4 Seasons
Myths, Symbols, Cosmos and Medicine
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with Geneviève Le Goff, L.Ac.
20 CEUs/PDAs pending
live online with recording available
December 21st, 2024, March 22nd, 2025, June 21st, 2025, September 20th, 2025
Description and outline:
The four seasons are a central theme of Chinese medicine. The idea that the human being conforms to the seasons is described at length in excavated and received texts from the Warring States onward: this can be reflected in the natural philosophies of the Zuozhuan 左傳 and Huainanzi 淮南子, the pulse theories of Bian Que’s 扁鵲
Mai Shu 脈書 found at Tianhui, the physiology described in the Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen 黃帝內經素問 and Ling Shu 靈樞 , and, in the Eastern Han, takes on a refined form translated into formula architecture theories with the works of Zhang Zhong Jing 張仲景 and Wang Shuhe 王叔河. While these medical theories on the functioning of the human being only appeared in the 3rd century BC, their ancestry can be traced to much more ancient concepts which one can retrace via the study of the myths, cosmology and artifacts of the Shang and early Zhou dynasty.
Please join me in exploring the spirit of the four seasons and directions, retracing the evolution of ancient Chinese thought about each of them, from ancient symbology to the refinement of canonical herbal medicine and their applications in the clinic today. We will meet around the solstices and equinoxes over the next year. For each season, we will first explore myths, religion, cosmology, Yi Jing 易經, pulses of Bian Que’s Mai Shu and Wang Shuhe’s Mai Jing 脈經, signs and symptoms, dietary and lifestyle advice from the classics; the second part of class will be devoted to the relevant formulae of the Shang Han Za Bing Lun 傷寒雜病論, and present case studies to illustrate them.
Winter: Water
December 21st, 2024, 9 am - 2pm PST (live on Zoom with recording available for 1 year)
5 CEUs category 1/PDAs, pending CAB provider #1005, NCCAOM provider #1134
Cost and cancellation policy below
9:00 - 10:00 AM
Flood myths, Turtle and Snake, the Toad of the Chu kingdom
Constellations of the Dark Warrior (Xuan Wu) heavenly quadrant
10:00 - 11:00 AM
Yi Jing
Physiology of Water and Shaoyin and Taiyang
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Pulses, signs and symptoms
Diet and activities
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Shang Han Za Bing Lun Formulae
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Case studies
Spring: Wood
March 22nd, 2025, 9 am - 2pm PST (live on Zoom with recording available for 1 year)
5 CEUs category 1/PDAs, pending CAB provider #1005, NCCAOM provider #1134
Cost and cancellation policy below
9:00 - 10:00 AM
Dragons, Phoenixes, Peng bird
Constellations of the Azure Dragon (Qing Long) heavenly quadrant
10:00 - 11:00 AM
Yi Jing
Physiology of Wood, Jueyin, Shaoyang and ministerial fire
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Pulses, signs and symptoms
Diet and activities
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Shang Han Za Bing Lun Formulae
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Case studies
Summer: Fire
June 21st, 2025, 9 am - 2pm PST (live on Zoom with recording available for 1 year)
5 CEUs category 1/PDAs, pending CAB provider #1005, NCCAOM provider #1134
Cost and cancellation policy below
9:00 - 10:00 AM
Totemic fire bird cults of the Shang dynasty, swallows, crows
Constellations of the Vermillion Bird (Zhu Niao) heavenly quadrant
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Yi Jing
Physiology of Fire, Taiyang and Shaoyin
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Pulses, signs and symptoms
Diet and activities
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Shang Han Za Bing Lun formulae
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Case Studies
Autumn: Metal/Earth
September 20th, 2025, 9 am - 2pm PST (live on Zoom with recording available for 1 year)
5 CEUs category 1/PDAs, pending CAB provider #1005, NCCAOM provider #1134
Cost and cancellation policy below
The receiving of the egg and the setting sun; tiger, snakes and the unicorn
Constellations of the White Tiger (Bai Hu) heavenly quadrant
The central heavenly region
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Yi Jing
Physiology of Metal, Yangming and Taiyin
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Pulses, signs and symptoms
Diet and activities
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Shang Han Za Bing Lun formulae
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Case Studies
Logistics:
Class is live on zoom; recording are available for those who cannot make the time and/or wish to rewatch. Recordings will be available for 1 year in our online classroom (3 months only for those who sign up for an individual season).
Cost:
All 4 classes: $500
Individual class $175 per class
Payment plan available (see registration form)
Discounts:
Sign up with a friend and each get $30 off (valid for whole series and individual classes)
Cancellation policy: full refund within 24 hours of sign-up, 50% within 1 week of class; no refunds thereafter.
Please email us with any questions!