Summer bursts with vibrant energy, inviting us to celebrate the outdoors and connect with loved ones under the warm sun. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers time-honored health and wellness tips for Summer, guiding us to live in harmony with the season’s Fire element. By embracing the symbolism and energy of Fire’s yang color red and yin color purple along with the joy of energetic Summer, we can elevate our vitality and well-being.
Understanding Energetic Summer and the Fire Element
According to TCM’s Wu Xing (Five Element Theory), Summer aligns with the Fire element.
TCM characterizes each of the five elements by colors. Fire’s colors are red (yang energy) and purple (yin energy).
The emotion of Fire is joy-in-balanced when you’re well adapted to Fire, and it’s joylessness if you’re not.
This season, spanning May 6 to August 7, embodies attributes like these:
bitter taste of grilled foods
sound of laughter
heat of the South
organs of the heart and small intestine.
Fire Element Attributes for a Joyful Summer
The Fire element’s attributes shape TCM’s Summer lifestyle tips.
Enjoy the season’s fresh red produce, rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, such as:
tomatoes
strawberries
raspberries
red grapes
red onions
radishes
red bell peppers
beets
radicchio.
They’ll help you combat aging and boost vitality.
The heart and small intestine process nutrients from these foods, nourishing blood vessels and fostering joy, while the season’s hot weather and southerly direction encourage outdoor grilling and social gatherings filled with laughter.
Soothe Your Skin with PHYTO5’s Fire Element Line
This high vibrational essential oil rich line of skincare soothes, cools and calms irritated sensitive skin. It helps reduce excess redness and is very helpful for menopausal women experiencing skin flushing. If your skin is relatively well-balanced, you want to use the Fire quantum energetic line during the Fire/Summer season, May 6 to July 19.
Because it’s based on the Five Element Theory of TCM, PHYTO5’s Fire element line of skincare is truly seasonal skincare for Summer.
Feng Shui and Lifestyle Tips for a Vibrant Summer
Incorporate the symbolism of TCM’s yin and yang colors by brightening your home and gatherings with red and purple accents.
To harmonize with the the Fire element’s energy, use red or purple:
lamp shades
throw pillows
curtains
candles
plates and glasses
light bulbs
clothing and jewelry.
Host red and purple parties with:
bonfires or light portable fire pits
red and white checkered tablecloths
red and purple plates and napkins
beverages like Italian strawberry soda, lavender lemonade (for the purple) or sparkling wine.
Open your curtains to let the sunshine cleanse your home.
Grow sunflowers or place pinwheels outside your home’s front door. They resemble sunbursts and evoke Summer’s sharp, vibrant shapes.
Creative Ways to Attune to the Season
Energetic Summer is a flowering, social season perfect for nurturing relationships.
Light solar lights or luminary bags along paths.
Enjoy evenings on your porch with oil lamps.
Bring fresh, colorful flowers into your home to reflect Summer’s joy.
TCM encourages you to pause and feel the season’s distinctive energy. It will help you live as part of the natural world, enhancing your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Red and Purple Summer: TCM Lifestyle Tips for a Vibrant Season
By aligning with TCM’s health and wellness tips for Summer, we can fully embrace the Fire element’s warmth, joy, and vitality. From savoring red-hued produce to using PHYTO5’s Fire element line of skincare, these practices ground us in the season’s energy. Celebrate your red and purple summer with TCM lifestyle tips to live vibrantly and in harmony with the natural world.