There is a lot to share about this Chinese New Year, and it’s interesting to explain things in more detail through Chinese medicine and the Five Elements.  For example, two consecutive years are spent in the same element; there are five elements:  fire, earth, metal, water and wood.  For 2025 we will continue with the Wood Element, which corresponds to the season of spring, creativity, and the organs Liver and Gall Bladder.  2024 was the year of the yang wood Dragon, a bold transformative period of time.  In this article, I will first provide a little background information about the Wood element, then explore Snake’s nature, and finally integrate the two at the end.

 

The fun superficiality of the Chinese calendar actually runs deeply from observations made thousands of years ago that continue to apply to life today.  Like Chinese medicine, the calendar is pervasive throughout all aspects of being human, affecting day to day living, farming, health care, etc.  As we strive to live in harmony with our environment, we also notice how we change and respond to each season.  Each season corresponds to the Five Elements; fire/summer, metal/autumn, water/winter, wood/spring, and earth/transitions between seasons.  The elements also correspond to internal organs, sound, direction, etc.  And like everything you can possibly think of, each element also has Yin/still or Yang/active aspects.  2024 began with Yang Wood, (Dragon) and 2025’s Wood Element cycle with Yin;  yin wood represents the more flexible aspect of wood such as the more subtle, slower moving and thoughtful aspects of creative transformation, rather than the fast moving activity of yang energies we experienced in 2024.  

 

For example, the characteristics of yin wood is more forgiving, such as grass as opposed to a rigid tree.  Bamboo is a plant that presents as a harmonized Wood Element, maintaining integrity while remaining flexible.  For people, this translates beautifully as the ability to recognize the need for change, and the ability to change without becoming angry and frustrated. 

 

Wood’s corresponding season is spring, the associated environment is wind, the direction is east, the color green, the taste is sour, the corresponding organs are the Liver and Gall Bladder, the emotions anger and forgiveness, and the wood element manifests in the nails, tendons and eyes.  In addition to physical vision, the wood element is also responsible for creative vision.  A harmonious wood element (Liver) listens to intuition and remains flexible enough to make changes to their creative idea when necessary, and (Gall Bladder) delegates responsibility to others in order to help carry out their plan.  The Gall Bladder is the more yang aspect of the wood element, providing the yang/activity to accomplish the goals set by the Liver, which is more yin/contemplative, stable and still.

 

Each Chinese new year welcomes the next animal in the cycle, there are twelve animals; 2023 was the year of the Water Rabbit http://daisylear.com/2023-year-of-the-water-rabbit/  and 2024 was the year of the Wood Dragon http://daisylear.com/2024-year-of-the-wood-dragon/  The Year of the Yin Wood Snake began January 29, 2025 and ends February 16, 2026.  People born in the year of the Snake :  1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025.

Similar to the Dragon, Snake highlights transmutation: the act or process of changing something completely, especially into something different.  Interestingly, the intrinsic nature of snakes correspond with the wood element, let’s take a look : 

• The scaly skin of reptiles provides both strength and flexibility
• Snakes are famous for shedding their skin, a process that  takes days to weeks depending upon the size.  Prior to shedding, the snakes’ eyes cloud over and they cannot see well, so they find a safe place to hide until the skin is ready to come off ( for more info :  https://wholeeartheducation.com/snakes-shedding-skin/ ).  During this vulnerable period of time they are very still.  Depending upon the size of the snake, it can take a couple of hours or days to wriggle out of their skin.  Because of this regular renewal of bringing a bright new self back into the world, many cultures associate the snake with health.  Interestingly, the discarded snake skin is a medicinal Chinese herb used to treat skin lesions, muscle spasms/convulsion/seizure as well as

  

  superficial visual obstructions and disorders of the cornea (Materia Medica by Bensky/Gamble).  

• Snakes smell with their tongue, which is why it flicks in and out often; Jacobson’s organ is located on the roof of the mouth and enables them to assimilate the air around them.  This organ helps them to taste the air and its odors, which then assists in locating food (Ted Andrews “Animal Speak” pp363).
• Snakes attack their prey quickly, and once food is located and captured, the snakes’ jaw unhinges to eat their prey whole.

 

The mouth is where we take in nutrition in the form of food.  This unhinging ability of the snake reflects the increased ability to swallow and absorb greater amounts of nutrition for the head, i.e., knowledge.Learning opportunities, formal or informal, will surface frequently.Usually with the snake totem, there is little chance of overloading the brain circuits.You will be able to swallow and digest whatever you take in (Ted Andrews “Animal Speak” pp360-363).

 

• Many cultures recognize the power of the snakes’ head and associate the human visionary ‘third eye’ with the snake.  The snakes’ head is so powerful and feared that it is the first thing a hawk will eliminate when plucking it from the ground.
• Snakes are cold blooded; they require the environment to provide the temperature they need, which is why they are seen basking in the sun or shade.  For people born in the year of the snake or having a snake totem this may translate to being sensitive to the environment/people/situations.
• Heat sensor : boas, pythons and pit vipers have “heat pits” which enable these snakes to actually see a heat source; the hotter the source, the brighter the image   (fascinating information from https://herpetoculturenetwork.com/heat-pits-explained/ ). Similar to seeing auras, potential new channels of perception will be available.

 

Both the Wood element and the snake are associated with renewal and transformation, as such we can expect subtle and more quiet (yin) shifts within ourselves, the community, and perhaps the earth itself.  Whether these moments of transition are unwelcome changes or deliberately chosen personal choices, they can still be challenging, in which case we may need to become more contemplative and sink more deeply into the yin energy by finding flexibility while maintaining integrity.  During these moments, we could use the creative visionary Wood element and have fun with the Snake’s ability to use other senses to “see”.  These alternative perceptive opportunities may present themselves in ways we have not listened to in the past.  

 

There is wisdom in the ability to recognize the need for thoughtful change.  Remember how the snake takes in nourishment; open flexibility is essential to snake’s survival.  We must consider the importance of being open to nourishment / information rather than leading from preconceived opinion, assumptions and worn out narratives.  This may be a year when clouded vision is cleared and we see the world from a different perspective. 

 

 

From Master Liu He of Ling Gui International Healing Qigong School :

The Yi Jing is an ancient Chinese divination text that consists of a series of hexagrams, each made up of six lines (either solid-Yang or broken-Yin). Hexagram 49 is known as “Ge” “The Revolution.”

Revolutionary change ushers in a period when chaos arises from order. Let’s remember that not all order is good and not all chaos bad. Chaos is often integral to how things evolve.

This hexagram refers to a time in the cycle when things are stirring up and the hint of dramatic change is in the air. To succeed, a revolution must align with the laws of nature and best timing. Hexagram 49 encourages individuals and groups to embrace transformation through careful planning, collective effort, and ethical considerations. The hexagram serves as a reminder that while change can be challenging, it is also an opportunity for growth and renewal.

 

Here is the 2025 Wood Snake summary from the site below :  The Snake leaves its enchanting mark on the Chinese New Year of January 29, 2025 with the intent to purify and redirect the chaotic energies left behind by the turbulence of previous years.  A master of discernment, it reorganizes what must be, putting an end to imbalances and restoring long-awaited harmony.

https://www.karmaweather.com/news/yearly-chinese-horoscope/predictions-2025

 

And I highly recommend :

Ted Andrews’ “Animal Speak” (Snake pp360-363)

Anodea Judith’s “Wheels of Life” a users guide to the chakra system to read about the image of a coiled snake at the base of the spine that rises upward.