The twenty-first phase of the Chinese seasonal calendar, Major Snow (Daxue), starts as the sun crosses 255° Longitude (15° Sagittarius). Please join the thousands of practitioners worldwide who will usher in this event by practicing the Major Snow Empowerment. 

Major Snow is the third of the six phases of winter and as we course through the “midpoint” of winter a unique aspect of the season manifests more fully in nature. Over the next fifteen days, the rising tide of darkness will increasingly blanket the Northern Hemisphere as we approach the winter solstice—the point where daylight sun is the shortest time of the year and nighttime darkness is the longest.  

Accordingly, the theme of this seasonal phase is darkness and the meaning of Major Snow resonates with the qualities evoked by the absence of light. In the summertime there is an abundance and light and during this season it is appropriate to be confident and to take bold action in the face of the unknown. Summertime and risk share the same nature. But the unknown brooding inside winter darkness beckons caution. In the grip of winter with a limited food supply, bounded by cold, threatened by harsh life conditions, and surrounded by darkness, one emotion emerged organically above all others in the historical past—fear.

Fear, like all other emotions, can manifest both in a healthy and in an unhealthy way. Wedded to awareness, fear guides us to wisdom by inspiring strategic thinking and calculated timing. Fear informed by wisdom thinks twice and consults with intuition before taking appropriate action. It stacks the odds in its favor before enacting a plan of action. But without wisdom to guide fear, that same emotion can freeze action and paralyze growth. The function of fear is to caution action and to help us time events carefully and to not negate activity. And if wisdom informs you to refrain from taking action right now, then fear transforms into the virtue of patience. Caution and patience are the wise expressions of winter darkness. 

Now is the time of the year to leverage darkness by cautiously engaging those aspects of life that usually fill you with dread or fear. By moving in resonance with this principle you come into harmony with the quality of the season, befriend darkness, and make an ally out of fear.

By doing the Major Snow empowerment you boost your energies and integrate the energy of the season. Major Snow lasts until Winter Solstice, the next seasonal phase, begins. Until then, navigate the unknown with wisdom and darkness and it will cautiously guide you to higher wisdom.