Ya’ll I totally had this generated through AI. I am doing my watercolor artwork but that’s for me. I want to see the organs nourished and in harmony in this one. She’s wiser, mature woman. Yeah, she low-key has my brown hair with grey ( I color mine but my kids say they still see it), freckles, blue eyes, and I don’t have tattoos but I love her vibe. See the picture at the bottom of a younger woman I created with AI because I think it is important for the younger women to know that the next 20 years about their nourishment and power. And not to forget the men at all! This Yin energy in Period 9 will help you also create stability for long-haul.

As we move into the New Year (Chinese New Year, January 29, 2025) the guardian of the year transitions from Yang Wood Dragon to Yin Wood Snake (乙巳年). I was curious as to what this energy might look like in my life. The longer I study and learn, especially as it relates to Daoism, the more I feel so deeply connected and it unfolds in my life and connects to it in such a deep way.

I will say I am just a student. I have observed and tried to practice suggestions given over many decades, and now studying Traditional Chinese Medicine, and also Daoism, I am always in awe at each revelation made. I only share with you because it has touched me so deeply. And maybe, in some small, or big, way it could nourish you.

Goodbye Yang Wood Dragon

Last year, 2024, the guardian of the year was The Year of The Dragon -Yang Wood Energy. It felt slightly chaotic and quite disruptive. I relate it to whiplash. I felt like every time I got a movement towards stability and peace something else came along to disrupt it all.

Personally, we had moved into a camper as our permanent residence only to discover after we had moved in that it was unliveable with backward wiring, holes in the ceiling, and water and mold damage everywhere. In searching for a new home, cars broke down, we lived through a tornado, witnessed many car accidents where we aided, I suffered from health issues including one that I will be getting surgery this Spring to correct, and finally to end the year my nine-year-old daughter was bitten by a pit bull that required hours of reconstructive surgery. All of this while I attended graduate school full-time, received my certification for Qigong and Tai Chi, homeschooled my youngest children, and worked on a farm trying my hand at growing flowers, marketing, and working their farm store. It was a lot. Needless to say, I am happy to close this chapter taking the wisdom I learned with it. I burned my Talisman last week and it felt so good to see it burn to ashes. It will be equally as gratifying to see it float down the river…as soon as it unfreezes.

Yin Wood Snake (乙巳年)

As we enter this Yin Wood Snake energy we are also aligning with this new energy of Period 9. Period 9 comes from the Flying Star Feng Shui system (Xuan Kong). I am not an expert at it AT ALL but from what I have been learning the more I study Daoism, Chinese astrology, and my daily reading of the Huang Di Nei Jing, Feng Shui is divided into 9 major cycles each lasting 20 years. We just completed Period 8 where the archetype of that Period, ruled by Gen, was the Young Man/Mountain. Now we move into Period 9, ruled by Li, and the archetype is the Older Woman/Fire. This mature woman is wise and intuitive. Like the snake, she sheds her skin and transforms as she goes. This isn’t an energy that fires quicks and dies away, rather, this is an energy that is discerning at the moment, and in those moments with intention, a decision is made…then the skin is shed, and then…transformation. Transformation to be lived out to experience another shedding and yet another transformation.

As we, like the Snake ground ourselves to our wisdom, we get to experience many times the renewal of ourselves. It’s not a metamorphosis, one where we completely dissolve and become something entirely. Instead, we live and learn and slide and slither into the next chapter…over…and over again.

Wood Snake is not only a wise energy but embodies a prophetic calling and understanding. Why? This Period 9 energy of the Older Woman energy imbues this Yin Wood Snake with insight from the experiences learned and how we can transmute and integrate what would move us forward with purpose and freedom. It’s an energy that is enduring. It’s constant. It’s here to create lasting stability but not at all costs. She weighs what must be balanced. What must be nourished or adjusted to achieve the result that will withstand? Yin Wood Snake energy being held by the Older Woman energy of Period 9 is here to speak when necessary. A fierceness that allows constructive fire, not destructive.

Elements

As we look at the elements, especially as it relates to the very dynamic relationship amongst the 5 elements:

Wood

Color: Green
Season: Spring
Organ: Liver (Yin Organ)/Gallbladder (Yang Organ)
Emotion: Anger
Thought Process: Movement, Creativity, New Ideas, Growth

Liver (Yin)

The General (or at least as I was taught in school)
Responsible for Strategic Planning & Vision + Execution of Planning & Vision
Organ: Liver (Yin Organ)/Gallbladder (Yang Organ)
Stores: Blood + Regulates Its Flow
Emotion: Anger
Sound: Shout
Odor: Rancid
Opens: To the Eyes
Nourishes: Tendons
Time: 1 a.m. - 3 a.m.
Yang Paired Organ: Gallbladder associated with decision-making
Important Job: Regulates the Smooth & Free Flow of Qi (Life Force Energy)

What Does This Mean In Terms of Health

Yin Wood is vital in the free flow of Qi which means when there is an imbalance there is stagnation. Where this is stagnation it can affect mood, health, decision making, etc. In my opinion, this contributes greatly to trauma and illness. When Qi is stagnant in the Liver, it will present with symptoms like irritability, tension headaches, menstrual irregularities, and digestive issues. Now I just mentioned what it looks like out of balance but let’s shift and look at it from the constant free flow of balance and adapting accordingly.

In walks the Older Woman energy. She knows.

She knows that we must eat in season, we must support the free flow of movement and that requires constantly adjusting in the moment, in the day, in the season. Some may think “Well, I adjusted things and it lasts for a moment but the moment I step out of that rhythm it stops.” Duh.

Rhythm is constant movement. Free flow. Adjusting. It’s like watching a mature woman, the Auntie Vibe, having guests over. She’s constantly moving. She’s joyfully, and playfully moving in the kitchen, to outside, setting up the spaces to flow and converse with guests both inside and out. She’s conducting tiny adjustments and acting accordingly. We know when we have gathered at a healthy older, mature woman’s home…we just get to be. We are nourished, we feel free, we feel seen, we feel heard.

Now…flip that and present the Auntie with something that might upset the balance of something. She fiercely handles her business. Not later. Not lamenting about it as she does it. Her fierce and righteous anger allows her to focus accordingly and STILL continue to flow. She sets the boundaries for what must be contained and also adjusts, and or lets go of what can’t come with her because it causes illness, imbalance, or just ain’t hers! Shedding that awesome snakeskin!

2 Star- Illness Star

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this star playing an important role in the center of all of this, especially as we live into Period 9. This #2 Star is also known as The Star of Women and is aligned with the Kun Trigram (坤卦) – The #2 Star belongs to the Kun trigram in the Bagua. This #2 Star is associated with the Mother, Yin energy, and the Earth element. It’s all about the role that is deeply connected to nurturing, caregiving, and the traditional feminine role in a household.

Some see this star as a negative because again its name is Illness Star. Illness can present itself, but as many teachers have taught me, we do not fear planetary alignments. Nope. Never. We work with them. Illness has ALWAYS been one of my greatest teachers. It has helped to restructure my life literally shaping how I live today. When we allow our health to calmly speak to us of our imbalances we can adjust accordingly. We CHOOSE to listen and as we listen, we learn, and as we learn, we adjust, and as we adjust, we act accordingly. It’s purposeful choices. That is how we live in vitality. In our power. With the 2 Star being Earth energy and more of the direction of the SouthEast, we slow down, we use more Metal elements to strengthen and counteract the impact that Earth energy could play on our health. Not eliminating, but dancing with it.

White Tiger and Li Trigram

And with this 2 Star, The Star of Women, the ways to balance are to counteract it with the element of Metal. My attention immediately pulled to the White Tiger. White Tiger is often depicted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as being associated with Autumn/Metal but there is another side to it as well. White Tiger is associated with Yin energy in its most Fierce and Protective Form. Some even say that the White Tigress represents a powerful and wise sexual prowess, but if it isn’t being channeled in that way it will give birth to creative ideas and projects. In the Bagua (essentially a map in Feng Shui), Li Trigram (☲) is what supports this Period of 9 and it is associated with the element of Fire/Brightness. With this being the year of the Wood Snake and that element of Wood feeding Fire, I see this powerful period of deep nourishment and movement. But only in a way that is aligned. Metal will help to bring the balance needed to support the Energy of the Earth 2 Star and the White Tiger too running alongside all this Older Woman energy…it will be balanced and powerful.

Welcoming the Snake Energy

Element: Wood

Direction: SouthEast

Represents: Wealth and Abundance

Balance Looks Like:

Colors:

Greens + Blues to enhance the Wood energy

Plants:

Green plants or items made from wood

Elements:

Wood art or things created from wood (A Wood snake!)
Water features, even a (like a bowl of water with floating flowers)- this is because Water generates Wood

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year in the Yin Wood Snake Vibe.

LoLo

Yin Wood Snake (乙巳年)

The Tao, The Way of Life.