Anniversary Essence:

Thirty Years of Luminosity

As ITEA celebrates the meaningful milestone of our 30th year, we are excited to announce the essence, or theme, for our Anniversary Celebration Weekend!

Thirty is more than a number. It is three decades of awareness, virtue and purpose. In the context of the Taoist I Ching, 30 corresponds to Hexagram Li, translated as “Fire,” “Clinging,” and “Brightness.”

It represents double light that endures because it is rightly aligned—not forced, but sustained through commitment, clarity, and connection. With brightness doubled, like the image of the sun, there is radiance continues by brilliant virtue and deeds.

For thirty years, ITEA has been luminous.

ITEA has created space for many lights to shine. Patients, students, leaders, learners, seekers and global communities, each invited to reflect and amplify one another. Like the expansion of fire that is only possible by clinging to the wood that feeds it, ITEA has thrived with shared values, a commitment to purpose and enduring relationships formed through respect and trust.

The Wisdom of Radiance
Hexagram 30 teaches us that true illumination requires something to connect or attach to: values, ethics, vision, and meaning.

Fire, in Five Element Acupuncture and the I Ching, is not only wild destruction, it is also clarity. It reveals truth. It warms. It transforms. It offers guidance in darkness. Since 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, this milestone also arrives with momentum, unbridled freedom, joy, endurance, play, courage and love.

For ITEA, this wisdom mirrors our journey:
We connect to a mission that matters
We have adapted without compromising integrity
We have grown brighter by staying aligned

True radiance is not about intensity. It is about consistency,
and the boldness of living with authentic heart.

 

Your Invitation:
Be the Light That Connects
This anniversary belongs to more than just the past or a single institution. It belongs to every person who has ever participated, contributed, supported, or believed in ITEA. It belongs to you.

 

 

This month, we invite you to reflect:

  • How has ITEA been a light in your journey? Share with us here
  • How could your light nurture ITEA to grow even brighter?

In Hexagram 30, radiance can spread not by overpowering others, but by revealing pathways. Inner illumination and outer illumination are equally vital and interconnected, as with the balance of yin and yang, light and dark.

Together, we do not compete for illumination—we share it.

Looking Back: Thirty Years of Held Light
As we reflect on three decades, we see moments of brilliance both big and small:

  • Milestones that shaped our direction
  • Quiet efforts that sustained our core
  • Challenges that became catalysts
  • Connections that became community

Each generation of ITEA has tended the flame, ensuring it did not burn out or burn away, but instead burns true.

This anniversary is a celebration of time passed and an honoring of care:
the care it takes to keep light alive.

The Present Moment: A Bright Center
Illumination is doubled in Hexagram 30, as fire sits above fire. This symbolizes a time when visibility, awareness, and responsibility are heightened.

Today, ITEA stands at such a moment.

We have a strong presence. We have impact and influence. We carry wisdom earned through experience.

With that visibility comes an invitation: to lead with clarity rather than heat, and with illumination rather than noise.

This year asks us not simply to shine, but to shine wisely.

The Future: Tending the Flame Forward
The I Ching reminds us that fire must be tended. Radiance is not passive—it is a practice. As we look ahead, our question becomes: What do we choose to illuminate next?

  • New voices and leadership
  • Emerging ideas and partnerships
  • Deeper inclusion and shared stewardship
  • Innovation and expansion grounded in principle

The next chapter of ITEA will not be written by brightness alone. It will be co-created through alignment, by continuing to connect to what gives our light meaning.

Thirty Years Bright
Thirty years ago, a spark was lit. Thirty years later, the flame endures.
May this anniversary year be one of gentle brilliance, steady purpose, and renewed commitment to what truly matters.

May we continue to connect to what gives light, and in doing so, remain luminous—together.

Brittany Sanelli, B.A., M.Ac., Dipl. Ac. (NCBAHM)
ITEA Alumna, Faculty, and President

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