May 2015: Snake Diary, the nature of the Golden Snake.

May 2015: Snake Diary, the nature of the Golden Snake.

Snake Month opens: May 6^th 04:11am.

The Golden Snake.

Where to do what, when and why.

May is the lead-in to Summer, the season of Fire. Fire is about outdoor activity, visibility, promotion and attracting attention. Fire represents the trees atop the canopy of the rainforest, rising higher as they seek sunlight. Interestingly this energy clusters to the East this month. So if you want to be noticed during the Snake month, face East, be in an Eastern location or arrange for constant activity (such as music or an indoor Water fountain) in the Eastern area of your dwelling.

A Bright Shining Snake

The Snake is an ambiguous beast. Chinese folklore is studded with tales which veer between a respectful emphasis upon the Snake’s power and an awareness of its ability to shed skin, cast no shadow and travel silently. Nu Wa who is said to have brought humanity to life, is thought of as a snake goddess. As I am fond of repeating: Snake, what you see is not what you get.

This is not to denigrate actual Snakes born 1941, 1953 and so on who are to a person embarked upon a search for Truth with a capital ‘T’. It is the point along this road that they have achieved that tends to dictate their relationship with Truth. The mature Snake is its guardian and advocate.

But as a month, this Metal Snake – which echoes the years of unprovoked attacks and covert aggression of 1941 and 2001 – is one to approach with extreme care. There are several good days, but it’s a mixed bag; in the final seven days everything could go pear shaped. Interestingly in traditional feng shui the outline of a pear is called wu lou or “gourd” and considered auspicious; perhaps because in the East they have tended to be less concerned with avoiding a low centre of gravity.

The General Election takes place as the Metal Dragon month gives way to the Metal Snake. The Dragon, you will recall represents rapid and sudden change and we’ve had all were going to get of that kind of energy for the time being.

Edmund Burke wrote that “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Or women; Nelson Mandela’s inspiration Marianne Williamson has become more not less politically engaged following her failure to get onto the ballot paper for Congress last year. So if you’re thinking, “I’m a New Age person I ignore politics,” remember that bypassing politics is itself a political act.

I predicted back in November a parliament not so much hung as drawn and quartered, the Lib Dems faced with the same choice they fudged last time. There’s still no excuse for aiding the privileged to fleece the disadvantaged and Miliband, however odd you may find him, is a viable partner. I hope Clegg will call it right. And as the astrology insists, 1964 Wood Dragon Nigel Farage wields the balance of power.

The Dragon in the Dragon Month.

Whatever point on the path (s)he may be at, the Snake (1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001) is a seeker for Truth. You may be a Bodhisattva who has only undertaken further incarnation to bring younger souls to the light, or like triple (Day, Month and Year) Snake Tony Blair, be as yet unversed in distinguishing fact from falsehood, but truth is central to you. You must know it even if you fail to respect it.

The Snake is yin Fire – outgoing but not very. How much attention does (possibly) the most powerful man in the world – 1953 Water Snake Xi Jinping – seek? Not so much. You are capable of extroversion but it’s not your lifeblood. Someone else can do the dancing on tables.

In some Chinese traditions the Snake is referred to as a kind of junior Dragon; some say Snake becomes Dragon on sloughing a skin. In the so-called “House of Magic”, he or she is apprentice to the Dragon. This underlines that you’re magical in your own right but generally facilitator rather than performer. In a Sheep year the Dragon is busy and may have need of the Snake’s back-up. Heads up: some Snakes will be too wrapped up in themselves to notice.

Because of your reluctance to radiate you may have felt like a junior partner to the Fire pairing of Horse and Sheep in the last two (Horse and Sheep) years. In 2016, the Monkey brings you out of your lair; it won’t be comfortable though. Nor for similar reasons will the next two months.

The Snake is attracted to the droll Monkey but may tire of the insensitivity that can be their flipside. But your most potent alliance is with Ox and Rooster. The Rooster has as big an ego as the Horse but is too subtle to compete for attention. The Ox will keep you both on track.

But it’s the Pig that winds the Snake up. Belonging 180° across from you on the compass, the Pig reflects any deviousness straight back. He’s so good at this that you may think the lack of frankness belongs to her. It does and it doesn’t. As the alchemists used to say, you can’t make gold without gold. The Tiger will tend to get equally up your nose but there’ll be no mistake about that; he’s likely to be directly confrontational and claim it’s you. Which, by the same token it is of course.

Snake Month, Animal by Animal.

During this Metal Snake month:

The Rat may be deterred but not much.

The Ox may be called upon to adjudicate.

The Tiger may be especially brusque.

The Rabbit may be stretched.

The Dragon may gain followers.

The Snake may reflect bright light.

The Horse may be just as demanding.

The Sheep offers sympathy.

The Monkey prepares.

The Rooster shrinks a little.

The Dog’s offers may not be taken up .

and

The Pig may step up.

Snake Pillars; know your Snake rating.

Birth in the Snake hour (09:00am-11:00am): curious kids.

Birth in the Snake month (May*): suited to spin.

Birth on the Snake day#: truth is critical.

Birth in the Snake year: relatively insecure.

* Caution, the Chinese month generally starts and finishes a few days after ours.

# Just ask.

Richard Ashworth©, early in the month of the Snake, 2015.