The Chinese New Year 2025

Topics (linked to paragraphs): Wood Snake YinYin Fire The Wood Snake The Snake The Snake in relations Snake Years Setting the tone Space in 2025 Technology and Science in 2025 A look back The world in 2025 In conclusion CHART DETAILS Famous Wood Snakes

Xian Nian Kuai Le! Or Gong Hey Fat Choy, Everyone!

Welcome to the Year of the Wood Snake, or Green Snake! The first greeting is the Mandarin greeting, while the 2^nd is from Hong Kong. This particular Snake is known poetically as “The Snake Leaving a Hole”. It is a name full of symbolism, as we will see. It promises to be a year of innovation, revelation, geopolitical rearrangements, advancements in computer technology, tech, space exploration, science and mathematics. In short, our world view will be changed, and in some cases upended, by the end of this year. All of this will become clear as we go along in our explorations of the Wood Snake.

Wood is the first Element in the Oriental Five-Element system of transformation. It marks expansion, new growth and a return to natural law. The Wood Element is “…a very practical and straightforward expression, especially if yang. Wood tends toward more traditional roles, a rustic feel and conservative politics.” Further, “Wood people are the ‘big idea’ types if yang, and the slow, careful creative types if yin. Wood is associated with verdure, the color green, the sour taste (think developing instead of ripe fruit), with ‘taking root’ and with an eye toward the future. These are the people who create a space for things to happen.” In terms of vocation, Wood has a special connection with electrical trades and electronics.

Snake Yin: The Snake is a Yin animal, denoting internal processes, inner growth, nurturing of ideas, and so on, with the emphasis this year on inner (spiritual development). The Snake’s natural element is Fire, but of the Yin type. This type of fire is used for refining, of the type used by jewellers, cooks, chemists, glass works, etc. It is, more than Yang Fire, used in the creation of things, and is notably a distinctly artistic expression. Yin Fire expression comes from the heart, which is the organ in the body associated with and expressing Yin Fire. The ‘heart of things’ will be especially emphasized this year. Yang Fire, like we will see in the Horse next year, is more akin to conflagrations. And of note, next year will be a double Fire year. The Snake and the Horse are both Fire Animals and form a natural pair, otherwise known as ‘Peach Blossom’ – think; ‘Love is in the air…’ Seen as a pair, though, we see the process of creative manifestation in the two. Since the Wood Snake appears as the year, this relationship with Horse people gives blessings in relationships. It is called ‘inside Peach Blossom’. So, Horse people, be on the lookout!

Yin Fire relates to spirituality – self-refinement – all of the professions. Yang Fire is bold, passionate and adventurous. What is imagined and nurtured this year will be birthed with enthusiasm and passion next year. This year, though, the focus will be on nurturing the embers of ideas we have long cultivated. Wood creates Fire in the Five Element system. We can visualize it like this: Sitting quietly, we gaze upon the glowing embers and, lost in our reveries, a new vista emerges, giving us ideas for our projects going forward. Since this year is termed a ‘double bright year’, that effect will be amplified. And just a note for expectant parents here: If your child is born between the 29^th (today) and February 4^th, your child will still be born in the Dragon year. The Four Pillars of Destiny, as Chinese astrology is constructed, are based in the Chinese solar calendar, where the year begins on February 4^th (the Li Chun). With all this in mind and without further ado, we begin our investigations with the following description of the Wood Snake:

The Wood Snake: This is the 42^nd Stem/Branch (Element/Animal) combination. There are 60 such combinations, making for a cycle of social evolution, transformation and advancement over the 60-year period. The Wood element this year gives the opportunity, coupled with Yin Fire, to kindle new projects. Wood is new growth, nature in general, expansion (Jupiter is called the ‘Wood Planet’ in Chinese astrology.) and warmth – physical, emotional and spiritual. Wood Snake Fire is like the embers that heat one’s home. With the Wood Snake we also see the candle flame, which gives us illumination in the dark. There is a little poetic narrative that goes along with the ‘Snake Leaving a Hole’, as follows:

“A period of difficulties seems to be at an end, and it appears to be a good moment to make a new beginning. But while the time is favourable for expansion, it is always wise to be cautious and avoid taking risks. The lamplight gives illumination when the hours are dark. It is a sign of revelation and understanding and the elucidation of difficulties.”^[1]

The ‘Snake leaving a hole’ refers to making a new beginning. Perhaps we see that a new direction is needed, given world events since the start of this decade. But to get a broader view of what Snake years bring, we have the following:

The Snake: The Snake in the month is said to herald the coming of warm weather and the summer. Snake years (because the Snake lives underground) often signal very significand earthquakes. There have been some terrible earthquakes in Snake years for the most recent 60-year cycle: 2013 (Water Snake) – Bohol Quake in the Philippines, Lushan Quake in China; 2001 (Metal Snake) – 9/11 (a geopolitical earthquake), the Bhuj Quake in Gujarat, a quake in southern Peru (strongest in 36 years prior), and a quake in El Salvador; 1989 (Earth Snake) – the Loma Prieta Quake in San Francisco, the Newcastle Quake in New South Wales; 1977 (Fire Snake) – the Vrancea Quake in Romania, the Bob-Tangol Quake in Iran; 1965 (Wood Snake) – series of dam failures caused by an earthquake near La Ligua, Chile.

Because the Snake lives underground, it is said to be the guardian of hidden treasure. Snake years are therefore seen to be harbingers of good fortune. In China the Snake is also thought to be associated with secrets and intrigue. Spies are thereby associated with the Snake, though births in Snake years do not seem to have produced famous spies. However, in the year of the Fire Snake (1917) the US enacted its Espionage Act, which was used during the McCarthy era (1950s) in the US to convict and execute the Rosenbergs, the latter executed in the Water Snake year (1953) in Sing Sing prison.

Snakes are very good with facts and figures. They usually have a very well defined moral compass and are generally very ethical. This is the normal expression of the Snake. However, under duress the Snake can be very evasive and bend the truth to avoid unpleasant circumstances. Hence they are often unjustly saddled with the notion they are devious. A few of them are, but we cannot let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. Because of their skill with facts and figures they make excellent accountants and researchers. They form a ‘business trio’ with the Ox and the Rooster. The Ox is the planner and steady builder of wealth. The Snake keeps the books and makes certain the financial aspect is in order and the Rooster presides over the presentation of business and public relations. In terms of morality we have the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr, JFK, Bernie Sanders and Smedley Butler (War is a Racket), for example. In business we have Howard Hughes, Irving Kahn, Fred Trump and Guccio Gucci (founder of the Gucci dynasty). In science we have Gerard Kuiper (of Kuiper Belt fame), Michael Brown (minor planets), Wilhelm Röntgen (X-rays) and Teilhard de Chardin (anthropology). These names give us just a very small, but indicative sampling.

Snakes are very private people and they keep their cards close to their chests, as well as their secrets. But they like to indulge their sensual pleasures. In some of the names just listed we see the public face, but in private they can be known for their indulgences. They appreciate finery and their homes can often feature hidden treasures, as in art works, for instance. In dress they like to dress in finery, but discreetly.

Snakes can often arrive at high positions of power (JFK, for instance) through their careful handling of circumstances, as in being in the right place at the right time. Their sense of morality and high ethics endear them to their public in most cases. Xi Jinping is a Wood Snake. Other politicians born in Snake Years include(d) Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos (not known for their morality, but for their high living), Indira Ghandi, Yassar Arafat and Bob Hawke.

The Snake in relations: The following interpretations apply solely to this year. The relations are given poetic names in BaZi (Four Pillars) astrology. What follows must be interpreted in relation to all four of the Pillars. This is a general reading related to the Year Pillars of all the signs. For this year, the Snake year forms the following relationships with the other Animal Signs:

Snake Years: To give an idea of what the Snake in general produces, in the last 60-year cycle we have the following major breakthroughs:

• 2013 (Water): The Belt and Road Initiative commenced, Snowden revealed the NSA files, the Euromaidan protests began in Ukraine, the world’s most powerful radio telescope came online (Atacama), the Higgs boson was finally identified, a ‘biological transistor’ from DNA/RNA is developed, viable lab-grown organs are developed for the first time, a millimetre scale computer chip, the first 5G computer processor (from AMD), the first ever quantum teleportation in a computer chip (Zurich), the first ever computer made entirely of carbon nanotubes, the first ever electronic brain-to-brain transference, a new magnetic graphene was developed that could revolutionize electronics, a realistic electronic skin was developed (US), the first self-regulating artificial heart (Paris).
• 2001 (Metal): 9/11, the 2^nd Intifada, major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK, the NEAR Shoemaker probe landed on an asteroid, the 2001 Mars Odyssey probe landed on Mars, the Mac OS X and Windows XP were launched, as well as the Wikipedia project. There was Harry Potter, Monsters Inc. and the Lord of the Rings to occupy our reading and viewing time, reintroducing fantasy into popular culture. We had the Patriot Act imposed on us in the US (spying on US citizens), increasing the surveillance state. The African Union was esteablished, as well as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (Manufactured) Islamophobia was on the increase in the West. DNA was extracted from a 60,000 yr/old skeleton (Is that even possible? Appears so.) The discovery of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field on the Atlantis Massif was formally announced. 3G wireless was launched. Ixion (a plutino dwarf planet) was discovered.
• 1989 (Earth): The fall of the Berlin Wall, the Revolutions of 1989, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the proposal for the Worldwide Web was put forward, the first commercial internet service providers were launched, German reunification started, the US ransacked Panama (to cover up Bush’s criminal activity), the Tiananmen protests took place (there was no massacre), Neptune’s rings were confirmed (Voyager II), Pons and Fleischman announce cold fusion, the hepatitis C virus was first identified,
• 1977 (Fire): The rings of Uranus were discovered, the Gang of Four were expelled from power in China (Deng Xiaoping was reinstalled), the Department of Energy is created in the US, Voyager II is launched, Chiron was discovered, the first TCP/IP test succeeds, leading to the internet, the first Apple II computers were launched, as well as the Commodore PET and the TRS -80 Model 1.The first MRI was done.
• 1965 (Wood): LBJ began escalation of the Vietnam War, racial unrest in the US, civil rights marches in the US, the first spacewalk (Russia), US troops occupied the Dominican Republic, the Social Security Act was signed into law in the US, creating also Medicare and Medicaid, the Race Relations Act in the UK.

What can we take from the preceding years, then? We can summarize those years thus:

• Breakthroughs in astronomy, spaceflight and physics
• Advances in computing and electrical tech
• Domestic uprisings, especially against occupation/colonialism
• Initiatives in social justice
• Revelations about skulduggery

This brings us to the synthesis of the more recent Wood Snake Years:

Setting the tone: The major developments in Wood Snake Years for the past three centuries are as follows:

1965: Malcolm X was assassinated, Bloody Sunday in Selma, the first US Marines land in Da Nang as the Vietnam War escalates, the first spacewalk took place, Mariner 4 took the first close-up pictures of Mars, Fidel Castro opened emigration from Cuba to the US, comet Ikeya-Seki graced us with its appearance, the first space probe landed on the surface of Venus (pictures followed), Kevlar was developed (used in body armor), insulin was synthesized, Moore’s Law was introduced (computing), fuzzy logic was introduced (mathematics)

1905: the Russo-Japanese War continued (ended that year), the 1905 Russian Revolution began (resulting in a constitutional monarchy. Communism came later with the Bolsheviks), sex education was introduced into US schools for the first time, the Haber process for producing ammonia (a revolution in agriculture), the Annus Mirabilis year in physics, when Einstein published the four papers that upended our understanding of matter and energy up to that point, the superheterodyne radio receiver was developed (a milestone in radio).

1845: Congress approved the annexation of Texas, the US Congress overrode a presidential veto for the first time, the Great Famine began in Ireland (potato blight), the journal “Scientific American” began its publication (science made available to the public), the term ‘Manifest Destiny’ was coined in the US, in physics we had the Faraday effect, Kirchhoff’s laws and the Doppler effect (all fundamentals in physics and technology)

1785: The first aviation disaster in history (the crash of a hot air balloon burned down 100 houses), the dollar is designated as the official US currency, Ben Franklin invents bifocals, the Virginia Commonwealth abolished slavery, Coulomb’s law in physics (the force between two charged particles), a fully automated flour mill is set up in Delaware (establishing the processes of materials handling, and beginning industrial scale manufacturing)

1725: The Malt Tax riots in Scotland, the 1725 Peace of Hanover was signed, the Treaty of Vienna was enacted (alliance between Austria and Spain), Bradley’s pioneering discovery of the aberration of light (astronomy), the binary numeral system is created (the basis of computing mathematics)

Thus, for Wood Snake Years we have the following syntheses:

• Advances in mathematics and theoretical physics (understanding how the universe ‘ticks’)
• For the West, revolts against authority
• For the West, authorities doubling down (suppression/oppression) on revolts
• For the US, Manifest Destiny reinforced
• Observational astronomy is advanced
• Advances in medical science

We can start with astronomy and what to expect for this year…

Astronomy: There will be a planetary parade on 28^th February when the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be splayed across the evening sky. Astrologically they will not be conjunct. However, on that same day there will be a Grand Stellium in Pisces of the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Ceres, the north node and Saturn, with Venus and Neptune close by in Aries – all within the astrological span of 40° of longitude. This will precede the full moon of Pisces on 14 March, which will be a blood moon (total lunar eclipse). Then, on 23 March, near Venus’ inferior conjunction, Venus will display dual visibility (at sunset and sunrise – a rare occurrence). The next time that will happen is in 2033. On 12 August at 05:30 UTC Venus and Jupiter will be in close approach (conjunct in Cancer). To the ancient Chinese this was a harbinger of war.^[2] On 7 September there will be the 2^nd blood moon (total lunar eclipse) of the year – a rare event. On 25 November Mercury and Venus will be at close approach at 01:52 UTC, just before sunrise (conjunct in Scorpio, conjunct the Sun in Sagittarius, in a Grand Trine with Jupiter and Saturn). To the ancient Chinese this pointed to the vanquishing of foreign powers in battle.^[3] In present times it would point to the ousting of invading forces by sovereign nations – in other words, a return of national sovereignty.

Space in 2025: In terms of space probes and flybys, NASA and the ESA plan the following:

2025 Late February – Intuitive Machines 2 (PRIME 1) – Launch of NASA CLPS lunar lander
2025 February 27 – Europa Clipper – NASA Jovian satellite mission flies by Mars
2025 March 2 – Blue Ghost 1 – NASA/CLPS mission lands on Moon
2025 March – Hera – ESA asteroid Didymos/Dimorphos mission makes Mars and Deimos flyby
2025 April 20 – Lucy – NASA asteroid mission makes flyby of asteroid Donaldjohanson
2025 – Lunar Trailblazer – Launch of NASA SmallSat mission to study lunar water
2025 Fall – Griffin Mission 1 – Launch of NASA CLPS lunar lander
2025 – Lunar Pathfinder – Launch of NASA CLPS lunar orbiter
2025 – Intuitive Machines 3 (PRISM) – Launch of lunar lander and rovers
2025 – EscaPADE – Launch of dual smallsat Mars orbiters

The Moon and Mars take pride of place in space launches this year. In terms telescopes, in the midyear the Vera C. Rubin telescope will begin snapping pictures of the deep universe over a ten year period with a special camera. The deep sky will be seen later this year in a clarity not seen before. In computing, generative AI will soon be replacing our clunky search engines, giving rise to personal AI assistants. The Chinese are already pulling ahead in this area with the release of their DeepSeek AI, which has caused what many feared was a financial black swan event in the NASDAQ. Stocks are slowly beginning to climb again in that sector. DeepSeek also caused a $billion sell-off in the crypto currency market. AI will be cheap, if not free, and open source from here on. Open source code cannot be financialized. Generative AI will also greatly accelerate robotics intelligence. Expect vast improvements in robotics starting this year. Small language systems will come to the fore. Small language systems refer to computer code, unlike some of the language we hear on the streets every day. Such systems will work to minimize the amount of infrastructure needed to run computer systems.

Technology and Science in 2025: Quantum computers are forecast to become available to the public (meaning corporations) this year, especially with diamond tech for the chips, the latter eliminating the need for near-absolute zero temperatures and lasers in such computing mainframes. As it stands quantum computers can only be run in laboratories due to those restrictions. Solid state batteries are on the way to replacing standard lithium batteries (much lower fire risk, greater energy density). Toyota is pushing forward on this technology aggressively, hoping to upend market share. Such batteries would revolutionize the electric vehicle industry. Quantum computers and AI also mean advances in medical technology for this year, too. The focus currently is on studying microscopically at the sub-cellular level, gene splicing, clinical trials on prion diseases and sickle cell anemia, as well as trials of digital tech for cancer and mental health. The items above cover what to expect in science and tech, but what about geopolitics? To get a sense, we need to look back at the year that was.

A look back: As the context for the year to come it is always useful to look back at the year that was in order to give us context for what to realistically expect. The following points were cited in the previous Chinese New Year letter. Bracketed items outline what we experienced last year:

• …this year will be the one where we see the end of empire. [It is not visible yet, but the foundations of the Anglo-American Empire have been fatally weakened and are crumbling. The West has been kicked out of the Sahel. The BRICS countries now account for the majority share of the world’s GDP by PPP measure. The war in Ukraine is lost for NATO, meaning the West has been defeated militarily. Western publications are starting to grudgingly admit the defeat (read between the lines).]
• BRICS will begin to balloon outward in its membership. [It hasn’t ballooned in terms of full members, but Indonesia was added as a full member, a major expansion in terms of population and GDP. Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, were invited to participate as “partner countries”.]
• There is still discussion of a common currency among BRICS members, but that looks to be farther out into the future. [It has been put on hold, for at least several years.]
• Ukraine may be dismantled this year…The Americans and Western Europeans in particular are insistent on seeing the war continue and they know the war is essentially lost. This is causing panic in Western European capitals…[In one sense this has already happened. Part of Ukraine has already been lost (the Russian territories that voted to leave Ukraine). We will have to wait and see what happens when the regime in Kiev finally falls. War can never be fully second-guessed.]
• …right wing parties in several EU states poised to take power, notably in France and Germany, the two main powers remaining in the EU. [The EU still resists, but the AfD in Germany has 2^nd-largest share in voter preferences. The French government is in shambles. The British government, increasingly on the nose with the British public, has been a right-wing uni-party for several years now. The main right-wing governments in the EU look set to begin the rupture of the bloc – Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Finland, Croatia an the Czech Republic. Western liberals label these governments as ‘far right’.]
• The Israelis and the Biden administration are boxed in with the war in the Levant. If they escalate they will likely suffer a large defeat or spark a regional war. The latter is still doubtful…[The Israelis are essentially boxed in. The IOF is spread too thin and has failed in its objectives. A large escalation is still possible, but doubtful still. Trump wants to end the wars, enabling him to focus on domestic issues. And the US is not in a position, neither politically nor militarily, to launch another war.
• Expect the Americans to be pushed out of Syria this year, and Iraq as well. The key there is if the war in the Levant drags on, which would see escalations against America bases in the region. The next months there will be quite telling. [Obviously, there was a reversal for The Resistance, however temporary. There were unrecognized factors by military analysts that led to the fall of Syria. Conditions in the region look set to escalate again. Trump is now talking about pulling US troops out of Syria.]
• The Sahel in Africa is rapidly decolonizing, another region to watch this year. France is being pushed out. [This has been fascinating to watch, with decolonization ongoing. An alliance of Sahel states has emerged. Traore is transforming Burkino Faso remarkably, uplifting the citizens of that nation.].
• In Argentina the leader there is unlikely to go the distance and we can expect increasing unrest there as economic conditions continue to deteriorate. [Milei is still in power, but unrest and poverty are growing in Argentina.]
• In terms of the Far East, the one to watch this year will be North Korea…[Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defence treaty. Western media insist there are North Koreans on the front lines in Ukraine fighting for Russia. This is propaganda. There is no evidence it is true. The reporting appears to be an attempt to draw in NATO troops.]
• In 2024 we can expect more advances in the field of quantum computing, which requires a special hardware architecture. That will enhance AI and computer modeling of vast systems. [Read all about it. There is a spotlight on security.]
• There will be a more concerted focus on AI this year, especially its dangers. [Read all about that, too. And while the US seeks to capitalize AI, the Chinese have achieved a breakthrough that is 97% cheaper to use. The Chinese are forging ahead. The oligarchs in the US are most likely alarmed.]
• Basically, we are looking at breakthroughs in electronics, electricity generation (such as a greater emphasis on geothermal energy, for instance) and electrical transmission. Battery technology will be on the cards also. [For electronics the big advances were in AI and in materials to replace silicon. For batteries we have solid state batteries, lithium-sulphur batteries, sodium-ion batteries, graphene technology and lithium battery recycling. For electrical transmission we have the electrical war in Ukraine, efforts to upgrade the electrical grid in the US, materials science that enables the offshore generation and transmission of power. For power generation the big news was in advances in fusion nuclear reactors, an in Europe, New Zealand, the US/UK, and China, for example.]
• And lastly there is the United States itself. Will there be civil war (Don’t count on it. I will be doing a piece on that soon. [didn’t have time]) Will there be an election? Will Biden go the distance? [He was deposed by the Dems, a sort of Tecumseh curse.] Will Trump be elected for another term? [Love it or loathe it, he won, partly because the Dems ran a horrible campaign and partly because of TikTok.] Suffice it to say the US will be in turmoil this year…[and still is]
• Tensions within the EU are only set to increase this year and we will probably begin to see some real schisms appearing in the Union. Washington is determined to eliminate Europe as an economic competitor (and so far has done a good job of it) while at the same time retaining it as a resource vassal. [ongoing, and will only worsen under Trump. The German economy is the main driver for the EU’s economic health and its economy is set to stagnate this year.]

The world in 2025: With all the preceding information in mind, what do we realistically expect to see for this year? Given past Wood Snake years it is not difficult to see (items marked with an * will be covered more fully in the Aquarius letter):

• *The military and/or societal collapse of Ukraine and possibly Israel as well
• *New alliances and security agreements being formed. Look for these in Europe (Eastern Europe especially), Africa (Nigeria is undergoing a period of turmoil) and South America
• BRICS is not expected to make much progress this year since Brazil faces internal power struggles and the factions most aligned with Washington are against BRICS. The other current members are well on their way to executing payment systems that bypass the SWIFT system, the latter which the West controls. China and Russia, for example, execute around 95% of their trade in their local currencies (Rubles and Yuan).
• *West Asia will begin its transformation this year. The US, Israel and the Turks are caught in a quagmire in Syria. Israel has been defeated by Hamas and Hezbollah in terms of being able to enforce Israel’s will. The Israelis and Americans have also lost the propaganda war worldwide. Hamas and Hezbollah have won the PR war. The situation at the moment is in stasis except for Syria, where ethnic cleansing is currently underway.
• China will pull farther ahead in the tech and space race, while the US lags farther and farther behind. Expect Taiwan to move closer in relations to the mainland. It will be a matter of economic survival now that Trump has pronounced that TSMC will be relocating to the US – so he thinks.
• Unrest will rise still further in the US and Europe. Europeans have had enough of war. Trump tariffs will be a further tax on American citizens. Walmart shoppers, prepare yourselves! It will be the same for cars, electronics, coffee, and a host of other items.
• Expect Washington to be strong-arming its neighbors. Trump has already bullied Colombia over immigration. That was easy, though, since Colombia is a colony of the US. It gave Trump an easy win. Greenland and Canada will not be easy. The US may once again ransack Panama in an attempt to expel Chinese business, who have warehouses there. Venezuela, Cuba and Bolivia will be in the crosshairs, especially now that Rubio is Secretary of State. None of the latter will be easy.
• Politically we will see a return to conservative politics, meaning traditional conservatism in contrast to the neo-conservatism we see in the West. This year will mark the tide turning back toward traditional values. Wokeness, liberalism as the West practices it, neoliberal economics – all are on their way out. In Europe it is starting in Eastern and Central Europe.
• We can expect some revelations in the fields of particle and theoretical physics. Advances in the detection of gravitational waves, coupled with the observational astronomy of deep space will add to Einstein’s revelations from 1905 (see above). Add in also advances in quantum computing, AI, developments at CERN…well, it is the Quantum Year, after all.

In conclusion: The United Sates will be in the spotlight this year, for good and ill alike. In 1965 Washington was all about countering communism in SE Asia, while at the same time advancing social programs at home. In 1905 the US was emerging as a leading power, and Teddy Roosevelt expanded the Monroe Doctrine, self-granting the US to interfere in South and Central American states. In 1845 the US was expanding rapidly westward and was about to go to war with Mexico. In 1785, the infant American nation had just wrested itself from British control, had extended to the Mississippi River and was about to annex the land bordering the Great Lakes. We see the echoes of that expansionism in Trump’s policies this year. However, the US is still seeking to expand its influence, but it is no longer able to do much. Its influence and power has waned and the world is rapidly moving on. In lieu of raw power and economic influence the US has resorted to the use of proxies and NGOs in efforts to influence other nations from inside. The world has caught on to the grift and now opposes such efforts, insisting instead on throwing out the NGOs.

A new world is emerging. The US is beginning to isolate itself. This will be a chaotic year to start, and has already proven itself in that regard. But by the summer matters will be much clearer and the gifts of the Wood Snake will begin to show themselves. By the end of this lunar year we will be poised to launch into greater realms and new ideas will abound, with a renewed sense of order prevailing – one more peaceful and hopeful. The Western world will enter into a period of reflection amidst its changing order, while the East will show itself as the world’s economic and developmental power. This is not to say the West will fall into decay – far from it. But its leadership will be undergoing fundamental changes. There is nothing to fear in this and much to welcome. The Wood Snake is revelatory. Let the revelations to come carry us into a much brighter future!

CHART DETAILS

Tetragram 9: Branching out: Yin chi is strong inside, but weak without. The greatness of things cannot be impeded. 29 Jan (Nighttime): The greatest things are accomplished with kin, not alone.

Famous Wood Snakes: Chris Rock, Brett Kavanaugh, Michael Bay, Kristin Davis, Dr. Dre, Jessie Jackson Jr., Sarah Jessica Parker, Mark Carney, Piers Morgan, Robert Downy, Jr., Linda Evangelista, Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Hurley, Jimmy Dore, Grace Mugabe, J.K. Rowling, Shania Twain, Kyra Sedgwick, Reggie Miller, Charlie Sheen, Bashar al Assad, Moby, Dmitry Medvedev, Petro Poroshenko, Björk, Ben Stiller, Nicholas Sparks, Patrick Dempsey, Albert Speer, Henry Fonda, Jean-Paul Sartre, Dag Hammarskjöld, Clara Bow, Myrna Loy, Friz Freleng, Greta Garbo, Mantovani, Otto Preminger, Jimmy Dorsey, Gerard Kuiper, Howard Hughes, Aristotle Onassis, Gabriel Fauré, John Joseph Audubon, Giacomo Casanova, Arthur Guinness, George Mason, Hugh Mercer

1. Walters, Derek, The Secrets of Chinese Astrology, (2003) London, Great Britain, Hamlyn Publications p. 67 ↑
2. Walters, The Complete Guide to Chinese Astrology (1987) London, Watkins Publications, p. 212 ↑
3. Ibid, p. 215 ↑