YiSi, the Green Snake
The Earthly Branch for 2025 is 巳 Si, Snake. The Heavenly Stem for 2025 is 乙 Yi, small wood. Both symbols resemble a snake. So in a way, 2025 is a double snake year. The main element of the Snake is Bing, great Fire, or Sun. Metal is born at the Snake in the form of 辛 Xin, small knife of Dagger. Also, there is 戊 Wu Earth hidden in the Snake. Si resembles a coiled snake, Yi resembles a moving snake, also vines, ropes, brushes, small wood. Snakes are said to be cold, conniving, deadly, either by poison or constriction. Snakes like to hide and strike suddenly and unexpectedly. Snakes also are said to be vessels of wisdom. The biblical snake is a seducer. Snakes shed their old skin to grow. Snakes are coldblooded creatures, they need the sun to be able to move. Snakes have a split tongue, liars and double speakers, delivering falseness. Snakes are great hypnotisers. Snakes have no friends. Moses, the great (evil?) wizard of the bible was a snake sorcerer, he carried a staff he could turn into a snake. His staff ate up the staffs of the ancient egyptian Pharao’s priests.
The Greeks also had strong symbols with snakes, e.g. the caduceus:
The original caduceus also depicts the Kundalini force of Yoga. In the West, this symbol was crippled by taking away one snake. You might know it, the medical professions in the West use this crippled caduceus as their emblem (their philosophy on medicine is onesided).
The Caduceus belongs to Hermes, the greek god of communication, trade, money, travel, news, propaganda. All the above are going to be major themes for 2025, the overarching major theme likely will be: Transformation. So many dogmas are going to be challenged. So much poison and lies will be delivered, however this year it likely will be mutual, i.e. the lower classes, the people (巳 Si, Earthly Branch) will be ready to defend themselves (coiled snake) while the upper classes, or government (乙 Yi, Heavenly stem), will continue their effort to restrict, constrict and fetter. The general advice for those wanting to grow is:shed your skin, leave the old house of your soul behind to rot, because it will not be fit to the new circumstances. In an extreme form this means: transform, or die.
I live near the main place of Paracelsus, the „grandfather“ of modern medicine. There is a Paracelsus clinic in Basel. What those proud Basiliens (their town is built around the well of the Basilisk, a type of Dragon) like to suppress is the fact that the senate of the town at the time chased Paracelsus out of the city under the threat of death. On the middle bridge you can also find a tiny metal badge, commemorating the countless witches, male and female, burnt in the city. Paracelsus, at the time, was not politcally correct. Well, times and circumstances change, the themes do not. 2025 is likely going to be a year when the people start fighting back. Paracelsus coined the medical phrase „Dosis facit venetum“ – the dosis makes the poison. Poison has the power to heal in the correct amounts, too much of it and it becomes deadly. Wisdom equals poison, no?
Looking at the elements hidden in the branches, there is great Fire, small Metal, great Earth. With the purple white Stars in Earth palaces (see below), Satan (the symbol of the biblical snake in paradise) will shed his light all over the Earth. The shadows will become visible by contrast. More wars, changing of the boundaries of countries, everybody prodding (see Moses above) and stabbing at each other. Truth vs. Lies, poison to counterpoison.
Snakes can endure extremely long times of not getting food. Food prices are likely to go up. The moods are HOT. Anger and petty fights abound. Make peace with your own self. Truth in lies, lies in truth, doublethink and doublespeak turn against themselves. Transform or die. Horses are being used to produce antidotes against snake poison, so watch out for the Horse born people this year, or people with Horse in their four pillars. They may or may not be able to provide you with proper antidotes for the poison at work, at home, in the country, in the world. The snake lured Eva into Adam eating the apples of wisdom in paradise, such propelling both out of paradise. Out of paradise is where you want to be in 2025. The two snakes of the caduceus entwine the spine, therefore depicting the nervous system AND the spine. I think a flexible yet strong and healthy spine is what everybody should look for. Snakes are all spine, no extremities. Not a good time for spineless people.
Feng Shui influences for the Year of the Wood Snake
Chinese New year is around the corner, and so is the „changing of the guards“ for the different Feng Shui influences for the upcoming year. Before I comment on some of the most important influences, let us have a look at an image of those I would like to discuss in this article:
Tai Sui, Sui Po, San Sha
You can see that the Tai Sui lands in SE3 sector, which is the mountain/sector of the Snake. Tai Sui means sth like „General of the Year“, or „Leader of the Year“. Last year that was the Dragon, this year it will be the Snake, next year the Horse is in charge. Although it is not per se a negative energy, it is a very powerful energy nobody should dare to offend. The same, a bit less powerful, goes for the force of „Sui Po“. Both energies like it quiet. It is very important to keep these two areas quiet, bright and clean this year, emphasis on „Quiet!“. This means, no renovations here in 2025. Least movement as possible too; in case you have a door in these sectors, be sure to open and close the door quietly, never slam it. Even putting a nail in the wall: no good idea. Keep these areas free of Radios, TV’s, loudspeakers. If you can, make sure you are not putting your back to Tai Sui for extended periods of time, like sitting in an office. Turning your back towards Tai Sui will offend the General just like a soldier turning his back towards an officer. Facing/Opposing Tai Sui is no good idea neither, Tai Sui might feel challenged and retaliate. In general, avoid the axis of Snake/Pig altogether if you can. To ward off some of the evil influences, you can place a small round metal plate into the respective sectors of Snake and Pig. Houses or apartments which are facing Tai Sui will have a weakened energy in 2025, it is a good idea to strengthen the Feng Shui of these sites. You can pacify the Tai Sui energy by using its combination animal, in the year of the Snake that would be the Monkey.
Next very strong influence is the 3 Sha, or San Sha. Same like with Tai Sui/Sui Po, avoid any renovations or strong vibrations in the entire East sector or palace. Keep it quiet. If you need to do renovations, use the relatively safe times of the great Sun and Moon formula, or postpone to another year. Annoying Tai Sui, Sui Po, San Sha can lead to various problems, like accidents, mishaps, sickness, failure, etc.
The annual Purple White Stars
Before discussing the annual Stars, the so called „natal chart“ of the property and the people living there needs to be assessed. However, the power of the annual Stars in general is more potent than that of the natal Stars of the building. There are various different methods to arrive at the „natal“ flying stars chart of the site, differing schools have different formulae. With this, you need to trust the Feng Shui practitioner of your choice.
These are commonly known as the „Annual Flying Stars“. These Stars change position each year. There are good, neutral and bad annual Stars. The bad guys are: 5 yellow, 2 black, 7 red, 3 jade. Neutral is 4 green. Auspicious Stars are 1 white, 6 white, 8 white and to a certain extent 9 purple. Like in the westerns, the guys dressed in white are always the good guys. 9 purple usually is a „Joker“, meaning that it enhances either good or bad. As this Star Nr. 9 now is timely, it behaves more like an auspicious Star. In Feng Shui, one first neutralises or „cures“ any bad influences before enhancing the good ones.
The bad Stars
The worst Star is Star Nr. 5, the energy of the ruler. In 2025, it flies to the Northeast, the Ghost Gate. As Star 5 is the energy of the just but stern ruler, my hunch is that some of the power and influence of the dead souls might be granted access via this gate to exert influence on the Earth. Its element is Earth, its sigil is of Fire. Use metal to pacify it. Metal is justice, concentration, righteousness. Because this Star, besides being a Star for general misfortune, also is a sickness and poison Star, you can use a three legged toad (toads are poisonous animals) made of brass to subdue and mitigate its effects. Avoid the colour red as taboo in an annual 5 sector. Do not use green. Use metal colours: white, silver, gold. Avoid action there too, keep the sector quiet. If you like to use sound here, use metal sounds, such as metal gongs, singing bowls, or piano.
Next in line is Star Nr. 7. This is a metal Star. Its symbol is a dagger or a knife. Accidents, backstabbing, theft, robbery, injury, quarrel are its favourite themes. Avoid red, green, brown and earth colours. Avoid any images depicting any violence, destruction or discord. Use blue, water, or vinegar to rust the metal of this Star and render it useless. If you have a little daughter in the family, skip the above and use a Dragonturtle figurine made of brass instead.
Star Nr. 3 Jade is another troublemaker. This is a Wood Star. Avoid plants in the NW this year. Stay clear of Water in any form in this palace too. Keep it quiet in this sector. Do not use green/wood, blue/black/water and white/metal in the NW. Actually, all these elements except Metal should stay out of the NW anyway, no matter which year. Normally one would use Fire to reduce the power of this Star, however Fire is not a good idea in the NW. You can use Earth elements here, colours are yellow and earthen.
Sickness Star Nr. 2 black visits the centre, or TaiJi. Note that all Earth Stars visit Earth palaces this year. Their effect will be stronger than in other years. Star Nr. 2 flies to the centre, its effect will permeate everywhere. If you can, put a golden calabash there to trap some of the sickness energy. Also use metal, white, gold, silver objects and colours. Avoid any triplets there. If you cannot place items there, use a round rug in a metal colour and put it in the centre.
The good Stars
Star Nr. 1 is a pretty benevolent Star anyway, and its energy is on the rise. Used correctly, it can mitigate some of the effects of the Tai Sui energy, as it lands in the Southeast sector this year. It stands for nobilty, academic success, status, reputation, drive. Its ancient name is „Greedy Wolf“, so it helps your ambition too. In Xuan Kong, this is a Water Star, in San He a Wood Star. In short, use the spirit of the bamboo.
Star Nr. 6 is a metal Star, it flies to the South Fire sector in 2025. Use Earth to help its effect in 2025, avoid Fire and Wood. For those having nobleman luck this year, activate Star Nr. 6 to enhance chances to gain fame and success.
Star Nr. 8 is a good Star too, its element is Earth. It flies into Kun Palace, or SW sector. Avoid Wood and Metal, use Fire.
All good Stars align on the Yang Southern side of the chart. All bad Stars align around Yin Northern side of the chart. Good vs. Evil.
. Die Bewegungsrichtung dieses Trigramms strebt nach oben bzw. aufwärts. Prinzipien dieses Trigramms sind bspw. der ideengebende Funke, die schöpferische Idee oder Kraft, die Bewegung und die Aktion, der Himmel und der Weltraum.
. Die Bewegungsrichtung dieses Trigramms sinkt zum Zentrum der Schwerkraft bzw. abwärts. Prinzipien dieses Trigramm sind die empfangende Hingebung, die Dinglichwerdung der Idee, das Wachstum und die Ausgestaltung der Form, der Boden und der Grund.
