What’s Your Human Season?
As we heed Autumn’s whispers and wish Summer a bittersweet goodbye, I have returned to one of my favorite contemplations—humans as seasons.
We are a part of Nature. And just as Nature is made up of seasons and cycles, we are too. I love the idea of humans as seasons—and I believe the Earth does, too.
When we begin to see the seasons as more than marks of time without and elemental dances within, we naturally and gently depart from the illusion of separation from all that is wild and arrive into our unique Earth-bodies.
I don't think your human-season has to be aligned with the month you were born, though it very well could be. I also don't think any of us are just one thing ever. But there will be qualities of one or two seasons that you recognize as more pronounced.
Lastly, the following ideas come simply from my own contemplations. Enjoy.
⊹ S P R I N G ⊹
Spring people have an ever-present youthful feeling. They are bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and easily inspired. Like Spring ephemerals, they emanate a sense of delicate newness and glimmering hope.
Spring people believe in the good things coming. Their energy feels light as a feather, yet they tend to fall deeply and intensely into anything and everything—ideas, love, dreams, projects, relationships, places.
They are gentle and soft, yet vital and mischievous like a sprite or a baby fox.
Their presence reminds us that we always have the chance to begin again and that carrying seeds of hope and training our eyes to look for beauty in everything are revolutionary acts.
Though Spring people can feel fragile and easily bruised—one of their greatest gifts is knowing how to work wisely. For they embody one of the garden's most challenging times of the year. Much to do with little to show for it.
Spring people's deep reservoirs of resiliency remind us of the value of patience and perseverance. That which we tend well—no matter how long it takes—will always result in something real, good, and worth waiting for.
⊹ S U M M E R ⊹
Summer people are akin to days full of such revel, intimacy, and delight that you go to bed utterly fulfilled.
Hours of cool water and warm sun, stuffing yourself full of fresh fruit, losing yourself to live music, finding yourself in a foreign land, a summer love you will never forget.
Summer people, without trying, are beacons of abundance. Like the cacophony of blooms and brambles of fresh berries that mark this season, they feel tapped into an endless stream of beauty and resources.
These people don't just cheer you on but hop into the seat next to you, asking, “Where to?!” “What if it doesn't work?” isn't a part of their vocabulary. To that, they reply, “What if it does? And so what if it doesn't!”
Summer folks know intimately the value of presence and celebration. Winter will soon come––if we don't behold this moment as if it's all we have, we will regret it.
Because of their Sun-like nature, palpable magnetism, and seemingly effortless prosperity—others may perceive that everything comes easy to them, which can invite envy. Yet what most don't realize about Summer people is they have often encountered the darkest of circumstances and make the conscious choice to shine.
✷ A U T U M N ✷
Autumn people have a glimmer in their eyes that can only be gained from seeing, feeling, and walking through life's depths. They travel between worlds—under, blooming, and upper—always faithfully returning with medicine they have no choice but to offer.
They have a foot in both worlds. They don't need to try and be psychic or shamanic. They just are. They understand, better than anyone, that these gifts are not powers to seek but instead hidden gardens to quietly steward in service to Life.
They do not shy away from the dark, from all that our world seeks to bury and repress. They are masters of compost—taking everything Life hands them and being with it until it has digested and turned to nutrient-dense food for the Earth.
Autumn people can remain silent and say everything. Their eyes contain constellations of worlds past and seeds of worlds future. When they walk into a room, it feels as though an entire legion of beings has arrived with them.
You don't often see them in the spotlight. If they are there, they tend to be uncomfortable and have to work to gain their footing. They don’t just prefer but require privacy, an abundance of alone time, and lots of space. This is what helps them metabolize the depth at which they are meeting and making offerings to Life.
✷ W I N T E R ✷
Winter people are the wisdom-keepers.
Their very presence demands honor and respect. Being in their company, you feel seen—yet less in a penetrating personal way and more in the way Eagle sees all—and continues to gracefully soar, not attaching meaning to anything. Simply being in their presence offers an expansive form of healing, leaving you feeling as though you are standing on a vista, observing life as you find it.
They embody universal principles in all that they do. There is a time to work and a time to rest. As above, so below. A time to speak and a time to observe. Things come together, and things fall apart. A time for commitment and a time for freedom. As within, so without.
They find beauty in things that most of us miss or wouldn't deem as classically beautiful—the dark worlds that live inside of soil, dead flowers, forgotten furniture, animal carcasses, and piles of bones.
Winter people are a living example of ‘die before you die.’ They feel more here and simultaneously at peace with impermanence than most.
Winter folks are interesting because they can easily show subtle signs of all the seasons. Yet, like a mirage in the desert, none are truly who they are. They are mere passengers in this life, understanding of it all, experiencing deeply, yet not needing any of it to be anything.
