Great Snow: 21st Seasonal Node (December 7 – December 21, 2025)
December 7, 2025 marks Great Snow, the 21st of the 24 solar terms and the third phase of winter.
We’ve reached the midpoint of the season, the final stage of the most Yin time of year, when nature has finished drawing inward and is now fully resting. Over the next fifteen days, darkness increases each day as we move toward the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year.
What’s Happening in Nature
Mistletoe blooms
Snow falls
Tree sap is held deep in the roots
Animals are hibernating
Psycho-Emotional Shifts
The theme of Great Snow is darkness, the natural expression of year’s deepest Yin. Darkness invites us to move consciously and pay closer attention to what's right for us. In Chinese medicine, winter is associated with the emotion of fear, but fear in its healthy form becomes awareness and inner listening.
Fear in balance becomes patience and wisdom. It helps us pause before acting, protect our peace of mind and make decisions that best support our well-being. This season encourages us to trust ourselves and listen to our intuition.
Seasonal Diet (Five-Element Nutrition)
The dietary advice is mostly the same as it was for Slight Snow (read that article here, find the section five element nutrition) Continue with warming, nourishing foods cooked low and slow. Soup, warming spices and root vegetables.
Winter is the season of the Kidneys, the organ system that governs our longevity and energy storage. The color associated is Black. So black foods are superfoods to tonify the kidneys. Black beans, black rice, black sesame seeds and muscles are good to eat right now.
Walnuts and Chestnuts are very powerful foods to nourish the kidneys.
Walnuts tonify the kidneys, warm the yang and moisten the intestines. Walnuts are also known to strengthen the brain and mental function, notice how they look like a brain. They provide a large amounts of omega 3 fatty acids which helps concentraion and inflammation.
Chestnuts: A warming food that nourishes Qi and supports the kidneys. They're said to improve circulation.
Continue foot soaking
A warm nightly foot bath is a great self care practice throughout winter. Warmth travels through the Kidney 1 point on the sole of the foot and moves upward absorbing into the internal organs, connective tissue, muscles and bones. Once you start to sweat a little, you can stop, at that point the warmth has fully saturated the entire body.
Closing Reflection
Great Snow invites us into a deeper quiet, where rest is needed and in alignment with the season. As the world outside settles under frost and darkness, we’re reminded that stillness has a purpose. Winter gives us the chance to restore what the year has used, to slow our pace and to nourish our body. It’s a chance for introspection and meditation. Bring warmth into your days in simple ways: a cozy atmosphere, nourishing meals, early evenings and gentle movement like Tai Chi and Qi Gong. This is great time to practice and enjoy self-care.
Next Season: Winter Solstice — December 22, 2025
Begins January 21, 2026 in Pearl River, NY Register here!
