Attune to the wheel of the year & the seasons of life with
Cycles of Time is a forecast for the week ahead released every Monday.
Using the languages of Astrology, Human Design, the I’Ching, the Indigenous medicine wheel, the Pagan wheel of the year, and the Taoist 5-element cycle, your host Alison Dale synthesizes myth and meaning from around the world to help you root into the present moment as the seasons change. Join us in an engaging weekly exploration that links together the cosmos, the seasons on earth, and you!
Listen to the welcome episode to hear what it’s all about:
Reconnect with the earth -and yourself- through the stories of our ancestors.
Sometimes modern life feels like it’s moving way too fast. Anxiety, depression, loneliness, and grief are prevalent in our culture, and many of us feel a distinct lack of connection- to each other, to the physical planet we call home, and even to ourselves.
Ancient people across the globe found grounding and meaning through their intimate relationships with the earth and the sky as they consistently changed throughout the year. From the Medicine Wheel in Siberia and North America, to the Pagan Wheel of the Year, to the Greek Zodiac, to the Chinese I’Ching, our foremothers and fathers cultivated beautiful, complex mythologies that embed us within the seasonal changes.
Join me each week to reconnect with the seasons, the stories of our ancestors, and our place in the universe through a poly-cultural, philosophical, and personal lens.
Listen to the Latest COT Episode
Meet the Cycles
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![Diagram of Earth's Seasons showing Earth's orbit around the Sun with marked solstices and equinoxes, labeled with dates.]()
The Earth's Revolution Around the Sun
We all know that seasons on Earth are caused Sy our revolutionary journey around the sun. Ancient people knew this story too, bit it was told as the Sun’s revolutionary journey around the elliptic in the sky. The Equinoxes (equal day and night) and Solstices (longest day and shortest day of the year) are beautiful markers of seasonal moments in the cycle of time. Many ancient traditions focus on these powerful days within the wheel of the year that mark transition points between seasons, plant growing cycles, and the weather.
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![Zodiac wheel with symbols and constellations]()
The Tropical Zodiac
Around 5,000 years ago, ancient cultures of Babylon and Sumer were the origin of our modern Zodiac signs. At that time, the constellation rising at the spring equinox was Aries, the ram. The stories that evolved in Greek and Roman times aboot ut each of the 12 Zodiac signs reflect the seasonal changes that unfold from the spring equinox to the summer solstice and on around the wheel. Other systems of astrology (Vedic & Sidereal) base the Zodiacal signs on the current position of the constellations. Neither is “more correct”, but I use the Tropical zodiac based on my interest in the connection between seasonal attunement and origin stories of the signs.
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![Circular chart with I Ching hexagrams and yin-yang symbol in center, labeled with cosmic and mythological names.]()
The I'Ching: The Book of Changes
The I’Ching, a system of divination originating around 5,000 years ago in Ancient China, uses combinations of 8 elemental symbols called ‘trigrams’ to form 64 hexagrams whose meanings span the wheel of the year. The Fuxi sequence begins on the Spring Equinox with 8 “Thunder”-based hexagram, and the sun trans ts around the wheel of the year through the 7 other elemental trigrams. The modern syncretic ystems of Human Design and the Gene Keys have popularized this ancient wisdom, wherein the hexagrams are known as “Gates” and “Gene Keys”,
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![Wheel of the Year showing eight pagan festivals: Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, Samhain.]()
The Pagan Wheel of the Year
In Pagan (pre-Christian) Europe, the Equinoxes and Solstices wer considered holy days, as were the 4 mid-points between the solstices and equinoxes, known as cross-quarter days. Some of these holidays have continued to be widely celebrated in the modern era, such as Halloween (aka Samhain or Sowe’en), Mayday, and Yule. Others are less commonly-known in popular culture, but continue to be celebrated in their European countries of origin.
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![Wu Xing chart depicting the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, water, with generate and control cycles.]()
The Taoist 5-Element Wu Xing Cycle
Widely used today in the popular practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) , Qigong, Tai Chi, and Feng Shui, the Wu Xing cycle originated with the ancient Taoist idea that world is composed of these five elements the relational nature of change among them. The 5 Elements or Phases correspond with the seasons of the year, with Mu (wood) aligning with spring, Huo (fire) aligning with summer, Jin (metal) aligning with autumn, and Shui (water) aligning with winter. Tu (earth) aligns with the transitional time between seaIons, as well as late summer/early fall. Each phase or element is associated with parts of the body, and balancing these elements is a big part of Chinese Medicine.
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![Medicine wheel diagram with four quadrants, North, East, South, and West, each labeled with seasons, animals, and elements.]()
The Indigenous Medicine Wheel
The Medicine Wheel, a sacred wheel of the year originating with people indigenous to Turtle Island (modern-day North America) and Siberia, is also known as he Sun Dance Circle or Sacred Hoop. It is an ancient and sacred symbol used by many different Tribes. It signifies Earth's boundary and all the knowledge of the universe, with each direction of the wheel being associated with a stage of life, an element, a sacred plant and animal, and an aspect of human experience, from physical to mental to emotional to spiritual. There are many versions of the Medicine Wheel, and their specific symbols vary by region and tribe.
For those of you who, like me, appreciate someone who can skillfully weave together several archetypal modalities to make sense of our lives and our world, I highly recommend Alison Dale and her podcast. I have felt very blessed and enriched by what she offers.
-Bryan
NEW!
Book a personalized Cycles of Time Reading
You might know your Zodiac sun sign… but what about the I’Ching Hexagram, Human Design Gate, Pagan holy-day, and Taoist element that illuminated your birth?
Join me to take a look at the archetypes, stories, and magical gifts that combine to make up your birthday’s micro-season. We’ll also spend some time looking at the deep placements of your moon and rising sign, so you can tap into the specific ways that you rise, shine & feel.