, I think before we got on here, you were talking a little bit about working a job. I think a lot of people work a job that helps pay the bills — and it's good in some ways but —having these other ideas, these seeds that have come in, and I think some people go through their whole life with these ideas or this dream, “Oh, I wish I did something else. I wish I had done something different, like, ten years ago!” And how can we listen to those things? and really sort of sort through and decide what do I really want and need to feel like, fully alive and engaged in my life and in my creative process? To not let those things just go by the wayside, but really follow through and take steps. Even if it's like one little step, y’know? to feed that creativity and that passion.
It's also about (the gallbladder) specifically is about the courage that this phrase someone has a lot of gall. It's like discouraged to follow through and not to just be timid and shy, but to really stand up as myself, as this tree that is me, and be in my fullest expression and expansion and not be afraid of the potential or who or what I could become.
[45:10]
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, this is very, very Aries (♈︎) energy. I can think of a few different Aries people I've known over the years, that some of that gall can almost be, like, a little shocking at times where you're just like, “What? You believe in yourself that hard? Wow.”
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
And sometimes it can be a little like, I don't know, maybe they're not seeing the whole picture or something like that? But it's just inspiring regardless. They have such faith and such courage in themselves.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
And even the glyph of Aries (♈︎), or the symbol of Aries (♈︎), it's supposed to kind of look like a ram’s horns, but it's also the same little image of a seed sprouting that we've been talking about.
Claire Wigglesworth:
I never thought about that. Yeah!
Justin Plunkett:
A lot of the symbols of the planets or the signs have tons of deep meaning within them. So, tending to these deeper callings, these deeper longings underneath, and not pressuring ourselves to only get it done in the springtime, but just always listening to those deeper callings.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely. And then I was going to say, on the flip side of this Aries (♈︎) person that has all the gall is like, someone that, you know, might be just so timid to really express that. And I think the springtime is a good time to just kind of push those edges of our comfort zone.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, let's do it.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah!
Justin Plunkett:
Did you want to say something about the spirit of the liver? The Hun?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Sure, yeah. So the Hun is—an English translation is “the ethereal soul”—the hun, when we're sleeping, is this energy that sort of travels into the ethers, and it's like this soul of ourselves that is just kind of out and about and experiencing and dreaming and coming up with these great ideas, and then comes back into the body. And hopefully the goal is to have enough substance in our body to where the hun can come back and have a place to rest. And then all of these experiences and ideas can then come into fruition. Yeah, it’s kind of a large topic, I'll just say a little bit about it. But yeah, the dreamer, it's like this state of opening to the heavens and the ethers and being like, receptive and excited.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. What a multifaceted thing the liver is.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Oh, yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, and I feel like if you don't really have much of this perspective in your life, a lot of times the liver is just talked about for how alcohol effects the liver. But there's so much in the liver that we can think about and tend to.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, and I will say, when we talk about the liver, it's not from this context, it's not just like the organ itself, it's this whole system of the Wood energy and the Spring energy. It's so much more vast than just this meaty organ that sits in our ribcage, y’know?
[49:00]
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, yeah. I've heard that the liver can also be heard of as like the commander or something like that…like, the general, not to use too many military terms…
Claire Wigglesworth:
It’s okay. Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
…I’ve heard of that, so it's like having these visions and then also making the plan to get towards them.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Exactly. Yeah. The gallbladder is more like coming up with the exact plan. The liver is kind of like the idea behind it.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. I mean, over these last few years that have been so incredibly hard with the pandemic and so many other factors: systemic racism showing its face much more extremely, and so many things like that. I feel like a lot of times we've been having these ideas or these dreams or even just like plans. Like whenever it was like Christmas time and holiday time and people were ready to go see family or friends and then the Omicron version was just like no plans are called off.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely.
Justin Plunkett:
I’m sure that that's kind of rough on the liver, too, of, like, kind of hitting these roadblocks of sorts.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
We’ve been talking about how to work with stagnancy and stuff, but how do you think that this whole experience of the pandemic has been bringing us closer to that?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, I think especially at first when we first had the first big wave of shutdowns, it was the springtime. It was the beginning of springtime. So there was just this, like, big dissonance between us wanting to, like, emerge from the winter and go play with our friends and, like, be out and about, and then we had to suppress that and shut it down and stay inside. So I think for a long time, there was just this big dissonance where we weren't able to fully express that liver energy. And as we've been in it for a couple of years now, I think what I've seen is people sort of took that — they had to change the way of dealing with that liver energy and that creativity. And I think for a lot of people, it led to completely changing their lives. Leaving jobs that weren't serving them, because they had this time to be in that creative space of, okay, well, what's not working? What are my ideas and what are my goals for the future and how can I get there? So it kind of gave us, in some ways, a break from the super young energy of doing-doing-doing to sit and refigure out again. How can we live more in alignment with what we want in some ways? I don't say that for everyone. And I know it's been really hard for a lot of people, and I think it's also really cool to see the ways that people are changing the trajectory and the way that our society has shifted with this.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, we're such a slow to shift society, but there's also a lot of things within that are also shifting.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, it makes sense. Even if we haven't gotten a break from — even if the pandemic didn't really stop our work or something like that — we’re still all getting a lot clearer on what matters to us. For sure.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely!
Justin Plunkett:
Nice.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
Cool. Well, I feel like we've given people a lot to chew on and think about and…
Claire Wigglesworth:
Mmhm!
Justin Plunkett:
…more understanding of the body and our bodies and how they relate to nature. So you want to tell people how they can find you or what your services are right now and such?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Sure. So you can find me on instagram @shenmoonmedicine. It's S-H-E-N moon medicine. And also on my website at www.shenmoonmedicine.com. And I'm currently focusing on my herbal medicine, so I've got a lot of really awesome herbal products: sunscreen and salves, and a lot of pain management salves, and things like that. All inspired by the beautiful Earth, and the beautiful plants and herbs. So, yeah, you can find me on there! And it's been such a pleasure to be on here. So thank you Justin, for having me and I look forward to talking again with the next season change.
Yeah, definitely. I super appreciate it. So thanks for being here and thanks to everyone for tuning in to this first episode of Nectar of the Heart. This is me following my little spring dream.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Aw!
Justin Plunkett:
Thanks again.
[54:46]
Justin Plunkett:
Thanks so much for listening to this episode and I really hope you got something valuable out of it. I know I did. I would love to know how these episodes are landing for you, so send me a message or rate and leave a review on iTunes: that would be awesome. I'm available for online astrology readings as well as in-person readings for those of you that are in the Asheville area. You can book that at my website, hawthornrising.com, which is in the show Notes, and you can also sign up for my newsletter there to stay updated on my offerings and podcast episodes and things like that. So that's a wrap for this episode and thanks for listening. See you next time.