I am sure you are ready to say goodbye to the Rat year, and while the Western calendar refreshed on January 1st, many people commented that January felt like the 13th month of the traumatic year 2020. I felt that was because the energy had not truly shifted until today, February 12th, the beginning of the Spring festival as celebrated according to the Chinese calendar. Now we have shifted from the Yang Metal Rat year to the Yin Metal Ox year, and that feels like a welcome change!
Here is an excerpt from a wonderful breakdown of the meaning of this shift, from our friends at Tiger's Play Astrology:
"The Metal Rat was retrospective, an evaluation of the last 12-year cycle, and so is the Ox. The Rat looked backward, analyzed, and took things apart to be rebuilt more efficiently. We are now looking at the framework of our society lying in pieces on the ground. The nuts and bolts of American culture have been laid bare, and we are all left with the question – what now?
The Ox answers – to build anything enduring, we must first re-establish the foundation, and to do that, we must acknowledge our lack of control. We do not control Nature, but we can learn to work with it; such was the experiment of Chinese agricultural society, and such is our task now. If there is a positive outlook to take on the current situation, it is that we can re-build, re-shape, and re-establish our world."
To read the entire post click here (well worth the time!)
I am not a scholar of the Tong Shu or Feng Shui/ Geomantic arts, so I do not have much to add, except my sincere wishes that we collectively harness the steadfast (some might feel like its plodding) nature of Ox's persevering strength, and do the work necessary to attune our efforts to meet the needs of both the individuals and the collective. There is much still to be done in healing collective trauma, in processing deep grief, in planting the seeds of our future harvests.
May we make good choices and take fruitful action, while respecting the lands and ancestors.
Until next time!
In oneness,
Elena
(thanks to the artists at Unsplash for the beautiful ox image from Cuba!)