[BLOG] Solstice and the Southern Gate: From Yang to Yin

Donna Carey, LAc & Ellen F. Franklin, PhD

Welcome to this sacred turning point the Summer Solstice symbolized by the Southern Gate, Heavenly Gate, or Palace of the Spirit the portal between the realm of mortals and the celestial heavens. The Taoist mythological guardian of the South is The Vermilion Bird, which is intimately tied to our vital energy and provides support in our journey of cultivation and spiritual awakening. Associated with the Element of Fire this is one of the four symbols that govern the cosmos. It embodies the Fire element, vitality, warmth, passion and transformational or vital energy.

The Southern Gate is the home of Bixia Yuanjun also known as Taishan Niangniang (Lady of Mount Tai) and Princess of the Azure Clouds. She resides at The Palace of the Spirit which is the home of our mental and emotional health and consciousness. Some view her as the counterpart to Quan Yin of the Northern Gate. This goddess can be likened to Hygeia as she is worshipped for protecting families, safe pregnancies and ease in childbirth, healing the sick, and promoting healthy agriculture. At the Mothership we placed the entrance to our growing dome, in the direction of the Southern Gate which also represents the powerful transition point of Yang to Yin offering a bountiful harvest.

The Vermillion Bird invokes mythical and archetypal aspects of Hygeia as a transformer and a reformer of total health and an evolver of consciousness. Although the snake is more commonly tied to early medicine the Bird Goddess provides harmonic keynotes that give rise to a deeper understanding of Hygiea’s place in archetypal sound medicine. As a divine nurturer and protector of the world the bird represents life as well as death, creation, healing, the shifting waters of life and transformation, similar to the snake sloughing off its skin, birds molt and lose their feathers, which grow back again. Birds like the dove have come to represent soul, peace, tranquility and purity, the owl and raptors were often associated with wisdom, battles, death and transformation, and they also feature in many indigenous myths.

In the natural history tome, Liber subtilitatum diversarum naturarum creaturarum (Book of the Subtleties of the Diverse Nature of Creatures), written by St. Hildegard of Bingen between 1151 and 1158, she wrote, "Birds symbolize the power that helps people to speak reflectively and leads them to think out many things in advance before they take action. Just as birds are lifted up into the air by their feathers and can remain wherever they wish, the soul in the body is elevated by thought and spreads its wings everywhere." In this image it is easy to see how birds come to mediate between heaven and earth, while snakes facilitate movement between the earth and the underworld, together they provided powerful examples of the continuum of birth, life, death and renewal as depicted in the groundbreaking archeological work of Marija Gimbutas.

Summer Solstice welcomes the season of the heart and the Heart Meridian. This peak season of heat, light and fire, is the embodiment of Yang, and the Fire Element when the seed of Yin is quietly planted. When the days begin to get shorter and cooler, we are provided an opportunity to identify new creative outlets that will nourish body and soul. The seeds of creativity are planted at this meeting point of Yin and Yang. If the heart is overwhelmed or the Fire Element is out of balance due to excessive yang energy it is critical that we take time to balance and nurture ourselves, to feed our heart.

This potent portal provides the perfect opportunity to realign natural rhythms and seek what brings joy to the heart. Whether it is protesting the actions taking place in Washington, DC or worldwide that are the embodiment of toxic Yang energy or taking time for self-reflection and meditation in the natural world, the Summer Solstice offers tremendous opportunities for cultivation.

As Mothers of the Acutonics Sound Medicine System for nearly thirty years and Earth stewards of our beautify 40-acre property in Llano, New Mexico, we are planting new seeds, envisioning the next chapter. Our property is on the market, our fulfillment moved to Tucson several years ago under the direction of Nolan Bade, and our global faculty continues to grow and expand the medicine in new and meaningful ways. Our hearts are open to the potential that the future brings, as sound medicine has grown exponentially and new research continues to support what we’ve been teaching for more than thirty years.

How do you envision yourself taking flight through this sacred time. What techniques can you adopt to nourish your Shen (Spirit) and identify the bountiful treasures that delight and fill you. Are you moving into a new chapter in your life? As Tracy Quinlin explores in her article, on Healing Venus, are you able to envision what you most desire and does your “body, heart, and energy field allow that receiving to happen”?

During this shift of Yang to Yin what seeds do you want to plant? What do you envision for your future heart-based actions. Share your thoughts with us here on Acutonics Cosmos - this community is special and this is the place to bring everyone together in dialogue.

May this Summer Solstice fill you with warmth, vitality, peace, health and the soothing rhythms of the natural world. Ground to Earths delights and let your spirit soar with the Vermillion bird embracing the healing wisdom of Hygeia.