Hello dear ones,
Welcome to the Libra season installment of Venus and the Pearl.
I am excited to announce that I will be joining the team at Spring Wellness clinic in Victoria as a Registered Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (R.TCMP) starting Monday, October 23rd. I am so grateful to begin sharing acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, moxibustion, gua sha, tui na, and energy healing in the Quadra Village neighborhood.
The intention for my work has always been nurturing well being for those who seek my care, and I look forward to continuing this intention as I begin practicing in one of Victoria’s most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods.
Location: 2604 Quadra Street, Victoria, BC V8T 4E4
Shifts: Mondays 9am-2pm, Wednesdays 2pm-8pm
To book an appointment, visit Spring Wellness’ Jane App scheduling platform here.
I want to acknowledge that many of us are experiencing various states of grief, shock, rage, and heartbreak surrounding the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel, and the unfolding genocide against Palestinians in Gaza1.
Know that you are not alone in your heartbreak and outrage.
You may be navigating the waves the collective grief for humanity, and perhaps, you too, are praying for peace, safety, and liberation for all those facing violence, oppression, and occupation.
In times like these, I hope we never surrender our love for humanity, continuing to work in our own ways towards the well-being of our kin. May grief and outrage be your compass in uplifting those who are in need of your support.
And as we bear witness to the unthinkable, I hope you take time to hold your heart softly, breathe deeper, tend to your needs, and surround yourself with loving community.
This edition of the newsletter offers some words on grief from Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh, an herbal tea recipe for emotional regulation, and TCM wellness recommendations for the fall season.
I also wanted to add that in its highest iteration, the sign of Libra, ruled by Venus, embodies a deep and unwavering love for humanity. In Libra, Venus knows that there is no greater beauty than peace and freedom for all.
May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may our thoughts, words, and actions contribute in some way to that happiness and freedom.
With love and tenderness,
Andrea Penagos, RTCMP, L.Ac.
caring for our suffering - thích nhất hạnh
Whenever I’m in need of deeper wisdom and understanding, I turn towards the words of Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926-2022). A life-long peace activist (and a Libra), he dedicated his life to teaching both monastics and lay people how to transmute their suffering into love, understanding, and compassion through the practices of Engaged Buddhism.
Below I share a few excerpts from the book How to Live When a Loved One Dies2, a compilation of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s teachings on grief and loss.
“When we lose a loved one, our heart is filled with a deep suffering that we cannot express. But we can express our pain in tears. We can cry. When you cry, you feel better… It is human nature to cry. To be able to cry brings comfort, relief, and healing.
If you want to cry, please cry.
And know that I will cry with you.
The tears you shed will heal us both.
Your tears are mine. (Hạnh, pg. 4)”
“When we feel overwhelmed by our suffering, the first thing to do is to stop what we are doing, bring our attention to our breathing and follow it with our awareness. Don’t try to ignore or repress uncomfortable emotions.
Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
Follow your breath until you start to calm down.
Breathing in, I know I am suffering.
Breathing out, I say hello to my suffering.
This is the way to practice stopping and looking deeply, the two wings of meditation. We stop everything and come back to our breathing so we can look deeply to recognize and take care of what is there (Hạnh, pg. 44).”
I hope these teachings bring you some comfort and remind you to hold your heart tenderly as you care for your emotions.
herbs for emotional regulation
Herbs can be faithful allies in supporting our mental health and nervous system. Many calming herbs, also known as nervines, can be easily found in our gardens, kitchen cupboards, or at the grocery store. In times of anxiety and fear, a cup of relaxing herbal tea can be a useful tool to help us return to our body and cultivate a sense of centeredness.
Below is one of my favorite evening herbal tea blends that I reach out to in the fall and winter seasons, and one that I’ve returned to in recent days. It soothes the heart, relaxes the mind, and supports restful sleep.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Tulsi/Holy Basil leaf
1/2 teaspoon Chamomile flowers
1/2 teaspoon Oat Straw or Milky Oat seeds
A pinch of Rose petals
Instructions: Steep ingredients in 2 cups of hot water for 10-15 minutes, covered. Strain and add a splash of milk and/or honey, if desired. Drink 1-3 cups of tea per day.*
If you don’t have these ingredients on hand, chamomile tea will do. I also love Organic India’s Tulsi Rose tea bags for anxiety, grief, and stress management, found online and in health food stores.
*I do not find this blend to be excessively sedating, but always exercise caution if driving or operating machinery.
keeping well in the fall
As the leaves change color and the weather cools, nature begins to teach us lessons in letting go, returning to the essentials, and transmuting loss into life. Trees and plants release their leaves and move sugar back into their roots for hibernation. Fungi pop up through the forest floor and the trunks of fallen trees, alchemizing nature’s decay.
In fall, the Yin energy begins to grow, encouraging us to go inward, slow down, and protect our internal resources for the journey ahead.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) associates the fall season with the Metal element and the paired organs of the Lungs and Large Intestines, both tasked with rhythmically receiving and releasing air and waste, respectively. Issues that tend to come up in the fall include colds and flus, respiratory conditions, excessive or not enough mucus production, poor elimination, skin problems, and unprocessed grief and sadness.
Read on for 5 tips on keeping well this autumn season.
Wear a Scarf: In TCM, pathogenic factors enter through the nape of the neck and the upper back, where the Gates of Wind are located. Bundle up and wear a scarf when you go outside, and while you’re at it, put on socks to keep your feet and ankles warm.
Go Outside or Roll Out Your Mat: The fall season is an ideal time for outdoor activities and meditative movement. Brisk walks, hikes, or runs in the crisp, fresh air invigorate the lungs, help maintain physical health, and contribute to emotional well-being. Slower movement like yoga, pilates, and weight training complement more vigorous outdoor activities. I put together a vibey, slightly melancholic Spotify playlist entitled Fall Feels to savor while walking, cooking, working, or resting with a cup of tea in hand.
Dust off the Crock Pot: It’s soup season. Opt for warm, cooked meals to support the body's digestive functions and reduce your consumption of cold, raw foods, which tend to weaken the digestive system. Consider incorporating seasonal foods like barley, pumpkin, squash, mushrooms, and root vegetables like carrots, turnips, and burdock root/gobo. Vegetables like celery, kale, spinach, and watercress can be added at the end of cooking. Spices like ginger, rosemary, and cayenne add a warming, moving quality to foods, and pungent, white-colored foods like garlic and onions strengthen the Lungs and Large Intestine. Autumn is considered a the season of dryness in TCM, so adding in olive oil, sesame oil, sunflower seed oil, and ghee/butter will keep your mucus membranes lubricated and your bowels moving.
Acknowledge Grief: In TCM, autumn is the season of grief. Prolonged or unprocessed grief is stored in the lungs and consumes our Wei Qi, or protective energy, making us more prone to respiratory conditions, colds, flus, asthma, shortness of breath, and fatigue. If you are feeling loss, lean into your grief fully for as long as you need to while surrounding yourself with kind, caring loved ones and reaching out for support (therapy, acupuncture, herbal medicine) when you need it.
Practice Awe: The virtue of the fall season and the Lungs is preciousness, a deep appreciation of the simultaneous beauty and fragility of the human experience. Wherever you are, go outside and admire the mystery of a sunset, of fruit ripening on trees, of birds soaring through the air. Close your eyes, feel your chest rising and falling with every breath, and remember you are a living, breathing miracle.
work with me
I offer acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, gua sha, moxibustion, tui na, and Reiki at Spring Wellness clinic in Victoria’s Quadra Village on Mondays from 9am-2pm and Wednesdays from 2pm-8pm. To book in-person appointments, schedule here.
Online herbal consults and distance Reiki sessions are available for patients in the US & Canada. To book a virtual appointment, schedule here.
Thank you for your readership, and I’ll see you next month for the Scorpio season installment of Venus and the Pearl.
Israel’s unfolding crime of genocide of the Palestinian People & U.S. failure to prevent and complicity in genocide. Center for Constitutional Rights. (2023, October 18). https://ccrjustice.org/israel-s-unfolding-crime-genocide-palestinian-people-us-failure-prevent-and-complicity-genocide
Hạnh, T. N. (2021). How to live when a loved one dies: Healing meditations for grief and loss. Berkeley, Parallax Press.