Attributes of Late Summer

Chinese culture recognizes late summer as a separate season that corresponds to late August and early September. Just as fire is the element of summer and the heart is the predominant organ; the earth is the element of late summer when the spleen and the stomach become predominant. Just as joy is the emotion associated with fire, compassion and worry are associated with the earth element. The taste associated with late summer is sweet and the associated color is yellow.

Late summer is the time of transition from the yang cycle of the seasons to the yin aspect; from the growth phases of spring and summer to the time of harvest and rest in the fall and winter. The earth element also represents this transitional center position between yin and yang. The spleen and stomach convert the nutrition of food, which is yin to energy needed to perform life’s activities, which are yang.

In Chinese medicine, the spleen is the most important organ for producing energy in the body. It has five main functions: transforming food into energy, transporting energy throughout the body, warms the body, holds the organs in place, and ensures that blood circulates in the body.

Individuals in harmony with the season are strong, have good endurance, good appetites and digestion, have fertile imagination and are generally hard working and practical. Those individuals that are out of balance with the season show general signs of a spleen-stomach imbalance. This imbalance is characterized by chronic fatigue, a feeling of “being stuck” that prevents them from being creative. These individuals typically have weak digestion which may be accompanied by nausea, poor appetite, abdominal bloating and loose stools.