Lunar Year of the Snake

Happy Lunar New Year of the Wood Snake!

The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, usually occurs on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice. This marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle that offers one of Five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and one of Twelve Zodiac Animals (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig)

There are probably as many different interpretations out there as there are writers as to what this means. My heyoka view simply looks at it this way:

Lunar - to do with the Moon

Wood - to do with Trees

Snake - to do with Transformation

The moon has a directional pull on us since we ebb and flow with her cycles so it makes sense for us to tune into her phases as it offers a reflection to help us with ours. New Moons are about beginnings. The dark moon is like a blackboard waiting for us to write our intentions. Many would agree the moon represents 'emotions', and as I recently learned from one astrologer, the moon also represents our ancestral lineage.

Simply stated, Wood comes to us from the Trees and the Trees are Earth and Sky connectors. Ponder how their roots run deep into the earth showing us the reflection of being "grounded" while their limbs reach and stretch skyward reminding us how to effortlessly connect with a higher source.

Snake is representative of transformation because they shed their old skin when they outgrow it.

And so I welcome this New Year of the Wood Snake and offer this wisdom reflection for anyone seeking their own deeper meaning...

Knowing where you are in life has much to do with where you came from. If you are willing to speak your truth and honor your past, you can shed any old ways that may not be serving your highest good. Tree Medicine teaches us the value of staying grounded. Take a few moments each day to imagine you are a tree and allow your feet to really feel those roots spiraling deep down into the earth. There is a strength that is palpable and unwavering. As you feel that grounded'ness, reach up to sky, perhaps in prayer position, and offer gratitude for the moment as you connect to a higher power source be it other worldly or just a higher reflection of you. Do this a few times and notice how you feel.

This Lunar New Year of the Snake reflects great strength, healing and transformation - question is, are we willing to look up and take note of where we fit in the scheme of things? January asks us to ponder where we are headed; February soon arrives and with it the mindset to begin to formulate just how we may get there.

Bear Cheers to the New Year!