The wind is blowing gently today, as I write this. I’m thinking about how to begin this exploration of the heavy emotional winds, known as the Aires, with a sense of respect and gratitude. Sometimes the teachers of our lives, the ones that really help us to grow, are in fact the challenging conditions that make us uncomfortable. Though it is not easy to recognize these circumstances as allies, deep discomfort can serve to wake us up to changes that need to be made or integrated, even when we would not otherwise want to do so.
Many people within the realm of holistic healing and spirituality are aware that the body will eventually find a manner in which to express the ailments of the mind, heart, and soul, if they are not addressed directly, and that physical symptoms can provide clues to what lies at the root of imbalance. Most cultural systems of healing approach human ailments in this way, with the assumption of interconnection between what is visible and what is not. This is one of the primary underlying principles within Curanderismo as well, the post-colonial form of physical and emotional healing developed from Indigenous and European folk influences in Mexico, as a means of treating trauma and imbalance on all levels. If one has an issue within the lungs, for example, in addition to looking for physical causes and treatments, it is not uncommon to also look at unresolved grief and sadness, and perhaps at family history to see what has been repeating within the bloodline in similar ways. But what about the sadness, grief, or depression itself? Heavy emotions like this are also a symptom with a root cause, and may act as an ally pointing our attention towards something.
It seems that our current culture has some difficulty looking at emotions in this way. The movements of mainstream Psychology have turned us more and more away from this kind of inquiry and towards a diagnostic approach, wherein some emotions in particular are seen as permanent conditions, requiring medication and other long term treatments. Having a diagnosis of Anxiety or Depression, for example, is very common, as is being taught to manage it in various ways, long term. This makes sense considering how serious and life altering these issues can be, and there are certainly times when that form of help might be necessary to avoid creating further harm. Yet, from this alternate cultural perspective, accepting an emotional condition as permanent is an approach with many consequences. The more we internalize the diagnosis, and identify with feeling that way, the more we hold it in place, fusing it to our sense of self. We can easily come to believe we are the sadness, the anxiety, the anger, or whatever emotion has us in its grip, and resign ourselves to that identity. Here is one other way to think about emotional imbalance, particularly when we are feeling overwhelmed.
The concept of the Aires is that they are emotional winds that travel literally and figuratively as winds through our systems, in our world, and between us. There is more than one form of Aire. Aires de la Tierra are energies that dwell in certain wild places where humans are not meant to casually trespass, and which may attach to and cause problems for anyone who does. (It is not unlike the warning attached to stories about Faerie places, where one should not enter without knowing the customs.) Inorganic beings and sacred places do not always welcome us, though often we don’t perceive the subtle boundaries. The kind of Aires that relate to emotions, however, are called Aires Cosmicos. These are larger forces that act as challenging teachers, showing us areas where we are out of alignment with ourselves on the level of soul.
The Aires Cosmicos were named during the early years of Colonial Mexico by the first Meztizos, the mixed race people who were not embraced by either the Indigenous or the Spanish cultures. Outsiders on both sides, the products and the witnesses of much pain, this group of outcasts gave names to the emotional conditions that were prevalent in their time. They also formed theories and treatments to address them, bringing together the knowledge of all sides of their heritage. The Aires they named are not only relevant to one place and time, however. They are the emotions connected to colonial and post-colonial culture, where oppression remains in many overt and subtle forms, and the sublimation of soul, earth based mysticism, oral history, ritual, and cultural identity flourishes in our systems. We still live in the shadow of colonization, and the displacement that is central to the colonization process has made a lasting contribution to the troubled emotional health of our culture.
There are 13 Aires Cosmicos and they are as follows:
Miedo- fear, timidity
Susto- shock, usually involving dissociation
Espanto- sudden fright or terror, as of the supernatural
Tristesa- sorrow, sadness, depression
Pena- grief, holding onto pain
Verguenza- shame
Culpa- guilt
Angustia- anxiety, worry
Coraje- anger, rage
Resentimiento- resentment, bitterness
Celos- jealousy
Envidia- envy
Egoismo- egoism, self-importance
Each of these is considered a kind of energetic force, one that may visit any of us, often disrupting our usual way of living in a manner that makes us uncomfortable or causes enough problems that we are forced to slow down and look within. If we are able to notice that an Aire is in the forefront of our lives, then the idea is for us to listen to what it is showing us. If we are shut down by grief, for example, perhaps we know what loss has caused this and the only work to do is to allow ourselves time and space to grieve. However, if we are caught in a state of rage or shock, then it may be a sign that our soul is trying to regain a sense of power or protection in a situation where it feels compromised or harmed. If we are consumed with guilt, then it’s likely we have done something that feels out of sync with who we believe ourselves to be. Once the core problem has been recognized, the Aire should be able to move again, like a wind that passes through us for a time and then releases us to integrate the self knowledge, healing, or growth required. However, because emotions can be blinding as well, sometimes we are not easily able to step back and understand them as sign posts in this way. Often, we identify with the emotions, and they remain with us too long, becoming stuck and creating more imbalance, both emotionally and physically. At that time we may turn to herbal remedies, ceremony, a limpia ritual of cleansing, and other healing processes intended to release what we have collected.
The Aires also move between people as if they were contagious. This is most evident when we consider any of the four kinds of fear named, as it passes from person to person in moments of real or perceived threat, or in instances of rage escalating within a group. Being surrounded by others in a strong emotional vibration makes it hard to resist, whether in a crowd, or even when we are hearing the genuine emotion in a voice or voices on the news. And, we are particularly susceptible to the Aires that we are most familiar with, where our personal vulnerabilities lie. The more empathic we are, the more vigilant we need to be about identifying what belongs to us and what doesn’t, as well as in doing the practices that help us to cleanse, ground, and protect our energy bodies.
Tracking the emotions within and around us is not only important for our mental and emotional well being. If these emotional conditions are looking to gain our attention at the soul level, they will continue to present themselves in more intense ways, including finding physical forms of expression. When too many Aires have been collected, sometimes all we feel is numb, or else blocked in certain areas of our lives. In this confused state of mind, our actions may take us further and further from our truest selves. The art of working with the concept or presence of the Aires is to recognize them as cosmic forces outside of ourselves, not as part of us, to see their influence as early as we can, and to detach them from our self concept, unravelling their influences and deciphering their messages with patience and self compassion.
Of course, we do have circumstances in our current culture that are very new in human history. I often wonder about the Aires in the context of the Age of Information. Our awareness is so flooded with information on all levels that many people find themselves alternately overwhelmed and numb, either running into every fight or flying away in detachment. Sensory overload makes it harder to feel the forces at play both within us and around us. We learn to mistrust even our own instincts in this state of mind. It’s no wonder that pharmaceutical solutions and self-medication, in its many forms, are so common. The first thing we need to cultivate, in order to address our Aires as teachers, and not permanent shadows in our lives, is the sacred space to slow down and listen deeply to ourselves. Perhaps if we can find the way to do this first step with love, we will be able to rescue our internal sense of empowerment and the awareness of our unique soul journey. We are not meant to be sailboats blown in all directions by wild winds, but to avoid this we must first take hold of the ropes, steady our vessel, and begin to direct it in partnership with the elements surrounding us.
Where do you need to begin? What Aire has been your most constant companion? Do you dare to consider that this may not be who you are by nature? So much goes into creating the identification, including your ancestral heritage and generational traumas, the experiences of your life, and your unconscious beliefs. Yet, who are you underneath all of this, at the deepest level of soul? What within you does not change with the shifting winds? And the Aire that troubles you, what might it be showing you that is not in alignment with that soul truth? Without necessarily tossing away all the strategies that might be working for you, would it be worth it to consider talking to your most difficult emotions this way, and asking them why they are there? Are you willing to listen to the Aires Cosmicos as challenging teachers? Perhaps if we can treat them with this respect, they will respond in kind, and lead us closer to who we are meant to be. There is no question that we are living in intense times, and we are not the first culture to do so. May we each learn to weather the winds of our lives with grace and find the growth that is meant for us, in the gentlest manner possible.
With love for those who came before and all of us here now,
the eleventh house
-This blog was written by Melusina Gomez. You can learn more about her work and healing practices at www.metzmecatl.com