The Snake in the Year of the Water Rabbit 2023

Snake Pic by @elliespinelli

Who is a Snake?

Years:         1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013.
Month*:      May
Hour:          09:00 am – 11.00am

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. I can let you know this too.

What is a Snake?
The Snake is yin Fire and sits next to both Horse and Dragon, possibly the most powerful pair of animals in the Zodiac and among the most difficult stools to fall between. So a typical weakness of the Snake is indecision. Next to that is lack of commitment and finally a propensity for sudden and uncharacteristic dishonesty. The Snake is the prisoner who breaks at the threat of torture; a reasonable decision if you know you’re going to give in anyway btw.

There are perhaps old souls and younger souls. The younger Snake often has a vivid imagination and an inconsistent relationship with the truth; the older Snake may treat Truth as sacred. And Snakes being of Candle Flame Fire, can be easily discouraged. Sometimes they should be. Some Snakes stick long term with an inappropriate choice so as to put off making any choice at all.

The most written about Snakes in 2022 are apt to include Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. Xi, born in 1953, the year of the Snake in the Grass and appointed at a time when the internal tensions in China – between efficiency and self-expression, between industrial wealth and rural poverty and between cohesion and corruption – had never been so stark. Never question his sincerity – he means what he says – but he is likely, like his near-twin Snake Tony Blair, to believe that the more he is opposed by those whose beliefs conflict with his own, the more right he must be. For both of these, dictatorship – that is tianming the Mandate of Heaven – is the preferable regime because the Snake can so often not tell the difference between their viewpoint and the absolute. Is this the mark of the young soul?

Older souls may include left-wing totem Bernie Sanders. Born a Metal Snake in 1941, his bluntness is typical of the mature or balanced Snake. A spade for him is not a manually-operated digging device but a damn spade.

Typically, squeezed between the two, the choice for the Snake is between opposites: the extroversion of the Horse and the subtlety of the Dragon, instinct and logic, process and end product, long and short term, relationship and freedom, employment or entrepreneurship. In the face of this dilemma, a balanced Snake will often develop sufficient charm to get through without having to make the hard decisions.

Typically the Snake of either gender is not the decision maker in relationship. When they marry a Pig this is doubly so; the power of the Pig’s uncertain yin Water may precisely match the delicate yin Fire of the Snake, often making for stand-offs and provisional decisions. Those the Snake has not made may include the one to be committed to the relationship. The partner of the Snake (best choice probably Ox or Rooster though Monkey lady and Snake man works well) would be well-advised to drag at least this minimum communication from the Snake early on. Interestingly Snakes can despite all this be among of the best makers and keepers of relationship of all 60 Animals. But they sure can make it hard for themselves.

One of the advantages of being between the autocratic Dragon and the unruly Horse is that the Snake has her ego in check. Many would consider her wise because what she has to say is well-considered and she never says too much. The Snake can be a brilliant collaborator, especially with the Ox and the Rooster who are in a sense similar to her neighbours: the Rooster is blatant (much like the irrepressible Horse, both are, if you like, pure) and the Ox determined (like the heads-down Dragon) while the Snake anchors them to each other. There may be moments of doubt when the Snake’s loyalty wavers. At such times, the Snake asks searching questions which should have been settled long ago and then usually re-commits. The high- minded Brutus was probably a Snake. Not Judas though. To know this, grants the Snake both power and integrity. Snakes who know this about themselves earn undying trust.

The Snake can also work with the Dragon in what is called the House of Magic#. Only she can subordinate her ego to the extent that the Dragon demands while also keeping up. An ideal Snake vocation is high-level p.a. Usually (and wisely) the Snake opts to be No 2 rather than Big Chief.

The Snake often has the intellectual and visual gifts of Fire. She makes a good critic as her judgement is sound and she is not out to destroy egos. She will generally have natural and effortless style too.

On the other hand the Snake has a love-hate relationship with the Monkey. Both have hands-on and logical ability and both attract occasional tussles but where the Monkey welcomes an opportunity for mischief, the Snake treats dispute as a regrettable evil. When a Tiger appears in such a form as a Tiger-born person or a Tiger month (February), this misunderstanding can turn nasty. In a Dog year like 2018 it’s plain sailing, in an Ox Year such as 2021 – when the Monkey is for the second consecutive year, favoured – more complex. If there are Monkeys in your friend group, seek them out and try to find common ground. They may save you when the chips are down; it still won’t be their priority though.

The Snake is opposed to the Pig and as both are members of the informal group sometimes called the Four Terminals#, they can impede each other’s movement. Snakes may develop mobility issues in a Pig (or Tiger) year and vice versa.

The Snake prefers a short menu and yes/no questions. In a Tiger year their yin Fire may be baffled by the width of choice represented by yang Wood. It’s possible that the Snake’s dreams will come true only for her to sprint in the opposite direction. Deep communication often has to be wrenched from the Snake and in the Water years of Rat and Pig there is little support for the tight-lipped. Given the Wood of this Tiger year however, their clearest expression may be in writing. Writing of course can be revised and reviewed limitlessly before being communicated.

Final health note: Snakes have a complex relationship with Fire. They are not usually sun-worshippers but often their skin needs just a little regular sun and without it they may fall prey to easily avoided ailments such as vitamin D deficiency. Caution!

Movement: The Snake in 2023

Snakes are often quite brilliant, typically they have fabulous memories and good fact processing. The Snake contains a chunk of Yang Metal which signifies musical, scientific and logical ability; an abundance of gifts. Most Snake anecdotes however are about truth.

The Snake is broadly either the seeker of truth or its denier. Triple Snake (Day, Month & Year) Tony Blair may be a good example of the second, Metal Snake Bernie Sanders of the first. Some Snakes have little perception of truth, some perhaps too much.

And in point of fact, truth as a general rule is less important than utility. Absolute belief for instance in the literal veracity of the Bible, Covid Denial or the Spaghetti Monster (Google it) may or may not be valid but none of these under current circumstances is useful. To fill your vehicle with fossil fuel, let alone make a fortune distributing it, is a little inconsistent with insisting that fossils were put in place by God to test faith. To manufacture conspiracies when there are so many in plain sight is the triumph of credulity over logic. Rigid beliefs did not put men on the Moon or tv remotes into our living rooms. And rigid denial is as profound a mistake as rigid acceptance. The Snake is best advised to keep questioning. And to listen to the answers.

Your average Snake can change their reality, belief system and friend group as circumstances change. The typical Snake husband for instance has few friends of their own but is very popular with their wife’s buddies.

The Snake is somewhat like the Rabbit. Often they aren’t fully committed, they can reinvent themselves from scratch multiple times. And the Yin Wood of this year’s Rabbit is barely enough fuel for the Yin Fire of the Snake. There is no easy route to expansion or personal growth this year.

Wood of course signifies movement – we know a plant is alive because it is in pretty constant movement, because it is growing. In a Rabbit Year, the Snake is in fitful movement; busy but not necessarily directed. There may be just one major task or objective to which you need to attend and all sense – family, perhaps or leisure – will be sacrificed to it. And it may be a noble and worthwhile one but it may also be a good reason to neglect much of what is important to you. Beware plausible distraction. Know what you are distracted from.

In a year like this, the Snake is well advised to take regular time out to question their trajectory. Remember your goals and be truthful about their value. Could be time to reassess. This actually may be telegraphed by a Snake in the Life House (ask). Review your priorities and just as the affable Snake is unlikely to neglect their dearest, don’t neglect yourself.

The Yeung Yan Star that lands on the Snake in 2023 is all about that: for a fertile woman it suggests pregnancy, for others it can indicate operations or accidents. The raw feng shui preventative advice (which you can take or leave) is to remain clean-shaven, cut your nails and hair regularly and if there is an opportunity give blood. The second aspect of your love/hate relationship with the Monkey may be part of the problem. Be amused by Monkeys rather than affronted.

The most obvious traps are that you have become too comfortable or that you dare not disagree with a significant other. Either leads you out of relationship of any value. This year you need to be proactive if you are to go anywhere.

Could lead to friction, could be worth it. Draw on (possibly scary) connections for a major elevation: in order, Dogs, other Rabbits, Sheep and Pigs are the most useful. This means people with one or more of these Animals anywhere in their ba zi (a.k.a. Four Pillars)

Lesson: Bring it on.

Best Months: May, August, September, December.

Worst Months: February, April, November, Jan 2024.

Theme: Coming clean

Hexagram: 41 Soen Decrease.

Health: = ☹ Wealth:= Relationship:=

This forecast is prepared by comparing your own Chinese year Animal with the Water Rabbit of 2023. 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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