The Sheep in the Year of the Wood Snake 2025

Sheep Pic by @elliespinelli

Who is a Sheep?

Years:         1943, 55, 67, 79, 91, 2003, 2015.
Month*:      July
Hour:          13.00-15.00

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 Sheep?
Idealistic, yin Earth, not the top getter-onner with others, the balanced Sheep has well-meant judgements about everybody which can sometimes keep her stuck in first gear. For the unbalanced Sheep (July birthday and/or mid-afternoon birth) ambition and foolishness are pretty much the same thing. For the more balanced one, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Noel Gallagher, however, leveraging affability for fame and fortune is second nature. Such Sheep can not stand to be out of the zeitgeist. Why else would the Stones be touring into their 80’s?

The balanced Sheep, as well as being an expert judge of people, knows exactly what matters and is not easily diverted from it. The arrangement for instance that Wood Sheep Bruce Willis, his ex Demi Moore and her ex (and Bruce’s fishing buddy) Ashton Kutcher came to, whereby they stayed friends and the children avoided becoming conflicted is not usual, either in Hollywood or the world at large but it is archetypical Sheep behaviour. They can all change partners as often as a Jane Austen cotillion but Bruce gets to see his kids.

Conversely, the value of caution and conservatism is often clear in Sheep relationships. The most obvious of these is with the extrovert spontaneous Horse whose sidekick the Sheep often ends up being. With the Sheep beside him, the Horse’s fun may be a little less riotous but he will also stay out of serious trouble. The young Horse and Sheep of 1978 and 1979 for instance, are often a tag team who go out drinking and clubbing together. The Sheep may stand back in amazement at the daring of the Horse but is there both to pick up the pieces and to take advantage when these risks bear fruit. The Horse dances on tables, the Sheep ensures a soft landing.

This illustrates a psychological truth: the risk-taking the Sheep shies away from is exactly what attracts them most. Many a desirable partner has rebounded from a Horse only to find a life-long proposition in the Sheep. Read Marianne Faithfull’s revealing autobiography if you want to see how this applied to the afore-mentioned Rolling Stones. Don’t try this at home, kids.

Placed as the Sheep is before the Monkey in the Chinese Zodiac, they also understand monkey business. There is generally a certain wariness between these two as a team: they are unorthodox but magical.

The Sheep also forms a natural affiliation with the Pig and the Rabbit; a very domestic alliance, the Chinese ideograph for home is a Pig under a roof and the average Rabbit would happily stay home 24/7 if allowed to. The Rabbit is the diplomat and mixer while the inherently versatile Pig takes up the slack of whatever jobs there are to perform. The Sheep’s part is to make things secure. She will have ensured for instance that there are no sworn enemies on the guest list. Sheep is an ideal social secretary as well as a resolver of conflict. Psycho-therapy is among appropriate career paths. And of course this gift is one that can be abused.

The Sheep is passionate, representing the yin or feminine side of sexuality and so whether male or female, the Sheep is more seducer than chatter up. 1967 Sheep Michael Gove’s appeal is surely a subtle one; he clearly fits several of the Sheep patterns. But a seducer? Discuss.

Perhaps most interestingly, the Sheep can form a formidable team with the Dog, the Dragon and the Ox. Individually each of these three is somewhat intimidating to her but when this group gathers, her value becomes obvious. She can draw flexibility from the Dog, humility from the Dragon and cheerful co-operation from the autocratic Ox. Above all he ensures peace among them. Even if all they do is make the coffee, the Sheep is a comforter of the insecure. She understands that most barkers never bite and that aggression is simply inverted fear. If George was the Sheep aspect of the Beatles, Lennon and Starr the Dragons who was the Ox keeping everyone track? George Martin. And perhaps the charge that Paul was a natural solo is accurate; he’s a Horse after all.

A final word: the dark side of the Sheep is to leverage gregariousness for power. Brazilian “strongman” Jair Bolsonaro and cynical media mogul Rupert Murdoch don’t fit the pattern of the easygoing Sheep at all. But they are the Sheep that needs the herd to be on their side. They have to belong; sometimes even when that involves falsity and betrayal. Donald Trump was born on a Sheep day, making his deepest quality the need for approval. This is not only the Sheep’s nature but often their weakness. In this sense they are not so much “strongmen” but weaklings because their only strength is in the endorsement of the herd. Populism is so much easier than conviction.

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.

Sheep

Wah Koi Yeung Yan

Preoccupied Poor timing

First the good news: the lonely Sheep may find love this year. The Sheep is a herd animal. You are good with family, especially extended ones. You love to belong. Last year you belonged in a big way. This year you may not.

You are apt at this point to attract those who see you most clearly and who are uninterested in your status. Not such a bad thing. To foster this, relax and let go of who you think you need to appear to be. The Wah Koi Star suggests that the key is to engage, people may otherwise find you aloof and project all sorts of qualities upon you. Be yourself.

Most romantic time: high summer. Sheep not in search of attachment, read “respect and understanding” for “romance”.

Last year you may have found that your advice and perception were at a premium even if you missed some of the calls. The tendency now can be to strive to remain in demand. The danger is that you bend yourself out of shape. Or alternatively you pollute your wisdom with compromise. You are still loved and your wisdom remains of great value, it’s just that the world has moved on. Now is the time to help in a more subtle way. There are for instance Pigs (with whom you have affinity) who are in need of support that they will never request. Many Tigers will be feeling isolated too. And Oxen but you may not be drawn to them, They’re in a similar jam by the way, without the benefit of your herd instinct.

The Sheep, oddly, is the sign of the populist. You may be drawn again to the kind of profile that came your way last year. But it could end in tears. A role as consiglieri is no longer the right one. Which offers two alternatives: high profile or modesty. The second is not only much safer but more satisfying. Resist calls to importance. The world has moved on, embrace the change. When you’re hot you’re hot, as one of my early teachers told me; rest and refuel when you’re not. Conforming to this by the way, is genuine leadership even when unsung. They also serve who only stand and wait.

Seeking attention could be hazardous and the Yeung Yan Star means you might even injure yourself in its pursuit. Fertile lady Sheep – for better or for worse – may conceive. Keep your hair trimmed and your nails short.

Know your value – which you demonstrated in a big way last year – even if it is not obviously coming across right now. Horses may cheer you up and Pigs will need your help. Rabbits may well refer you on.

If you have a spiritual practice, keep it up; if not perhaps consider it. The typical Sheep has a gift for entering the Alpha State. And for learning, now may be the time for formal study. As it might be for ashramming or retreat. This is a year of learning.

Another thing to remember in such a year is to keep the agreements you made when the force was with you and your head was on straight. It won’t be for ever.

Frustration at being excluded may lead to a big communication in September. Be ready to do yourself justice. Petulance is one of the pitfalls of the year. Metal will help: locating or facing West (Women) North West (Men) may too.

With the Wah Koi, I’d-rather-have-a-cup-of-tea Star, the Dog Month of October threatens break up of some sort. Could be romantic, professional or other but romantic is most likely. If this is literal you are probably aware. Think ahead in order to deal with it. If you’re astonished and concerned by this possibility seek objective advice. In theory at least the Sheep/Dog Break-Up conjunction can be mitigated elementally. And remember that this is your life and these things even those that hurt, are choices. Nothing I suggest is imposed from above. You don’t have to agree with this of course. Equally you have four Pillars (indeed five if you count the Life House) whose interaction may soften such a blow.

You always try so hard. This year you may exhaust yourself. It is the nature of the Tao that things come and go. Aim to be especially sensitive to appropriate timing. You know those moments when you are busting to express yourself and if you do it too soon it’s missed; too late and the moment has passed. This is as true of big events as small in space as well as time. If you were a drummer you’d be behind the beat where the Horse is ahead of it. In some senses, this is simply not your year; in others it really is.

Lesson: Detach, especially from popularity and influence.

Best Months: June, September

Worst Months: May, December.

Theme: Make the call.

Hexagram: 47 Kun Exhaustion.

Health: = Wealth: 😒 Relationship: =

Where to find help: Pigs, Rabbits, other Sheep.

Who should I be careful with: Oxen, Rats.

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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