According to Taoist cosmology winter officially began around November 7th. Some signs of winters arrival are already being felt in Colorado, USA and Northern Europe. Between November 17-19 the greater Boulder Colorado area recorded approx. 18” of snow.

Yet, some parts of the United States have been unusually warm, in particular the southeastern seaboard and especially Florida, which has maintained near summer level heat well into the middle of November.

According to Master Zhongxian Wu:

“this winter season will be extremely cold in most areas of the northern hemisphere, as compared with the last few winters. I expect this to be especially true in those areas that missed cold weather last winter, for instance, in the Stockholm area.… The Cold Water Qi (manifested as heavy mist, rainstorms and snowstorms) will officially kick in about two weeks from now. [two weeks from Nov. 7th]”

The national meteorologists are predicting that this winter will have a similar pattern as the winter of 1998 with a strong “El Nino” effect. If this is true, then we could see a repeat of “The Great North American Ice Storm of 1998, which ’caused massive damage to trees and electrical infrastructure all over the area, leading to widespread long-term power outages. Millions were left in the dark for periods varying from days to weeks, and in some instances, months. It led to 35 fatalities, a shutdown of activities in large cities like Montreal and Ottawa, and an unprecedented effort in reconstruction of the power grid. The ice storm led to the largest deployment of Canadian military personnel since the Korean War, with over 16,000 Canadian Forces personnel deployed, 12,000 in Quebec and 4,000 in Ontario at the height of the crisis.”

This would also be consistent with Master Wu’s prediction of heavy mist, rainstorms and snowstorms as a result of Cold Water Qi.

If we look at the winters from the last two Wood Goat years (1955 and 1895) we see a definite pattern beginning to develop.

• “The Storm of the Century, Great Christmas Flood of 1955”, affected most of the US west coast
• Great Blizzard of 1955 in Wyoming
• March of 1956 most of the North Eastern United States was hit by a major winter storm/blizzard.
• The Great Freeze of 1895 affecting most of Florida, brought temperatures down to 19 degrees in Orlando and 24 degrees in West Palm Beach, decimating the citrus industry.
• Houston, Texas recorded 22” of snow in February 1895. The same system also brought 24” of snow in Rayne Louisiana, 16” in Houma Louisiana (just south of New Orleans), 22” in Lake Charles Louisiana and 6” in Mobile Alabama

It is very important to protect your vital organs, especially your Kidneys, during very cold winters with a lot of snow and/or rain. Internal cultivation (Kidney exercise, Meridian Massage, 8 Directional Exercise, lower back exercises etc…) as well as eating warming foods and drinking warming tea (ginger, cinnamon etc…). Try to conserve your energy as much as possible and avoid drafts and sweating. Also, do not over use the heater in your home as that can cause disruptions of your energy as well.

Regardless of what happens in this winter, make sure you focus on your internal cultivation, remaining calm and balanced, as well as, strengthening your body, mind and spirit.

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