Happy Fire Summer and Daoist Internal Alchemy
Summer greetings from still chilly Stockholm!
Yes, this summer officially arrived on May 5, 2026 and I am still wearing my winter jacket. I apologize for the delay in getting this greeting to you all, I have been pretty busy with my teaching and traveling schedule lately.
Figure 1. Happy Summer — These blooms made me happy this morning
Struggle or Smooth out
Life often gives us some unexpected detours, obstacles, or challenges. We all have a choice to either fight our way through them or to smooth our way with peace in our heart. Friends often asked me what I do when I encounter a difficult situation. My answer is typically “turn around and enjoy doing something else instead of struggling.” Today could be an example. I had an appointment for our car’s annual service and when I arrived in time, I was shocked to learn that I would be trapped in the location for more than 5 hours! Typically, if the car service was going to take a few hours, my old shop would have offered me a ride somewhere or even given me a loaner car. So, once the initial shock subsided, I took a deep breath to my DianTian and accepted the situation and decided to sit down in the giant show room lounge area and start this writing. Bad is good, as I like to say.
As I mentioned in my 2017 summer greeting, I have noticed that it has been harder for me to predict seasonal weather patterns using the ancient wisdom of WuYunLiuQi 五運六氣, Daoist cosmology, as the erratic climate changes we are now so often experiencing around the world are becoming more and more extreme. After meditating with this new reality of environment and life, I have come to better understand how to apply the ancient knowledge in modern times. Let us delve into this summer’s cosmological pattern and see how it could affect us.
ShaoYin Imperial Fire
Please remember that all my cosmological forecasts are based on my experience in the northern hemisphere. According to Daoist cosmology, this summer, especially during the time period between May 20-July 20, ShaoYin Imperial Fire Qi will dominate nature and will bring with it severe heat waves in many areas. While I know this is indeed already happening in some places around the world, here in Sweden, we often have had mostly chilly, and even cold days, smattered with a few unusually hot days.
This Imperial Fire also indicates that it is likely that more big fire disasters and violent incidents may occur throughout the northern hemisphere this summer.
Clinically, we will see more people suffering from blood circulation, heart, and kidney related health problems.
Don’t worry, it’s not all bad! In Daoism, Fire is the symbol for passion, great joy, happiness, brightness, and enlightenment. Therefore, the turnaround from any difficult situation that may arise summer is that just around the corner may also lie an opportunity to experience beauty and joy, and/or for self-healing and spiritual transformation.
Seeking Balance During Crazy Times
I have always emphasized that in order to bring balance in your life during any crazy feeling situation, it is important to hold your life energy within.
In this summer season, it will be easier for the Yang Qi within your body to leak out as the Fire Qi in nature is stronger than usual. Once the natural Fire Yang energy reaches its peak at the mid-point of summer, the summer solstice (June 21st), your internal Yang Qi will completely leave the deepest levels of your energetic body and express itself in the outermost layer of your body. For this reason, it is important to learn to hold your Yang Qi within throughout the summer.
It will be good for both your Yang Qi and digestive function if you can enjoy a cup of warming ginger tea every morning for the summer and do some inner Fire cultivation each day.
Daoist Internal Alchemy
This summer, I will continue to share some of my Qi healing and Chinese Shamanic/Daoist inner cultivation methods to help Qi-friends to practice holding Yang Qi within via in person workshops in the USA and Europe, and online courses. Please check my website events page for the details (www.chinesewisdomtraditions.com).
In closing, I’d like to share a special summer inner cultivation method from my book, The 12 Chinese Animals:
Figure 2. Hexagram Gou Meditation
Straighten your back and feel that your body is stable like a mountain.
Make the Gou mudra by placing each thumb on the tip of the middle finger. The tip of the middle finger is related to hexagram Gou.
Opening and relaxing your fingers, place your left hand in front of your chest and your right hand in front of your lower belly.
Adjust your breathing to be slow, smooth, deep, and even.
Feel each breath connecting with your small intestines and heart.
Meditate in this posture as long as you can.
Figure 3. Gou mudra
Before ending your meditation, please say a little prayer –
May the Spiritual Lights shine on my tranquil heart,
May the Spiritual Lights shine on my illumined spirit,
May the Spiritual Lights shine on the harmonious world.
I have now spent over five hours here in the dealership lounge connected to the car shop, completing this article. I hope it will inspire you to continue to look for the good each day and that it will usher in a happy summer!
Wonderful timing Master Wu