From Wood Snake to Fire Horse…

The beginning and end of this year brought me into some intense purging illnesses. I started the year with norovirus, and ended with a very productive bronchial cold and a complete loss of my voice for 4 days. While neither of these illnesses were pleasant, they both offered some kind of reset, an unintended fasting, and a reduction of doing. Coming out of each, I felt a little weak, but also somehow clearer and sharper.

Without really realizing that we are nearing the end of the Year of the Wood Snake, I've found myself drawn to the imagery of shedding. All year I have watched those closest to me go through trials that have forced them to shed or reevaluate pieces of their own identities. As a national group we have been grappling with and redefining our identity, values, and priorities.

I returned to the reflection that I wrote in the spring, and revisited the words that were sticking to me - clogged, backed up, stagnant. These no longer feel true in my body - do they feel true in yours? The force of the year’s energy has cleared through these blockages, moved them along to create space for something new. My body feels a quiet buzz, a little whispery excitement, as well as fatigue and lingering tenderness.

Now, in this quiet, deep, dark part of the year, with new, tender skin, we are looking out towards the Year of the Fire Horse. This is the energy of gathering momentum, passion, and expanding forward for the joy that it brings into your heart. I don’t always keep a close connection to the Chinese New Year, but this shift in energies has felt very palpable to me and maybe it will strike a chord with you as well.

There are still a few months to keep coiled up, listening in to what you want to bring out.