Greetings to all who share the wisdom of feng shui!
Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is the most earthy of all holidays. The trend to turn it into a fire holiday by opening stores on Thanksgiving day is lamentable. Shopping and bustling malls are activities of the fire element and would shift the focus away from the domestic attributes of this very special holiday.
With Thanksgiving we celebrate the gifts from mother earth. The Tao of Thanksgiving is a far reaching tradition of giving thanks for harvest abundance and for settling in a new land. Horizontal Tao connections stretch from Canada, where Thanksgiving is on the first weekend in October, to New England and to Florida. Vertical Tao connections, derived from historic data, remind us that Thanksgiving is a holiday of connecting to nature by giving thanks for a plentiful harvest, but also one of reaching out and connecting to indigenous habits and inhabitants. The Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock are commemorated as the first Thanksgiving held in 1621, later declared a national holiday by President Lincoln in 1865, however, historic data reveal an earlier Thanksgiving celebration on September 9th 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida, the city founded by Pedro Menendez de Aviles 52 years after Ponce de Leon discovered the First Coast in 1513. The Pilgrims in 1621 may not have had turkey, but the Spanish in St. Augustine, celebrating with the Tumucua Indians, are documented to have feasted on wild turkey, alligator and cocido, a stew made with pork.
The earth element is our theme for Thanksgiving with warm rich colors of yellow, orange, brown and terra cotta. Tangerine tango, our color of the year, would be a great accent color for festive and uplifting clothing. Gourds in their many variations are vessels of the earth element, and square shapes are grounding and stabilizing.
For optimal contentment and to satisfy all the senses on Thanksgiving, Pyramid Feng Shui recommends a rainbow of foods that encompass all the colors of the elements. In addition to the visual feast, olfactory stimulation from roasting, grilling and cooking wafts anticipation to all nostrils. Amazing Grace and other uplifting songs remind us of national pride and traditions, and a prayer of thanks, while holding hands around a cornucopia of blessings from the land, completes the sensory experience of a Happy Thanksgiving.
In honor of what our forebears achieved, Thanksgiving should continue to be a holiday of upholding peace and togetherness, stability and nurturing.
Celebrate Thanksgiving Day
With Pyramid Feng Shui!