Rizhong (日中) and Wuyue (五月)

日中 is the hour of the day for the heart: 11am-1pm. The earthly branch, wu, 午, is synonymous with this time of day. Literally translates as “sun middle”. It is also used to mean equinox. Just as the summer equinox is the time that the yin energy sneaks up from underneath, so is the day center. This is a good time to rest oneself and prepare for the coming of the congealing forces. It would be unwise to continue acting as if all of the yang energy of the day is still present. In this way, one ignores the female energy that is sneaking up.
The healthy heart is like the wise emperor. It knows when to step away and allow the night to take over. It doesn’t burn itself at both ends trying to keep the day going, or get the most out of every hour. It bows out with grace and wisdom, in order that the night/congealing/female/yin energy does not overtake it and chaos ensue.
Do not separate the self from the earth, but bring the love that comes from their unity into everyday life. The fifth month is the embodiment of this principle. There is a blending during this month where the natures of Yin and Yang come together. The heart has the qualities of vulnerability and surrender and during this month, at the time of the summer solstice, the heart must know that it needs to surrender and allow the season to turn towards properly congealing and going inside.
In the Chu Silk Manuscript, the name for this month is Gao, 皋, which is a representative diety having one body with three heads. Here again is the idea of the differentiation that happens at this time of year.

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I'm a Chinese medicine student who uses this blog as a place to store my thoughts and occasionally rant and rave about things I trip over in life.

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