Bringing Birightness To 2025 The Year of the Wood Snake

Newe Year Brightness In The Maldives | PhotoBy Jonathon Bennett Copyright Protected

What the Wood Snake Year 2025 Symbolises

The Chinese Zodiac Snake is considered traditionally to symbolise passion, intelligence, strategy and transformation, characterising its inherent element of Fire. This year’s Snake combines the elements of Fire and Wood. The Wood Snake is an active, adaptive creature, quickly changing direction to seize opportunities or avert danger. At significant times it will even shed its entire skin, enabling it to embrace a brand new phase of life. The Snake doesn’t hold on to old baggage.

Bringing Brightness into Your Life

Bringing brightness into your home decor and lighting this year will pay homage to the illuminating Fire element, complemented by wooden furnishing, green hues and plants representing the Wood element.

Imaginative light sources will create a welcome feeling of cosy brightness into your living and working environment. Uplighters will positively transform dull corners and they have a magical effect when placed behind plants. Candles, unscented or ones with natural essential oils, always bring a feeling of relaxation, calmness and romance. A strategically placed mirror that reflects natural or artificial light is another bonus. Aim for your windows and doors to sparkle too.

For gardens and outside spaces, a fire pit, hanging candles and solar or LED lighting will all create a wonderful, bright natural extension to your indoor living space that enriches social communication.

Inviting your Desires

Prepare to prosper, attract good fortune, embrace joy and healthy wellbeing. To symbolise make this year’s new qi yours, buy yourself a yummy new red garment, shoes or scarf. and wear it with intent to attract your desires. Bring a new plant indoors and plant a favourite one in your garden to encourage new growth in your life. Replace any worn out things and remember to write a wish list.

Maybe redecorating is your goal, if so you could take colour inspiration for 2025 from here: www.housebeautiful.com/room-decorating/colors/g63115105/color-of-the-year-2025-list/.

Cleaning up and Letting Go

Cleaning up and letting go at the start of a new year is a remarkably powerful way to invite inspiring positive new things into your life. So take this opportunity to set free anything that is no longer serving you Aim to tie up loose ends, complete unfinished  business and start afresh with a new vision, value what is purposeful and leave the rest behind.

Refreshing your Space

Many indigenous cultures have their own house purifying customs and rituals. A delightful Japanese custom is to place salt crystals in crucibles on the front door threshold to keep bad luck away. The Native American tradition is to cleanse a home with Sage smudging. Frankincense releases past negativity and is used as incense in various faiths. Another house cleansing ritual is to sprinkle holy water blessed by a priest.

A simple, yet effective, way to replenish the atmosphere in your home is to use the sound of a metal wind chime,Tibetan Bells or a small hand bell to release traces of undesirable or stagnant subtle energies and to refine the new refreshed vibrations. You can also spray each room afterwards with your favourite diluted essential oils. It is always helpful to add a few drops of Rescue Remedy if there has been distress or sickness in your home last year.

Moving Forward

Whatever your dream, you can make it real. A new year often means a new home. If you are wishing to move home, I can help you purify your present property to attract the ideal purchaser, and to enhance its saleability using Feng Shui. When you find a potential new property I can conduct a Feng Shui preview to assess its suitability for you and to check that there are no evident negatives. After you move, I would be honoured to help you help you settle into your new home creatively using Feng Shui design and traditional formulas to arrange rooms and furnishings, create storage solutions and plan colours. Please ask me I would be really glad to help you.

Warmly wishing you much happiness and good fortune during 2025, the Year of the Snake.

Sylvia

Creating Yin and Yang Harmony in 2024

2024 the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Calendar

From a Chinese Metaphysics perspective the yang Wood Dragon year 2024 is distinctly a year of change. Its governing annual Flying Star 3 has the trigram Zhen Thunder, which has the dual characteristics of rising freshness, new ideas and vigour interfaced by impulsive vibration and unrest. Plus the new Flying Stars Period 9 twenty years’ time cycle also commences in 2024.

It is governed by the Fire element of Li trigram, associated with transformation, action, passion and prominence, though with notoriety on its negative side. It already started to be apparent.

There are typically a few turbulent years during which a waning cycle and the incoming new period transition. So it is likely that the challenging recent times will continue for a bit longer before settling down. Change is destabilising but living with yin and yang in harmony helps to ease that discord.

The Dragon’s Role in 2024

In Chinese culture, the mythical Dragon Chen has the power to easily break through obstructions and it symbolises revolution and discarding old patterns. The Dragon’s nature is represented by both the trigram Xun - Wind and the YiJing hexagram 43 Guai with its rising yang Qi becoming stronger and meaning ‘Transform’

So this Wood Dragon will need to be kept in balance to prevent it becoming unstable or getting out of control, metaphorically speaking. Particularly with the added influence of this year’s dominant 3 star combined with the unsettling shift into period 9. However, during this year you can offset all that and transform it positively by maintaining harmony around yourself and your living environment.

What is Yin and Yang

Yin-Yang theory acknowledges the dynamic co-existence between complimentary opposites. It is essentially the binary code of life itself. The nature of yin and yang relationships are to interact in a state of ever-changing flux, take the interplay of day and night as an example. Also without light, a shadow would not exist.  Further examples of yang/yin are Positive /Negative, Active /Passive, Flow /Obstruction, Noisy/Quiet, Large /Small, Strong/ Weak, Male /Female. Undesirable imbalances caused through an excess or lack of either yin or yang features can lead to situations that undermine progress and welfare. Feng Shui adjustments aim to restore a harmonious equilibrium when imbalances arise.

Harmonising Yin and Yang in your Living Space

This year it is no coincidence that the two leading decor colour experts advise that feeling nurtured and completely at ease in the place we live or work is more important than ever in today’s complex world. Dulux ‘Sweet Embrace’ is an optimistic gentle blossom pink that adds softness and warmth. Pantone’s ‘Peach Fuzz’ is a soft peach that inspires kindness and connection as we seek a peaceful future. This year’s trend is perfect for all through Period 9. It is clearly about yin and yang being in harmonious balance!

Subdue the volatile nature of the Fire element in 2024, and during the next twenty years. As a precaution, minimise or remove items with bright yang fiery reds and flame colours. Introduce calmer yin fire element tones of lavender, fuchsia and pinks instead. Pay special attention to the entrance hall, living room and the bedroom. Aim to create an atmosphere that feels fresh, light and nurturing to generate harmonious qi that will permeate through your living space and invite success in the workplace. It is essential to remove all negativity, things that obstruct the clear flow of movement, feel overpowering or aggressive, dominate a space or induce unhappy feelings.

Some helpful decor suggestions:

- Introduce a calming water feature.

- Have a tranquil spiritual icon such as a Quan Yin or a Buddha.

- Rose quartz crystal generates affection and harmony, place it wherever you will enjoy it.

- Use soft indirect lighting additions to soothe a harsh yang area or gently illuminate dark corners.

- And ..create a space for you to start something new.

Gaining Personal Advantage in 2024

The indications are that 2024 is clearly an unprecedented year for change, starting now with a timely call-to-action for both your personal and business growth. The new era we have just entered is supposed to be a time for women to shine so it calls for re-evaluating your choices. You can maximise your positive potential and curb negativity by having vision, commitment and a balanced, open attitude to embrace change purposefully, also by practicing self-cultivation to release blockages. And the Wood Dragon gives symbolic clues about what you can do personally to create a more peaceful, enjoyable existence by resisting external disharmony. This is the era of bright new opportunities awaiting you.

Period 9 Attributes

Period 9 is controlled by the Fire element which has a yang tendency that is characterised by optimism, brightness, passion, connectivity and innovation. It also has a tendency towards rapid actions, instability and polarised extremes, all leading to undesirable situations because things can change very quickly. So calm down the Qi, optimise its quality and potential but don’t overdo anything.

The volatile nature of Fire in period 9 suggests there is opportunity for outstanding gains with a risk of spectacular losses, so it is important to guard yourself when forming connections and making decisions. This a powerful time of change, transformation and regeneration, rather like the alchemy of the mythical Phoenix.

Why Having a Consultation this Year will be Helpful to You

How you arrange your living environment will influence how you are equipped to gain advantage and protect yourself from the negative potentials. When things are in balance, life flows smoothly.

I can help you take advantage of the opportunities that might open up for you and transform concerns into effective solutions. Period 9 is the time for regeneration and having new priorities in life. And premises built or renovated during earlier periods may require new adjustments. The new period flying stars reading will be quite different to earlier period readings. What used to work before may not necessarily continue to work best for you.

This year more than ever it is worthwhile and possibly essential to have a fresh new Feng Shui consultation, or to update the Feng Shui recommendations you were given previously, either in person or remotely, so that your life and your premises are aligned harmoniously with the Qi of the new Period 9.

The subtle energy in your property may also start to feel tired or congested, indicating that it needs a restorative cleansing treatment of the subtle environment to revive and purify it so that it can support you fully. I am professionally qualified to perform this sensitive process so please ask me for further information about it or read more here fengshui-living.com/space-cleansing

Smarten Uo Your Space

Successful people are smart about what they keep around them. You will often see keepsakes of their interests and achievements, signs of projects in progress and always a well organised space. There may also be a comfortable chair to sit quietly whilst contemplating decisions. What you wont see is clutter, junk or an ailing plant, nor piles of old magazines or paperwork, dreary, uninspiring artwork or displeasing hand-me-downs.
Get your surroundings to nourish and support you to the full. It is acknowledged by behavioural psychologists that when you see things around you that uplift you, inspire you and bring you a sense of joy, you are more likely to feel well and interact positively. A tidy clear space that looks great, maybe boosted by some cheery colour accents, has a huge beneficial effect on health, mood, concentration and productivity.
When children grow up and leave home, it is an opportunity to repurpose a bedroom and create new space for yourself, for work, hobbies, exercise or tranquility; a sofa bed will suffice for occasional overnight stays. When it is time to move, it will help to sell your home faster and more successfully if you declutter all your possessions before the viewings commence. Definitely do that before moving. Taking old baggage with you will only bog you down, rather than freeing you up to enter a new phase of your life.
Here are a couple of stylish Feng Shui design solutions to manage challenging situations. Lighten up dull areas and dingy corners by placing a plant there and concealing a low-level uplighter behind it, their illuminated joint effect is magical. Turn an empty recess into a smart functional space by installing floor-to-ceiling display shelves for decor items like crystals, battery operated candles and plants or flowers, plus books and essential folders
with matching decorative covers. Placing baskets along the lower shelves is a stylish storage solution for often-used small items. Alternatively, add doors to the lower shelves to create a cupboard for toys, games and so on.
Before you give up on tarnished paintwork, try cleaning it with white spirit vinegar and washing up liquid added to warm water. Add a few drops of deodorising essential oils such as Lemon, Lemongrass, Ho leaf or Litsea to the rinse water, then buff to restore a good- as-new sparkle.
In addition to what you can see around you, this is a quick revitalising method to spruce up the unseen subtle energy in your living space. First of all open windows and remove stuck negative energy by clapping your hands or banging on a metal object whilst walking round, paying attention to the corners and beneath furniture. Then spray the air with your favourite essential oils diluted in water and have positive thoughts while you do it. Shake the spray bottle before use to blend the molecules. It can be done whenever you feel the desire or need to refresh the atmosphere.
The prime smart move is to clear your own head space by avoiding decision fatigue. Streamline your wardrobe to simplify choices. Split complex tasks into several mini-steps, making realistic achievable deadlines for each one and sticking to them. Develop the skill of delegating certain chores to give yourself spare time for doing more important things, or just use that time to relax.
An inspiring worthwhile read:
“Getting Things Done, the Art of Stress Free Productivity” by David Allen More ideas for smartening up your space: http://www.fengshui-living.com/blog/2023/4/13/innovative-clutter-clearing