The Alchemy of Autumn

Shifting into the season of discerning, distilling, and letting go so we can clarify our values.⁣ alchemy of autumn: metal Saturday, October 24, 2026, 10:30am to 12:30pm $40 · 1306 NW Hoyt Street, Portland, OR 97209 The leaves come down without argument, and the question they leave behind is harder than it looks: what do we keep, and what do we let fall? This is the autumn gathering in a seasonal series that follows the year the way Daoist physicians have followed it for two thousand years, one season at a time, each with its own organ, its own emotion, its own work. Autumn belongs to Metal. The Lungs take in breath and the Large Intestine lets go of what the body has finished with, and between those two motions sits the teaching of the season: take in what is pure, release the rest. Grief lives here, the old texts say, and so does the sense of worth that tells us what is precious. Metal is ore slowly becoming gold, the patient work of finding what remains once the rest has been refined away. Over two hours we will work with: • Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements as a way of reading your own life • Why the Lungs and Large Intestine come forward in autumn, and what that means for breath, skin, and the body's defenses • Foods and daily habits for the months heading into winter • Qigong for the Lungs and for letting go • Guided meditation • Writing prompts to carry home You leave with a seasonal food guide and a short morning and evening practice for autumn. Open to anyone meeting this work for the first time and anyone already deep in it. What to bring: clothes you can move in, and a journal. Limited to 20 participants. About Christopher Christopher Miller, L.Ac., has practiced acupuncture since 2012. He holds a Master's in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches University, trained clinically in the United States, Canada, and China, and is certified by the NCCAOM. His practice in Portland's Pearl District works from Daoist and Alchemical medicine and meets pain wherever it lives, in the body, the emotions, the mind, or the spirit. He has taught Daoist workshops since 2018 and also teaches Qigong and meditation.