On Episode 7: Claire Wigglesworth, acupuncturist and dear friend, returns to discuss the transition into the Fall or Autumn Season (Metal Season) from the perspective of Chinese Medicine and the 5 Elements. This is part 4 of a 5-part series where we compare the similarities between Astrology and Acupuncture. 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 energy. Justin brings in various astrological and elemental ideas to compare with the 5 element perspective.
Topics discussed:
Links:
Claire's Instagram
Claire's Website
Justin's Instagram
Justin's Website
Book a Reading with Justin
Resources:
Snowflake by Tor Project
Hate Is a Virus – #HATEISAVIRUS
On Episode 7: Claire Wigglesworth, acupuncturist and dear friend, returns to discuss the transition into the Fall or Autumn Season (Metal Season) from the perspective of Chinese Medicine and the 5 Elements. This is part 4 of a 5-part series where we compare the similarities between Astrology and Acupuncture. 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 energy. Justin brings in various astrological and elemental ideas to compare with the 5 element perspective.
Topics discussed:
Links:
Claire's Instagram
Claire's Website
Justin's Instagram
Justin's Website
Book a Reading with Justin
Resources:
Snowflake by Tor Project
Hate Is a Virus – #HATEISAVIRUS
Justin Plunkett:
Hello, friends. So great to be back recording another episode. Right now it is December 17th, and if you've clicked on the title of this episode, then you know the episode is mostly about the fall season and that transition. But, you know, you know, we've been in Mars retrograde, we had the eclipses, so life has just been a little busy, a little widespread (but really fun ultimately). So it's just taken me a little bit to come back to this episode and edit it down, and record the intro, but here we are. I find that this seasonal wisdom is timeless regardless, so even if we're listening to it a little bit later in the fall season, there's nothing wrong with that. There's still so much to learn and gain from. And, it's kind of nice to retrospectively look back at the season and be like, "oh, yeah, I did have those themes come up". Same thing goes for Astrology: sometimes it's nice to just look backwards instead of forwards.
All right, well, even after I just said that, I'm going to talk about what's coming up in astrology *laughs*.
All right, it's December 17th right now, and we've got a little bit of time left in this year, 2022. What a great year. Sarcasm in my voice I hope you could hear. No, I'm kidding. I mean, it's been a lot, a big year for so many of us, especially if you have any important planets in the fixed signs, as we've discussed on past episodes.
Justin Plunkett:
Um, What do we have in these next few days before the year ends? We've got Jupiter moving into Aries on December 20th, and then the next day we have the Winter Solstice. That's the day that the sun moves into Capricorn and starts off Capricorn season. So that will start a month long process in wherever Capricorn lands in your chart. The sun will be moving through there, Mercury and Venus are already in that part of the sky, so there's already been some attention coming to the Capricorn section of your chart, but we're going to have a little bit more as the sun comes in there. And then on December 29th, Mercury goes retrograde in Capricorn towards the end of Capricorn, and that retrograde lasts until January 18th. And then there's a thing in retrogrades called the shadow phase, or the shadow period. So basically, Mercury spent his time traveling forward almost to the very end of Capricorn, and then that's when the retrograde started, and he moves backwards to about eight degrees of Capricorn. And then after that, they start to move forward again. So that whole time when they're moving forward again and they're heading back over the places that they've already moved back and forth over, that's the shadow area. So it's not retrograde anymore, but it's still touching on the same areas that like--it's not covering new ground, let's say.
03:13
Justin Plunkett:
So essentially, Mercury won't be covering new ground until about February 11 or 12th. And if you remember from the last episode, Mercury also rules Gemini. And that's where the Mars retrograde has been happening. And what do you know? Mars retrograde ends around the same time. So Mars retrograde ends on January 12th, and it'll take a little bit of time to start gaining momentum again to start heading forward. So it kind of looks like around that February 11th-February 12th time that Mercury starts to cover new ground, that's the same time that Mars is starting to gain speed again. So, if you're the type of person that is setting New Year's intentions by the calendar year, then I would say maybe go ahead and still feel into those intentions for now. But then early February is the time that you can start to put a clearer format or like a clear plan of action into place to start following those intentions. So don't be too hard on yourself if January is a little bit of a back and forth process.
Okay, so that's some of the things coming up planetary-wise in the next few days. We have some bigger shifts coming in the planets in 2023, but we'll have future episodes about that. So something I've noticed too, in this podcast is that I have a lot of international listeners. Hello to you out there. When I started this podcast, I thought it would probably just be people in my normal sphere of interaction that will listen to the podcast. But it's been really cool to see people from like, Germany and Australia and New Zealand and so many different --England and Ireland-- and so many different places. So with that in mind, I do want to start to, I guess, use this platform as a little bit of a place where I'm sharing my voice and thoughts with the state of the world right now, and especially what's going on in Iran, Internet censorship is a huge part of what's going on. And I recently heard a resource through Jessica Lanyadoo's podcast and it assists people in bypassing the censorship and Internet surveillance through this thing called Snowflake by Tor Project. So you can download a Chrome or Firefox extension to utilize their features, or you can just go to Snowflake torproject.com. If you have any friends or loved ones in Iran or any area of the world that is experiencing this kind of Internet censorship or surveillance, then definitely let them know about the Snowflake by Tour Project and hopefully they can utilize that in their life.
05:47
Justin Plunkett:
All right, some other announcements would be: I recently released a Jupiter blog post a couple of weeks ago and it's on my website in the blog. Also, if you're on my newsletter, you would have received it in your email too. Essentially, it's giving a lot of context for Jupiter's journey back and forth between Pisces and Aries this year. And Jupiter is about to move back into Aries in a few days. So if you are curious about that, you can find that on my website.
I also am offering a couple of new reading styles. So I still have my standard birth chart reading, as well as the solar return year-ahead reading. But I also started to offer some smaller readings that aren't the whole hour or hour and a half session. And what those are, in addition to having the whole year ahead offering, I now offer a three month ahead reading, and that comes with a really great ten to 15 page PDF [report] that lays out all the information and we'll still get on Zoom as well [or meet in person] and discuss it all and go further in depth. But, yeah, I've been loving the three months ahead readings.
I also have another offering now called Distilling the Past for Medicine. The last one was called "What's Coming Up Soon?". So this one is called "Distilling the Past into Medicine". And it's about using astrology and the cycles that you've lived through to give context to any big years or big moments in your life in the past. So I find that this one's for people that really are interested in making meaning of experiences - very Jupiterian. So if there was a big year in your life or a big moment and really shaped you or changed the direction in your life, and you're really curious of why that is astrologically, then you can find that session available on my website to book as well.
And then the third offering is called Plan Your PTO. So coming from the last few years of working, or the last several years of working in a corporate kind of space, as I was getting deeper into astrology, I started to use that as planning my time off from work. So I would see like, oh, I'm having this big Saturn transit at this moment, or I'm having this crazy full moon happen on top of my stuff, like, whatever it may be.. And really intentionally choosing those moments to give myself space away from the normal day to day routines so that I could just experience that transit more purely on its own. And that was a huge gift to myself. I tested it out with some other friends sometimes too. I would suggest like, oh, this one time coming up soon in your chart looks a little tense, it might be nice to use your time off at around that point, and it's been really helpful. Time off looks different for everyone. Not everyone is going to have like, a paid time off situation or not everyone is going to have the ability to take multiple weeks off. Maybe it's just days that they can pepper in between. But I would love to show up for you in that process and help you find some astrological moments that can feel good for rest and restoration. So if you're interested in that, that's also on the website. It's like a 35 minutes session.
09:16
Justin Plunkett:
Okay, so moving on to this episode. This episode is a little tender for some of the topics that we touch on, like grief and the metal element. The fall season definitely has to do with grief. So enter into the conversation with that in mind.
This whole series has been really great if you're just now jumping in. Essentially what it is, is me and my acupuncturist friend have been meeting up to discuss the differences and the comparisons between astrology and acupuncture. So one school of thought sees the world through four elements and the other sees it through five elements. So Claire is really familiar with the five elements and I'm really familiar with the four elements. So the idea was born out of that desire to cross pollinate our knowledge and see what we can learn from each other there. So it's been really fun and we're on the fourth out of five elements. The water element will be coming soon and then the series will be complete and maybe we'll write a blog post or something to summarize the differences in comparisons we found. But yeah, if you haven't listened to the earlier episodes, feel free to go back to that or even save them for next year and listen to them throughout the seasons. Some of the stuff is specific to the actual 2022, but besides that, it's pretty relevant.
Justin Plunkett:
And just to circle back to something that we mentioned in the first episode of the series, I think it's worth saying again, that we're entering into this conversation with the intention of just sharing our thoughts and perspectives on this and realizing that neither of us come from an Asian American lineage or Pacific Islander lineage. But it's been such an important part of our life and our healing journey and our growth that we still want to have this conversation and discuss it, but at the same time recognize that it's not from our lived traditions and our families. And some of these things, like the five elements, are really engrained into other people's lifestyles. And for us, it's a little bit more of this far off philosophical thing at times. And just want to remember to hold that in mind that if there's any moments that lack nuance or aren't fully fleshed out or -- I guess what I'm trying to say is that, we're coming to this conversation with the heart of just wanting to share how it's helped us to heal and how these differing perspectives can really help us to engage in the natural world around us. So that's where it's coming from and just want to take a moment to recognize the past of acupuncture in America has had a pretty racial history and biased history and white people kind of taking over on some of the rules and regulations and things like that. So yeah, not here to further perpetuate that.
12:36
Justin Plunkett:
I was doing some research on different organizations that are advocating for AAPI peoples. So there's one called Hate is a Virus. And this nonprofit community launched in March 2020 in response to the rise in anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes due to the coronavirus pandemic. They continue to amplify, educate and activate AAPI to stand for justice and equality and solidarity with other communities. "We do this by mobilizing our community to participate in local and national campaigns, creating safe spaces for dialogue and education and providing actionable steps and funding in partnership with trusted community leaders and organizations." So that's directly from their website. Some ways to take actions with them are to provide donations, to follow them on social media platforms and share their work, use their hashtag #HATEISAVIRUS with your posts, and share your thoughts like I'm doing right now. So I hope that that is well received and that we continue to have conversations like this.
We're about to head into the episode. You'll hear us kind of just casually authentically go into the conversation and not do that whole, like, hi, how are you today? I'm good. How are you? Good. Yeah. That stuff was just feeling really inauthentic to me. So I've let my guests know that we don't have to start out the episode like that. We can just start recording and then just see where we go.
Justin Plunkett:
So I have transcripts coming soon from the past podcast episodes, and then I have some more awesome episodes coming up in the future with some really special people. Okay, I think that covers everything. That was quite a long introduction, but thanks for listening. Thanks for being here. And without further ado, here's the episode.
14:38
Claire Wigglesworth:
Because often people come into acupuncture without any understanding of what it consists of, what the treatments are going to be like. So just educating people more about follow up care, like how often they should be coming, getting them on like a clear treatment schedule; because often I'll suggest weekly treatments for a month or so and then see where we are, then bring it down to every other week, and then eventually, like, monthly maintenance.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, I hear you there. Because when I first started, when I had that first intake session with my Acupuncturist, that was like, after I had shared all of my health history and whatnot and where I was at currently, she did say, "okay, here's what I think the treatment could look like, and if you're on board with that, then we'll, like, move forward". And so it was cool to like, get that clear communication up front of, like, "this is how I expect things might go, but there's always going to be changes" and right. And that was at the very beginning of the pandemic, too. It was literally February 2020 whenever I started going to acupuncture for the eczema. And then the world just took off, like two weeks after I started.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Totally. You were like seeing her virtually for a while, right?
Justin Plunkett:
There was a few weeks there where we had to do some virtual, whenever there was some serious lockdowns, but then she was able to slowly start reintroducing just to her clients that she already had and then later on opened up to more clients. But I would say a majority of it was always in person. There was probably just like three sessions that were over the Internet, and that was like, let me try to show you my eczema on camera. I'll take pictures.
Claire Wigglesworth:
I know, exactly. [*Claire sticks tongue out to demonstrate tongue diagnosis.*]
Justin Plunkett:
That's got to be hard. Can't stick needles in anyone over the Internet.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Totally. Oh, my gosh. I know. Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
But do you do herbal consultations online, though? I guess now you're more focused in person.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, I'm more focused in person right now, but I'm still available for online consultations if people want. Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
Anybody listening if they get interested in this stuff. You could definitely reach out to Claire or anyone in your local area.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, I've been focusing a lot on the community style acupuncture. So we have like, four chairs set up in a room and the intake is shorter and I kind of bounce around from person to person, and that's like, a great way to make this medicine accessible. So it's been really fun.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. I think I heard about an acupuncture school in Portland that's all specifically for training people on community acupuncture.
17:54
Claire Wigglesworth:
Interesting. Cool.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. And like, following a certain model to just make that sustainable for all.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, very cool.
Justin Plunkett:
And it makes sense too, because it's like, kind of like what you were saying a second ago. Someone really needs to get back to back treatments to really address a certain issue that needs that. It seems like there's more flexibility there because it's cheaper.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. And then sometimes with acute things, it can be good to even have treatments, like three or four days during the week. So, yeah, that can be just really accessible for people.
Justin Plunkett:
Is that usually for, like, injuries or, like, intense pain?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, like injuries mostly.
18:48
Justin Plunkett:
Cool. Let me get my notes pulled up. Let me get one more pour of this puerh.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Okay that's what I just did *laughs*.
Justin Plunkett:
So, yeah, here we are talking about the Metal season. I think it's so funny, too, how each time we've wanted to do the next installment of these episodes, we're like, "let's try to do it at the very beginning of that season". And then it keeps being where it's like, naturally, it just happens when we're actually in the thick of it, in the element. And maybe there's something to be said about that, but I think it's kind of funny how each time we're like, well, okay, here we are, just like in the middle of Metal now instead of the beginning.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. We let it sink in for a bit and experience the season before we go talk about it.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, I'm kind of that way with astrology, too, where it's hard for me to write about transits in advance without really feeling into the moment that it's happening. Right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, that makes sense. I want to experience it first.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, like how do I really speak to that if it's not even here? But it's a practice. So! Go ahead, if you'd like to introduce yourself in whatever way feels best, then we can dig more into this element.
20:17
Claire Wigglesworth:
All right. My name is Claire Wigglesworth. I am an acupuncturist and Chinese medical herbalist located in Frankfurt, Kentucky. And we're here talking about the metal element and the fall season. And where I am currently. It is beautiful, the fall leaves are past their prime, all falling down, and it's really a lovely moment in time to be witnessing.
Justin Plunkett:
I agree. I had a few drives through the mountains the last few days. Kyle and I were going over to the hot springs, which is coincidentally the last place I was hanging out with you. And yeah, we were doing those drives through Marshall over to the hot springs, and it was like all those middle colors of the oranges and yellows were kind of like, mostly fallen off the trees, but like a little bit of yellows and oranges around the outsides of the trees still hanging on a little bit. But it was primarily just like a lot of gray and then deep crimson red and then the green of the evergreen trees.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Mmmm, oh I love it.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. It was just so dark, but still pops of color, and it was gorgeous. Yeah, I've been sitting outside a lot and just taking in the season and drinking tea.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Mmmmhm. Ah Yes.
Justin Plunkett:
Tea outside is so different than tea inside.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah. And I feel like that really speaks to our Chinese medicine view of the fall time. It's all about slowing down, taking in the beauty. And it deals with the lungs, is one of the main organs. So taking time to just sit and breathe and witness what's happening around us and in our bodies, and we're moving towards the winter, the Yin time of year. So it's all about just kind of taking our time, not rushing, moving slowly and feeling deeply and just kind of experiencing the world happening around us and allowing our energy to move from that yang external place of the summer -- the spring, summer energy. And then within the late summer, and currently, we're kind of pulling back in, gathering resources for the winter and just kind of moving slowly.
Justin Plunkett:
Mmhm. It's so tangible. I guess maybe not for everyone's lives, but yeah.. I've definitely been feeling that. Just giving more space, that transition from the Yang to the Yin.
*pause* And even so--well I guess we can talk to that later. Let me write that down. But even how I've been able to -- my last day with that job was on Friday and then have had the last half week or so to just start to get used to that Yin energy, and kind of like somatically retraining my body throughout the day of, like, "you don't have to be amping up to go make sure that you're present and doing work". It's like now I can just kind of figure out I don't know yet. I'm just having to retrain my body that there's not this bell curve throughout the day that I have to follow. I can kind of determine my own tempo. So that's been really special with that slowing down, at the same time, it's like, oh, yeah, I can just lay outside and read a book for a few hours. So that's been really joyful and such a new experience and something I've been longing for for quite a while. So it's trippy whenever it's actually happening.
24:39
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah. And then just to speak to people that are still in the same schedule that they're in for the whole year, or whatever, now is a good time to just find those spaces of silence and of stillness and just beginning to create openings for that. Because even when we're busy all day and rushing around, there are moments in time, like standing in line at the grocery store or in your car at a stoplight where we can create more spaciousness from that kind of busyness. So it's like finding those moments of slowness is important.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, totally. I like the way that you framed that. Can you talk about that change over from the Yang to the Yin time of year, even? I was going to say a little bit ago, I remember in some of my reading about the eight extraordinaries how... Because I think that a lot of discussion in the world is around the binaries lately and not letting ourselves get stuck in this way and that way. And sometimes Yang and Yin gets brought up in that conversation. And some people think that it does represent all of the sides, the whole spectrum. And other people are like, no, it's too binary. But I remember reading that it was like I think it was like from the Du Mai, (which I don't even know fully what that entails - I'm just a little baby of information about that), but from the Du Mai the Yang and the Yin arise. And then it was saying from there, multiple more layers of Yang and Yin arise from within each of those sides. So it's like the Yin and the Yang are just like the first layer, and then there's like Yang within the Yin. It just keeps going deeper and deeper.
26:41
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right, exactly. Yeah. So when we think about the Yin-Yang, the symbol, it's like the black and the white. And I'm sure people are familiar with it *laughs*, but there's one dot of white within the black and one dot of black within the white representing the Yang within the Yin and the Yin within the Yang, meaning that there's never any separation. Like there's always this turning point and it's always constantly in motion. So as we reach, when we're heading towards the peak of Yin time, which is in the winter, like the depths of the winter, there's always this glimmer of light and then of light and the summer coming, the Yang coming back in. So there's always like this turning point where the Yang then is starting to grow and then eventually gets to the peak of Yang at the summer solstice. So it's basically just that there's no separation. There's always one within the other, and it's always constantly in motion. So there's never like a point of stagnation where we're not moving from one into the other or vice versa.
28:10
Justin Plunkett:
Mmm. Yeah. I think it's so important this time of year -- just like, just feeling that shift, that turnaround, and I don't even know what to say about it. I just think that it's a very special moment of observation and feeling into it.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, definitely.
Justin Plunkett:
So, yeah, let's talk a little bit more specifically about the metal element. Why don't you kind of flesh that out for us?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Sure. Yeah. So the metal element is kind of one of those ones that's a little mysterious in a way because people are like, what's metal? Where I get earth and I get fire and water, but what's this metal thing? If you imagine the rock beneath the earth and these caverns of crystals that grow within the earth, that's the metal element. So it's like this really just precious and distilled element. It's all about finding the things that are important to us and letting go of anything that's not serving. So it deals with the lungs and the large intestine. So if you can imagine, both of those are about receiving nutrients, receiving whatever it is that the body needs and then letting the rest go. So through the large intestine, letting our waste products out, and then through the lungs, we receive the oxygen and let go of the carbon dioxide. And so our bodies are just holding on to the things that we need to move forward and to be healthy and whole. And so on a spiritual level, it's the same. It's like what things are serving us in our lives and what are we ready to let go of and really like, distilling that down into the pure fine crystals that are growing within the earth and within our lives and then letting the rest of it fall away. And another depiction of this is like the leaves that are falling from the trees, those are going back into the earth to be composted again into the soil. And the trees themselves are what is remaining and what remains strong through the winter. It's kind of just like the pure essence of the tree without all the extra leaves about.
30:53
Justin Plunkett:
And metal could also have to do with the actual idea of cutting away at stuff, right? Yeah. Like the idea of actual metal blacksmithing kind of, right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, so we've talked about it a couple of times before but when we talk about the control cycle, I think last time I talked about the wood controlling the earth, so the metal controls the wood. So if you think about the metal of like a saw or an axe, then we'll cut the wood.
Justin Plunkett:
Okay. Yeah. And if we go through that cycle of wood and burning in the fire down to ashes of earth, then the metal is those fine elements and crystals within the ashes. Right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah. And then that moves into the water.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. So I guess talk about both those transitions from like earth into metal and then metal into water.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. When we think about the earth, it's kind of like condensing everything and then the metal so then it's kind of condensing how can I say this? Hmm.. I don't know how to explain this part. Yeah. Let me think for a second. Gosh, I'm not sure how to explain it. And then explaining metal into water, it's that mysterious thing.
32:47
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. So I guess if we don't think about the Earth, if we think about just the Metal into Water.. Then it's like, this metal point is like, what are we realizing that there's endings of I guess, or what are we greiving, like the space for grieving that things are changing or decreasing.. And then the Water is more about like once that stuff is gone, like, what remains?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. It's like exactly like what remains? What's the precious things that we're ready to hold onto and distill into new growth in the next-- in the springtime.
Justin Plunkett:
Mmhm, and even at night too, I guess, If we're thinking about the seasons as the part of the day. Yeah. So then the lungs and the large intestines, those are like where we're filtering our experience, I guess you could say.. Yeah, I mean, the lungs are a huge idea. I remember reading about thinking about the trees of the earth as the metal element of like.. If the trees are the lungs of the earth, then they're serving that purpose of the Metal element. And they were saying that trees anchor in the earth's Yin energy. So whenever we're like, deforestation and ruining these systems that are in play, or at least setting them back, then we're really creating a Yin deficiency in the Earth's lungs.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. Which then will contribute to being less oxygen and healthy air for us to breathe in as well.
34:50
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. It just, like, keeps-- it's all connected, the chain reaction. So yeah, like living in a world where our Metal is out of balance and we don't really know how to work with grief like other cultures do.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. I think it's so huge. It's kind of funny that in our four elements versus five elements this is one of the main differences, is the Metal one. And in our culture, we just avoid death and we avoid those endings and..because loss has to come before new birth. It's just part of the equation, but we just love to avoid that.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, exactly. I think it's a Thich Nhat Hanh phrase that says -- he has a book with this title called, "No Mud, No Lotus". And so it's that idea of when there's not letting go of, say, the leaves on the trees to then be composted into the earth, if we're not letting go of our stories or ideas or thoughts that aren't serving us, then there's not space for something really beautiful and desirable to be growing. It's like, we have to weed the garden so that we have so that we can nourish those ideas and thoughts that are the ones that we're excited to bring into life and to birth, come springtime. So like you said, the lungs and the metal element deal with grief, which yeah, it's huge - grief! I mean, it's something that we don't, I think, as a culture, really talk about much or really fully understand. And I think it's such an important human emotion to be with and to sit with, yeah..
36:58
Justin Plunkett:
I was just talking with someone about that yesterday while we were drinking tea. Just like how grief really colors everything in your world. And there's not really like a compartmentalizing with grief. You know? It covers all the experiences around you, even the ones that you don't really want it to affect. But you're right that it's like a spirit to sit with, and to get to know. I think grief is so much about finding significance and meaning again after things have been lost or after things have changed. So we could probably find that same lesson in the metal element, too, right? Instead of just focusing on the loss or the relationship to the loss or the suffering, it's more about how do we remember that loss and keep moving forward and find beauty again and find significance again in the world?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. Yeah. And I feel like another key point is, from my understanding of grief, it's also about recognizing that beauty in whatever it is that we're grieving. Grief is all about love and appreciation for that which we no longer have. Yeah. I think it's such a beautiful emotion if we allow ourselves to tap into it.
38:41
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. Because it leads you somewhere that you didn't really know that you needed to go to, or like, it takes you deeper into a part of yourself that you didn't really know that you needed to access. And that's kind of like romanticizing it a little bit, I guess. Sorry if you can hear my dog in the background, but yeah, that's so real. I kind of lost my train of thought there.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Oh it's okay.
Justin Plunkett:
So, how do the lungs and the large intestine relate? I feel like they're both two different kind of operations in the body, but I guess they are similar in what they're doing. But I think of the lungs more of as processing the air, but then large intestine more of like processing what we're actually bringing into the body.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. If you think about it, both are processing things that we're taking in from the external. The lung is the Yin organ and the large intestine is the Yang organ. And so the lungs are about like our immune system. There are lots of different pathologies that can go on. There's allergies, asthma, coughs, colds, all this kind of stuff. And the lungs deal with the sinuses and our nose and our skin, so all of these openings to the outside world. So often with lung issues, we can often see things emerging on the skin, like eczema, itchy skin, those can all be lung issues. And then large intestine as well is the opposite end opening into the Earth. So obviously, like constipation diarrhea, then the large intestine, it's similar. Like, what are we holding on to things that aren't serving? Are we just unable to let things go which can show us constipation? Or are we just not finding meaning or appreciation in anything and then just letting everything just moving right through us with diarrhea.. And so it's about finding that happy medium where we're not just trying to cling on to everything like a hoarder or something, or on the other spectrum, like someone that's minimalist or just lives out of a backpack or that kind of thing. Like finding that happy medium where with our nutrients, the food that we're taking in as well as our things in our homes.
41:48
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. They're both digesting processes of sorts. Um, I did a cool treatment with my acupuncturist last week. It was like on Monday and then my last day at the job was Friday, so we were kind of like, "Alright, here we are at this place that we've been kind of working towards for a while. So what's the best treatment for us to do today that can kind of ground this lesson in?" So we hadn't done it before this time, but she suggested the Three Triangles.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Oh, yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
And for the earth element, is it always for the earth element or is it just an approach to any of the elements?
Claire Wigglesworth:
No, that's like a specific earth element treatment.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, so she basically told me it was for like tonifying all of the earth and just like that same thing of like, all right, let's get you grounded in your own self so that you can move forward with what are you going to digest and leave behind and what's yours to keep. And I loved it. It was one of those treatments where I was just like in and out of this world and asleep, but awake. Those moments where I'm thinking I'm in my bed and I'm like, oh wait, I'm on the acupuncture table.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, that's a treatment that was created by Lee Dong-Yuan, who he's like the earth school. That's his jam. Everything, every pathology starts with the earth. And if we can get the earth, spleen, stomach, in a good way, then we can fix everything.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, I don't disagree.
Claire Wigglesworth:
No yeah, I was actually thinking earlier this week like, maybe I'm an Earth School practitioner *laughs*.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. I mean, it makes sense though! That's our core.
Claire Wigglesworth:
I agree! It's that central point, right? Like we talked about last time.
Justin Plunkett:
But yeah, it felt really great to just be grounded and embody that feeling. And it was one of those ones where I was like, okay, I want to walk slowly after I leave the room and keep this feeling let it sink. Yeah. And it's cool because I brought that same information with me when I went into therapy later that week and we did a cool somatic practice that mirrored that in a way. So I really love that kind of how I can do that with acupuncture or vice versa with therapy. This is what I worked on in the other one. Can we work on that same thing here, but in a different way.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right? Yeah, I love that. I love that about Chinese medicine. It's like you can kind of bring anything to the table and we normally have some kind of magic thing up our sleeves.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, so, for the magic. When you're working with people's metal element in their body, what kind of shifts can you see with people? Or what is some of that potent medicine? What might make you want to work with the lung channel or the metal channel and someone or, you know, metal within the water or this-or-that kind of like what we discussed last time.
45:13
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, I think often, or not often, but sometimes, people will come in just saying that they need help with grief, that they've lost someone or they're moving through something and ask if I can help them with that. And that's actually what basically brought me to Chinese Medicine, was moving through the grief of my Dad passing. And I found Chinese medicine and I felt like my acupuncturist just helped me so much to address and feel those feelings and just held really beautiful space for me to move through that. I feel really honored that now I'm on the other side of school and I'm able to support people through that, and yeah, the points on the Lung channel, there's only eleven of them and I feel like they're just they kind of tell a story in a way. And one of my favorite things is just like massaging or tapping at lung one and lung two, which are just under the collarbone towards the end. You can feel a divot there kind of on your peck and they're often tender on people. So I love to just if you're ever feeling like you can't take a deep breath or you got some kind of sickness or just tightness in the pecs, that's a really great spot to just, like, massage, do some tapping to help. Because, I mean, again, the breath and the lungs are what connects us to heaven. So, yeah, I feel like that's just a nice self care practice that we can do.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. So that's the beginning of the lung channel level one and two?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
So what's the rest of the story of the Lung channel? Or what does that metaphor look like?
Claire Wigglesworth:
I think just since there are so few points, they each just like, Lung 5 in the elbow crease, that's the water point. So really good for phlemy cough, that kind of thing, clearing out water from the lungs. And then another really big one is Lung 10, which is on the palm of the hand. That's the fire point. So that's good for often any kind of sickness when there's like, heat in the lungs. So that can be like dry cough or just feeling like, feverish and hot.
Justin Plunkett:
As we move into this colder time of year, what are some tips that you're usually giving to people? I know that one of them is like, protecting against wind when we're outside and things. That's a big deal. Obviously not so that we're scared of the wind or something, but I think just understanding that interconnection of how cold can get into the body and change things.
48:56
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah. So one of the big tips that I give to people is covering your neck, the back of your neck from cold, from wind, and it really makes a difference. Before I've pulled a muscle in my neck, and even in the summertime, I mean, like, I was driving with the window down and I could just feel all this wind, and it just makes that muscle contract so much more. And then I put, like, my hood up and keeping the warmth and just helps those muscles relax. And then also the back of the neck, we see it as a place where external pathogens can get in so that's people can get colds and flus more easily when they're exposed on the back of the neck. And then similarly, especially especially for people with a menstrual cycle, is covering the abdomen and the low back. So, like, not wearing crop tops in the fall and winter because so much of our heat can just escape through that area. And so by either tucking your shirt in or just wearing a long shirt, that can make a big difference for keeping our bodies warm during these colder times. And then also for people that have a lot of cramping and that kind of thing, it can really help to just make sure that we're not getting too much exposure to cold, which can cause more pain and more cramping.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, when you were saying that about driving with the windows down in the wind, I was thinking about that, of like, whenever maybe you get in the car whenever it's really hot out and you have the AC cranked up, and then after a while, you just realize, like, the AC is really loud all of a sudden - I didn't realize it was so loud. And when you turn it off, your body can, like you said, it's like less tensing up, less information to process that's coming at the body.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right.
Justin Plunkett:
And yeah, I used to not think of it that way, but now I'm like, oh, I get it. Wind is something for the body to process that kind of brace against. And if we can kind of minimize that, I guess it helps. And then when you said the thing around covering the abdomen or the stomach, I was reminded of I think it's a Korean practice of wearing this almost like a compression thing around the stomach of wool during the winter. And it's like a thing just to keep that inner digestive fire and everything just close together and locked in and not escape the body. And wearing that wool around the stomach can warm the rest of the body really easily.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, absolutely. It's like the stomach and the kidneys as well, in the back.
52:02
Justin Plunkett:
And the kidneys are part of the water channel, right, in the bladder? That makes me think of the whole astrology of it all. If we back up to Libra season that we were just in. In medical astrology, Libra is connected to the kidneys and then Scorpio is connected to the bladder and the urinary tract and the genitals. I feel like we're in between those two seasons right now. Scorpio is that water element and that fixed water. So it kind of makes sense to me that it is the bladder and the groin area and stuff. But then once we get past Scorpio, it just turns in like Sagittarius and Capricorn and Pisces are more about the hips and the legs and the actual bones and stuff. It's kind of curious to me that I don't know where the water, or, after Scorpio season, like, where does that connect? But we'll find out, I guess, in the next episode. But yeah, I just love that, seeing that connection there of Libra and Scorpio and I guess the intestines kind of relate back to Virgo too. I can't remember if the large or the small, but I think it's the small, but yeah, like Scorpio being that water sign, that usually is more about that a little bit related into that grief that we were talking about. And at least like alchemizing grief or alchemizing transformation and moving from that starting point into whatever is new.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right. Yeah. It makes me think of there's this thought called the mysterious path and that's that transition from fall into winter, and I feel like Scorpio kind of, I feel like there's a similarity there between this idea of this mystery moving deeper, darker into the water and Scorpio.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, totally. And sometimes people describe Scorpio as like the swamp and how a bog and how those kind of places hold so much water and biodiversity for the Earth. And even if they are like darker waters and, like, "spoopy" you know, underneath and might have some animals here or there that are not what we usually encounter. It's like the swamp still holds so much. Yeah, that idea of that fixed water just like water in place. It's really interesting. So I guess we're kind of bouncing around here. But I think the moon's in Pisces today, so that's fine. But what would you describe the temperament or the constitution of metal? Like cold and dry or just like, cold in general or cooling? I don't know.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Do you mean like a metal person?
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, I guess so. Okay. Yeah.
55:17
Claire Wigglesworth:
So whenever I first learned about the five elements I learned, like, a distinction between the metal I'm sorry, the Lung metal person and the Large Intestine Metal person, which a lot of the other elements, there's not really as much of a differentiation there, but the lung type person would be very clear and crisp, and they like everything to be cleanly and they like things to be in lists, and it can be kind of, like, sharp- to the point. And then a large intestine person more, kind of, like raw in a way? Still to the point, but there's less pristine presentation, if that makes sense. It's more kind of, like, just raw. Like, I remember one of my teachers explaining, like, this sort of cowboy, like, shooting the shit, but, like, doesn't take any shit kind of person *laughs* versus the Lung being very precise and cleanly and that kind of thing.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. I feel like I can hear that in Libra and Scorpio. Yeah, that's interesting, though, like, that you differentiate the two. That makes sense, yeah. Let's see.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Is there anything you feel like that ties in with the eclipse season and what we've been talking about?
57:10
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, this eclipse season is, like, while we're in the Scorpio season, the sun is in Scorpio. The eclipse season that we had earlier this year was when the sun was in Taurus. Yeah, it's interesting. I was talking a little bit about it in the Mars retrograde episode with Taylor. We had so much pressure and Saturn has been in Aquarius, Uranus has been in Taurus, and they've just been there for a while. So anything that has been across the way in Leo or Scorpio has really been feeling all the effects of both of those planets. So I think throughout this year, we've had a lot of activations in the Aquarius part, we've had activations in the Taurus part, and then in the Leo part, and now we're kind of getting this chance to really sink into the Scorpio part of it all. And the south node has been in Scorpio this whole time. So that's kind of like a release point. If things are getting churned up in the eclipse parts of our chart, it's like we're usually wanting more, we're a little insatiable where the North Node is, and that's where Taurus is right now and then where the South Node is, we're distilling things out or like, releasing and maybe spiritualizing or alchemizing the changes there. So, yeah, I think that right now, we're in between both of the eclipses at the moment and it's been a tight stretch, it feels like, especially yesterday or the last few days while the Moon was in Aquarius, it was really just, we felt that whole cross section of those four fixed signs pretty strongly. But, yeah, during this week, Venus, the Sun and Mercury will all in sequence go over the South Node. So they'll meet up with that point where we're releasing and emptying out and purging. So there is a good energy, or a specific energy right now in the sky, of that exact energy. So the Venus topics in our life. So, like, beauty, pleasure, relationships, values. That's getting a moment of purification right now. And then the Sun, like, our identity, that's getting a moment of purification. And then Mercury, which is, like, our thoughts and our words and our mind, all three of those parts of ourselves are kind of going through this moment right now where we're releasing and observing.. And! At the same exact time--it's a very busy weekend-- Mars went retrograde and Jupiter moved back into Pisces! Like, at the same exact time. So, yeah, there's just a lot of energy right now of, like, slowing down, being still, like whatever we were pushing ahead on it's time to reevaluate and maybe pull back a little bit, start to strategize, re-dream things up. So I think it does go in tune with what we're saying here about Metal season, about that idea of "we're past the peak, we're going back in, we're taking care of ourselves"
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, and that purification piece.
Justin Plunkett:
Totally. Yeah, like, we're getting a big chance right now to really get to know that Scorpio part of ourselves. In traditional astrology, Mars rules Scorpio, so it's like the ruler of Scorpio is also slowing down and reevaluating. And also like when Mars is retrograde, that means that it's really close to the Earth. Like our orbits, we're kind of.. Retrogrades are just an optical illusion, really, where when you're driving on the highway or you're pulling into a parking spot and that little thing where you think someone beside you is driving backwards, but they're really just driving a little bit slower than you. You know?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Mmmm, Okay, yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
Like you pull ahead of that car on the highway and it looks like they're moving backwards, but really they're just, like, going a little bit slower and of course they're still moving forwards on the highway, but that optical illusion. So right now, like, Earth is moving in between and we're going to pass Mars. And so that's what this whole retrograde experience is like. We're getting really close and Mars's topics are just getting really loud and really apparent in the world in a lot of different ways. So, yeah, it is a time of slowing down and protecting ourselves and our inner energy, really getting curious, things like that.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, I feel like that totally relates slowing down and getting curious, asking ourselves like, what do we want to carry forwards and what are we ready to let go of?
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. And so if people want to work with any herbs this eclipse season, something I've been thinking about for Scorpio is bitters. Incorporating bitters into your eating habits so that your body is able to have more resources to properly digest what you're bringing in. And that's exactly what we've been talking about with Metal. And so yeah, I guess like bitters for the large intestine, but then also other things you can do for the lungs would be like steams. So that's one of my favorite ways to work with plants in the Winter is like just get a pot of boiling water on the stove, usually a large pot like a Dutch oven or a soup pot. And I just get water boiling and then I prepare a bowl of herbs like maybe like thyme and lavender because those have really good antimicrobial properties, or can go a soothing route like chamomile or calendula or rose. But essentially just putting plants into the boiling water and letting the steam come up. You can put a towel over your head if you want and just like slowly breathing in that steam into the lungs and taking some good deep breaths. Being careful not to burn yourself of steam because that's obviously hot, keeping a distance there. But yeah, steaming is really awesome for say you have a tickle in your throat one day and you're like, oh, "I really don't want to get sick", taking the time to do that is really helpful. And even if you just have it just kind of like boiling away in the kitchen for a little bit that's still adding humidity to your air around you. Those are some little tips. I love steam for that reason.
Claire Wigglesworth:
I love that I feel like I mostly use steams for the skin on my face like before I'm going to do a face mask. And so this totally lines up because the lungs, the air passage as well as the skin are all related with the metal elements. So using the steam in the same exact way and then just rubbing off the dead skin on your face can be super helpful to clear up the skin.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeeeees, I agree. I love face masks. I need to get back into that flow a little bit more. What other herbs do you think about for development?
1:04:40
Claire Wigglesworth:
One big herb is astragalus. That's really great for boosting the immune system, helping to prevent against colds and sicknesses and allergies as well. And that's one that is good to take when you're not sick or have active allergies. Like take it before and then you won't get sick. But if you do end up getting sick, then stop taking it. And then other herbs, it really depends on what's going on with the lungs for people, like whether it's phlegm, heat, deficiency of Yin or Qi in the lungs. So, yeah, that kind of, is best to consult a practitioner for that for more in depth herbal recommendations. But the astragalus is really great, like just all around lung health.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. Do you usually work with that, like in a tincture form or in tea?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, a tea is great. There's an herbal formula called Jade Windscreen Decoction. That's one of my favorites. And it's just a three herb formula that I make as a tincture that I love. It's really great for just preventing any kind of sickness or allergies from coming on.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. So that's on your website, the Jade Windscreen?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Uh, no, it's not.
Justin Plunkett:
Oh okay, is that one that you make for yourself usually?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. Well, that's like a pretty popular one, right? People can usually get a market or something.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, that's a really popular one.
Justin Plunkett:
And that would be good for people that usually just find themselves getting sick at this time of year or in the cold time of year?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Or people with allergies. It's one that's good to be taken for a few months before the season, but I've taken it at the start of fall and been totally good with not getting sick throughout the season.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. And you can also add astragulus into broth and stuff, right?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, you can, yes.
Justin Plunkett:
Yes, I think that our friend Pierce usually does that.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, that's a great one that you can just add into any kind of soup or stew.
1:07:11
Justin Plunkett:
Cool. Yeah. And then I just think of like, yeah, it's like really just taking your own approach of like if this feeling is feeling like, dry for you, like if grief is just kind of drying you out, then maybe you need some extra moisture to soften yourself up a little bit. Or maybe you need a little bit of extra fire to get yourself up. So it really does. Yeah, like you said, come down to everyone's individual situation because I was thinking about like, marshmallow. And Calendula as some good ones too, that bring in moisture to the inner parts of the body. But I guess that's just something that I think about for myself because I usually need moisture.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, right as you said that I was thinking about marshmallow. That's a good one.
Justin Plunkett:
Nice. Cool. So, yeah. Any other thoughts on the metal season of this year? Any other thoughts that we didn't discuss?
Claire Wigglesworth:
Hmmm.. Oh, yeah. One other thing that's just really great for the season is really any kind of breathing exercise that feels nourishing, like just bringing attention to your breath in whatever way you can, whether that's through, like, walking and just quieting the mind and paying attention to the breathing. Or various exercises of deep breaths, belly breathing, anything where we can bring attention to our lungs and our breath. The in and the out is going to be important.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah, I try to remind myself to take breaths that expand my rib cage in both directions and really getting down past that diaphragm, because sitting at a desk for so long, we just don't take those full, deep breaths.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Right? Yeah, absolutely.
Justin Plunkett:
Yeah. And that was also good advice for the Mars in Gemini transit that we're having this retrograde because it's an Air sign. Gemini being an Air sign, very mentally stimulating. But Gemini also ties into the lungs, I think, a little bit. But yeah, just like Mars really amping up our mental stimulation. It's good to have those breath practices and things that really change what's going on in the system to bring us back down. So I would also agree that's a great Mars medicine for this time, too. Awesome! Well, do you want to let people know where they can find you? And we will be back again in a few months for the water episode.
1:10:19
Claire Wigglesworth:
Sure! Yeah. So I'm on instagram at Shen Moon Medicine. That's S-H-E-N Moon Medicine. And you can find my herbal medicine products there. And then I'm also seeing patients at the Light Clinic in Frankfurt, Kentucky. And you can find us online at thelightclinic.org.
Justin Plunkett:
Beautiful.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yes. Thank you Justin!
Justin Plunkett:
I love hearing that you got settled into your place and that it's been a good clinic for you and such.
Claire Wigglesworth:
Yeah, it's been great. We got a great community there and beautiful space, and Kentucky is amazing. So I'm loving it.
Justin Plunkett:
Awesome. All right, well, thanks again and see you soon.
Claire Wigglesworth:
See you.