The Pig in the Year of the Wood Snake 2025

Pig Pic by @elliespinelli

Who is a Pig?

Years:         1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007,2019.
Month*:      November
Hour:          09:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Day:            you’ll need a Chinese Calendar..

* Caution: the start of the Chinese month can be as early as the 4th & as late as the 9th, depending on the year. We can let you know this too.

What is a Pig?

The weakness and the strength of the Pig (who is predominantly yin Water and therefore often reluctant to communicate) is that they think they know what is good for them. And they are right often enough to make advice close to impossible. By extension this means you Pigs may believe you know what is right for everybody else.

Technically the Pig is a cocktail of Water, Wood and Earth. This makes for extraordinary versatility. But this combined with the Pig’s weakness at emotional disclosure, can mean that they lack a support system just when they most need one. Consider Fire Pig Hillary Clinton and her rogue email account; the story goes that she simply could not master her Blackberry and could not bring herself to seek appropriate help. That’s a Pig.

Versatile and wilful, gifted at whatever they do, the Pig is the sign of the inventor. Edison was a Pig and Elon Musk, as is recently deported Wikileaker Julian Assange. Perfectly-balanced Pigs can literally do almost anything but they don’t much like reflective advice from others and they are liable to hate uncertainty. Remember Fire Pig Elton John in “Rocket Man”? And Elon Musk’s social media tiffs?

Vagueness is uncomfortable for the Pig: Edison was of course an obsessive patenter, Hillary determined to get Wall Street onside while retaining her liberal credentials. And Assange, confident that he knew better than anyone else what the world needed to know – and he was mostly right btw. Brexit and the Trumpreich might have fallen differently but for some of these guys. This does not mean they were mistaken but the truth can be a moveable feast.

A balanced Pig (perhaps March birth around mid-afternoon) is a great audience and typically gets the listening/talking ratio just right. An unbalanced one can shoot off at the mouth and give (or take) away the farm before she knows it. Does any of this sound like – to pluck a name from nowhere – Earth Pig Simon Cowell?

More likely, you are prone to withdrawing into silence. Sometimes the Pig sulks but more commonly withdraws out of pure disinterest and can be perfectly cheerful when challenged on the withdrawal.

The Pig child needs just the right mixture of carrot and stick. Too much disincentive and he is suppressed or resentful. Too much carrot and he can be smug. The balanced Pig is the most sensitive of the animals; the unbalanced one has undergone an empathy bypass. As the parent of a Pig, just remember you are instrumental in this process. Your Piglet does not need to become a boor.

The Pig harbours the Wood of creativity so they can be as adept with the written as the spoken word and indeed the yang Earth of deep concentration. Many Pigs prefer to study in noisy rooms and many are effortless A-students as teachers of brilliant 2007 Pigs may notice. Bear in mind though that there is a near-epidemic of depression and anxiety among millennials and post-millennials and that Water is the associated element. Don’t ever take a 1995 or 2007 Pig’s good cheer for granted or their call for help as crying wolf.

The Stevie Smith poem “Not waving but drowning” is about a Pig. They look so competent. And they are. Until they’re not. If you care for a Pig beware of their apparent endless confidence. There are crucial gaps.

The Pig does not tend to like the Snake; one way or another they immobilise each other; there are mutual issues of trust, truth and sincerity. And the Monkey, the Snake’s intimate, can be a source of annoyance also. The Pig’s most natural team is with the Rabbit and the Sheep. This alliance is quintessentially domestic; together these three can make anywhere home. A perfect family might be Pig father, Rabbit mother and Sheep first-born. Once home, the Rabbit entertains while the Sheep ensures compatibility and the Pig performs the tasks that are beyond the scope or interest of her partners.

Traditionally the Pig also enjoys the company of the Tiger as Elton John’s husband Water Tiger David Furnish can attest. You might think a Pig would be more cautious but they know that the Tiger is uninterested in conquering anyone he considers easy meat. Of course he’s missing something here but the Pig’s fearless approach often disarms the Tiger before they realise. And by the bye, Pig’s literary ambition often burgeons in a Tiger year and flourishes in a Rabbit one.

Although she may herself be more adventurous, the Pig also understands the loyal and consistent Dog. She respects the fact that every home needs its guardian. These two will tend to develop a camaraderie with its own distinctive banter but it will probably never be a meeting of souls as each is technically the other’s gip sat or force of obstruction. The Pig respects the Dog’s diligence and the Dog knows the Pig will compensate for his weakness.

The Pig also operates well as factotum for a group consisting of the Snake (whose company she can’t otherwise stand for long) the Monkey (see above) and the Tiger. For these she is, interestingly, the peacemaker and setter of standards. Without the Pig this grouping whose common interest is travel and mobility, can’t get off the ground. Taron Egerton interestingly who impersonated Elton so effectively in Rocket Man, is a 1989 Snake as is Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.

One final note: the Pig suffers what is called the self curse. That is to say that she has limited patience with other Pigs. And as Rocket Man illustrates, a huge capacity for self-loathing. The Chinese character for a house is one Pig under a roof. Just the one. Approach them gently and listen.

2025, Breezes, Hurricanes, Twisters,

The outlook for the Year of the Wood Snake.

Note: There are four (or five) Pillars in your ba zi, each with a different nuance. It is as unlikely that they are all ill-starred as it is that they are all

blessed by any given year. Examine the portents for each and perhaps use that as an indication of how to respond.

Pig

Sui Po Yik Ma

Opposition Moving

Your position is at the sui po, possibly the most demanding position any year. The Snake who is diametrically opposed to you on calendar, clock and compass is in charge. Having the Yik Ma – the Travel Horse Star that makes for movement of many sorts – hovering may prove quite handy. It may be that you are presented with logjams that are no surprise and had to be dealt with at some point. Aim to frame such things as part of achieving what you want to achieve. Some stuff just has to get out of the way.

So general hindrance is indicated. And travel. Not written in stone; none of this is and at least in theory it’s all subject to prevention either by communication, elemental adjustment or simple awareness. If for instance you don’t want to travel, place a stone at NW3, the location of the Pig; if you’re raring to go, place Water.

Among the instructions for this combination are to read contracts carefully which may be particularly apposite as Yik Ma often coincides with house moves. Keep your records and other documentation in order and expect to be involved in group logistics to a greater extent than usual.

And it looks like a year of family issues which may crop up in your home but were set in the stone of the house you grew up in. Forgiveness (as ever) is the answer which is not a question of attempting to contain self-righteousness but of letting go. The sui po may present to you the fences that need mending. So mend them already.

You travel this year, you experience rapid material improvement by early next. There may be loss entailed, a risk that shrinks as you learn where your fears came from. Any hindrance is likely to contain a lesson.

Typically you are very competent. Pigs are like that. Until you’re not. When you are subject to the sui po is a time to call on those who support you unconditionally. But you’ll need to stay in touch which is often not the Pig’s strong suit. Start enlisting now before you need it. It’s so common for Pigs to appear so on top of things that even those closest don’t know when you’re out of your depth.

Being opposed by the Snake may sometimes feel like you’re sailing into a strong headwind. So tack already. Identify for instance the other Pillars of your ba zi: which are favoured? You can major on them. Your Year Pillar does a lot of heavy lifting but your Month Pillar (typically about work, education, exes and siblings) may be better-aspected this year. Similarly your Day Pillar which is about who you really are and your true love and the Hour which is about your deepest hopes and your kids – which may amount to the same thing.

The sui po position is rarely a comfortable one. And with discomfort the trick is to allow it. The pain is not in the feeling, it’s in the not feeling.

You need to take care to be in the right place at the right time as there are big breaks coming and you may not be quite ready. Some will materialise in February/March and more follow in June but the bulk come through next year. You’ve been waiting a while but it’s starting to come through. Keep pushing. Which may be irritating but there’s nothing about this opposition that needs to slow your momentum long term.

You are close to actualisation one way or another – whatever that means to you. And those who care for you – which is more people than you may think – clear the way. There may be some loss but best not to think of that as a transaction.

Equally there may both at home and at work be a feeling of distance. Some of this may be organic and inevitable; some you have provoked. Change may be called for but this again is not a question of fault. When in doubt offer understanding and take responsibility. That’s not the same as taking the blame, it’s simply an awareness that it’s always possible to view an event as coming out of your own wilfulness.

You’re likely to see opportunity by March for both financial gain and promotion and a generally wider acceptance. The right answer is likely to be yes – as it is actually in most cases – despite some inconvenience.

There could be trouble (and obviously travel) in November brought on by a sense of being crowded and second-guessed. This may be unintentional and a gentle response would be smart. This year you are best advised to avoid the knee jerk.

Healthwise, the Snake year relates to lungs but also ears, bladder and kidney. A decent acupuncturist will be able to use a fully drafted ba zi as a guide. Health surprises are unlikely.

Breaks, opportunities and second chances are offered in February 2026. Be alert and flexible to take advantage. Arrangements may not fit tidily into your schedule. The limits you have set to your actualisation in order to forestall disappointment are about to be broken through in spades. You will have waited long enough.

Lesson: Trust.

Best Months: February, March,

Worst Months: November, September.

Theme: Adaptability

Hexagram: 16 Yu Enthusing.

Health: = Wealth: 😒 Relationship: =/😊

Where to find help: Tigers, Horses, other Dogs, Rabbit.

Who should I be careful with: other Pigs, Snake, Monkey.

This forecast is prepared by comparing your own Chinese year Animal with the Wood Snake of 2025. Your Year Animal is just one of the four that make up your Ba Zi or Four Pillars of Destiny. A fully-drafted ba zi can indicate possible futures and probable pasts as well as moments of decision. Knowing these moments can heal and prevent heartbreak as well make success and happiness more easily achievable. What is a ba zi?

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