The Tiger in the Year of the Wood Snake 2025
Tiger Pic by @elliespinelli
Who is a Tiger?
Years: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010.
Month*: February
Hour: 03.00-05.00am
Day: you’ll need a Chinese Calendar or an expert for this.
* Caution: the start of the Chinese Month of the Tiger falls on the 4th or 5th,
depending on the year.
What is a Tiger?
Because the Tiger is generally considered yang Wood but actually consists of three different elements, he is an especially versatile predator. There is nothing wrong with being a predator of course, except that it can imply a very rigid view of the world. Tigers often don’t play well with others, not because their egos are in the way (unlike the Dragon, the Pig, the Rooster or the Horse) but because for them, work and play are very distinct activities. They can up to a point frolic with other Tigers but broadly every alliance is focused on an outcome. It’s no coincidence that 1974 Tiger Victoria Beckham is the Spice Girl who never looked back; she simply moved on.
The Tiger never forgets. For the unbalanced Tiger no slight, insult or rejection can be allowed to go unredressed.. He may wait a lifetime but he will get his revenge. Earth Tiger Joseph Stalin typified this approach to life as Leon Trotsky was able to confirm the hard way. On the other hand the balanced Tiger will always repay a debt and will go out of his way to acknowledge assistance.
The typical qualities of yang Wood are sharp eyes, a strong will and swift movement. The Tiger stalks his prey silently and pounces when he is ready. He can wait days as long as he is not hungry. A needy Tiger is very dangerous. Never scorn the Tiger. The Tiger never forgets, not a slight nor a favour.
Being Yang Wood which is about movement, the Tiger needs space. Each Element contains a particular form of aggression if you will. For the Tiger it’s space. Always give the Tiger plenty of leeway. This need sheds light on the on the notorious Russian need to expand Westward as well as the year 1914 when more young men set out to kill more young men than at any other time in history. 1938, the Year of lebensraum, Tiger Year.
The Tiger will often have a fresh view of things which makes him the eyes of the team he makes up with the Horse and the Dog. The Horse is front of house, the Dog the keeper of records and the Tiger the hit man.
In terms of human relations the Tiger may be the most yang of the animals; that is swift, sharp and unsubtle. The earth he inherits from his predecessor in the Zodiac the Ox, is turned miraculously from yin to yang when he receives it. The unbalanced Tiger knows no mercy and expects none. And in this he has altered the dogma he receives from the Ox – do as you would be done by – into a personal code. This alteration can amount to perversion and make for serious misunderstandings; the unconscious Tiger probably knows himself less well than any other animal. His ruthlessness which he can wear as a badge of honour, is often simply a failure to open up to interdependence with others.
Of all descriptions “dependent” is the most insulting to the Tiger. He will not depend. This makes relationship an act of will. With a true act of will, the Tiger forms the most enduring relationships. If it is not truly a choice but a resigned agreement to bend himself out of shape, all around him will distort also. Sometimes the truly unconscious Tiger thinks this reflects a merciless world in which he has been clever in getting his revenge in first. This logic doesn’t work and the smarter Tiger knows this.
But even the smartest Tiger is not in the clear because the corollary of foregoing revenge appears to be falling on her sword. This is a mistake too. Most of us prefer not to live by the law of the jungle but then most of us are not as well-equipped for it.
Metal is generally considered to represent logical thought, authority and competition. The Tiger is elementally the opposite of Metal; the wooden Tiger likes to think of himself as logical but instinctive (or even automatic) is a better description. Generally he can only make use of Metal early on in life or at the inception of a process. After that he can deceive himself that he knows what to do and that he is beyond advice. Her chief adversaries are the (yang Metal) Monkey whose frivolity he can’t stand and the Snake who won’t offer him a static target.
The really unbalanced Tiger (yang Wood day stem for instance born in February) considers himself bold and resolute but truly is hanging onto past (mother) stuff that ought to have been completed. The admission of this might affront his pride and he is unlikely to do it.
Richard Bandler (himself a notoriously ruthless 1950 Tiger) the Godfather of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, used to say that the person with the most flexible behaviour has control. The Tiger is the yangest woodenest of the animals. He is so flexible that he can be completely immovable. In a sales situation – paired with the Rabbit in the so-called House of Progress# – the Rabbit opens the sale with sheer charm but the Tiger closes it.
This can be his role in the alliance with the Monkey, Pig and Snake sometimes called The Four Terminals#: the Monkey sells the traveller a ticket, the Pig may offer to accompany him and the Snake can enchant with tales of exotic locations but the Tiger makes sure they pay in full. Without the Tiger in the ba zi this combination can lack edge, implying restricted movement as well as cash-flow issues.
And of course any conjunction of these four has implications for travel and movement, Watch for the Tiger Day in the Monkey month – proverbially a day of short tempers and specifically road rage. Equally watch for the Fire Penalty – frustration due to interference – whenever Tiger and Monkey coincide with Snake; ubiquitous of course in Tiger Years like 2022, Snake Years like 2025 and Monkeys such as 2028.
A tender father and an implacable father-in-law, a good leader but an erratic motivator, at his worst the keynote of the Tiger is an uneasy combination between a long memory and a short fuse. At his best he is the sort of leader you would gladly die for. At worst she’ll do the job for you.
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.
Tiger
Chieh Sha Yeung Yan Wu Huang Mong San Wood
Robbery Curse Poor Timing Five Yellow Elemental Caution
Fire Penalty: interference when in conjunction with Snake & Monkey
In a Snake Year, the Wood Animals – Rabbit, Tiger and to some extent Dragon – are compromised by the San Sha in the East as well as the overarching Mong San Wood. The Tiger is usually impatient but ambition has to wait until after the spring at least and sights may need to be lowered. Tiger is also subject to periodic “Harm,” from the Snake. Be aware of proxy fights which by their nature may be hard to fathom. This nonetheless is a year of real progress after the bruising of the Dragon Year.
Last year you may have lost a photo-finish and you may be resentful or worse. For the Tiger this is a year of recovery when you retrieve your fierce edge. It will take an effort of will – it’s a double edged sword – but one reading of the Yeung Yan poor timing Star is precisely that fierceness. Whether that “Goat Blade” cuts you or a path through the murk is a question of timing: the Yeung Yan Star which is characterised by anger is so often a function of hurry. This year of all years aim to be in touch with the tao. That is to say act when and where appropriate. Don’t delay or hurry.
Delay may tempt during the Water months of the Pig, Rat & Ox towards the end of the year. However demanding the task, yours is not to digress but to choose the appropriate which may be the gentlest downwards gradient but may be the brick wall. There are no rules to this, it’s a moment by moment thing that calls for constant awareness.
You do know this though it may not always reflect your preference. Hurry is most tempting at times of Fire like a Snake year and a Snake or Horse Month, also for you because of combination rules, Dog times such as October. Breathe.
Although some Chinese Masters see only blue skies ahead, the year is features a series of challenges. Perhaps we see different emphases. What I see is preparation for re-emergence in the Horse Year of 2026 when you may win contests like the one you lost in 2024.
Throughout the year the creeping Fire Penalty makes conjunctions with the Monkey and Snake more hazardous than usual. This conjunction of course is everywhere in a Snake year and makes for interference, interruption, triangular relationships and hazard. Most distracting in May and August but present throughout, often relating to movement and transport. Take special care of vehicles (including your legs) this year. Be early for flights and watch the departure board. Allow more time than usual for any journey.
The jealousy which can be your deepest wound may affect your judgement in April. Relationship issues could impinge on other types of decision. Don’t make decisions simply because you can’t contain yourself. Seek advice, listen and acknowledge.
Your natural position on the edge of the North East is of course about sunrises and new beginnings but this year it also houses the Wu Huang or “Five Yellow” which speaks of power that must be wielded carefully. Tigers can over-react, often with good reason. You must remember the difference between frankness and brutality if you are to rise. Not always a strength.
Some Masters suggest that delay will suit you. Certainly it will tend to work to make the big decisions no sooner than necessary. Make no decisions out of discomfort. Anger will draw you away from the Tao. Simply trusting will take you a long way. You don’t have the resources to cover all the eventualities to which mistrust gives birth.
Your Hexagram for this year opens the Lower Palace of the Book of Changes. This is the point at which spiritual concerns give way to practical. That is perhaps the bridge you will be crossing. We’ll see.
Lesson: Re-set targets
Best Months: February, June, October.
Worst Months: May, August
Theme: Recovery.
Hexagram: 30 Lei Illumination.
Health: 😒 Wealth: = Relationship: 😊
Where to find help: other Tigers, Horses, Dogs, Pigs.
Who should I be careful with: Monkeys, Snake
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?
© Richard Ashworth 2025