ESM / Earth & Sky Medicine

Integrating Astrology with Natural & Energy Medicine

 

Cancer Water Moon today – Invites us to curl up in our safe space and be nourished by food and drink that evoke the feeling of Mother and Home with a blanket of unconditional love to wrap around ourselves.

Cancer the Crab – originally the Turtle – is the archetype of the Mother, the Healer and the Psychic whose realm is the family, home or the personal inner sanctuary. You might hope today offers a respite from the Liver Diet introduced last week under the Taurus Moon. Alas.

Mother the Healer, however, does not just give hugs then serve hot cocoa and warm sticky cinnamon buns in the spring. She embodies ‘tough love’ and is sticking to the Aries program of liver detox ‘for your own good’. Further down you will find recipes for two powerful liver cleanse drinks and reflections on comfort foods.

The Arian energy we are exploring this month comes from the primal spark that just wants to burst into life and go forth, perfectly egoistic in orientation. The home is usually the first place that drive is thwarted – no wonder there is so much frustration associated with family bonds.

Under a Water Moon, let’s learn the practice of flowing feelings in the form of energy using qigong, an ancient Chinese form of energy work.

P R A C T I C E – Qigong – Clear Stagnant Qi / Anger

This is a foundational qigong movement that takes but minutes to practice, a perfect start or finish to the day or whenever you are feeling frustrated or stuck.

The sweeping hands gather Yin / Earth Qi together with Yang / Sky Qi and then clears the body of stagnant energy when pressing the hands down in front of the body.  While qigong is usually done in a slow and silent manner, the forceful exhalation does the trick in this variation, instantly relieving stress.

 

E X E R C I S E –  Spring Cleanse Drinks

This tried and true hybrid is one that people find easy and tasty enough to drink every day for one to three weeks.  Stop when you feel it is enough. You want to be in reasonably good health and have no indication of gallstones or problems with constipation.

Liver Detox Citrus Smoothie

INGREDIENTS:

1 organic lemon – with peel, ends removed
1 organic grapefruit – peeled but with pith (white part)
1 garlic clove
1 Tbs olive oil

Optional:

1 small slice ginger
1 small slice tumeric

Fill the blender with approximately one liter / four cups of water and blend for approximately one minute depending on your appliance. A high powered blender is a worthy investment as we want the amazing health benefits of citrus seeds, lemon zest rind and the white part of the grapefruit as well as the concentrated power of the accompanying roots.

Drink about one cup every quarter of an hour. Do this first thing in the morning or last thing at night on an empty stomach. Listen, as we learned to do under the Taurus Moon, to how your body feels.  I will be upfront and risk the nocebo* effect:  Some people tolerate the potent entirety of citrus fruit better than others. If your stomach is unhappy, use less peel and slowly increase every day for the next week(s).

If you need to put half of the smoothie in a thermos and take it to school or work, do so! This is a highly pragmatic program, so find the timing that flows with your home life. By the TCM / Traditional Chinese Medicine organ energy clock, neither morning nor eve is textbook as liver time is between 1-3 am anyway.

Liver Detox Juice

This is a simple liver support/detox juie has a ratio of four to six carrots to one beet, with a slice of ginger to taste.

If you have a juicer that can handle greens – and many prefer such models simply because they are so much easier to clean – throw in the nutritious carrot tops as well.

The same guidelines apply here as with citrus peels or other biochemically potent foods:  do eat them daily for a long period of time. Drink this blend regularly for the next couple of weeks, enjoying intermittently thereafter.

You can add a few other vegetables for variation, but open up to ‘less is more’. In time, we will follow TCM / Traditional Chinese Medicine’s Five Element guidance, including one item of each flavor (bitter, sweet, spicy, salty and sour) in a meal. But for now, a slow and simple start!

A rule of thumb with fresh pressed juice is to drink an equal amount of water at approximately the same time to aid absorption.

Comfort Food Reflections

• How do the above drinks make you feel – excited to get started or filled with some undefinable but clearly not positive reaction?
• How ‘healthy’ was the food in your childhood home and did anyone there ever force you to ‘eat your veggies’ or not let you follow your own inner guidance?
• Did snacks and desserts play a significant role, especially as rewards or comfort?
• How is the Liver Diet going for you? Are there somethings you absolutely will not (cannot?) drop even for a day or two? Which ones?
• If it is going well, are you noting that you have greater clarity, with more drive? How are you using that extra energy and how is that working out in your family life?

Keep on flowing as well as you comfortably can with your spring cleanse. This ESM program has many levels of which physical detox is but one. Getting in better touch with your body is another as is becoming more conscious as you witness your patterns.

Under the comfort and acceptance of the Cancer Moon,

Laura

*Nocebo definition according to Miriam Webster: “A harmless substance or treatment that when taken by or administered to a patient is associated with harmful side effects or worsening of symptoms due to negative expectations or the psychological condition of the patient.”  The so called harmful side effect is often a feeling of temporary nausea. Should you eat several whole citrus fruits several times a day for several months, you might experience more severe effects.