Happy Year of the Yang Wood Dragon!
By Nicole Acosta Nemergut
My favorite seed catalog came last week. It seems silly to think about planting seeds when the temperature barely reached out of the 30s and snow is coming this week, but this is exactly what we mean when we think of the new year as the start of spring. Spring doesn’t start when we first see robins or crocuses emerge, Spring starts when we begin planning and visioning. It starts when it’s still cold and we’re flipping through the seed catalog.
Most of us are familiar with the 12 animals of the zodiac, but the 12 animals exist alongside a rotation of the five elements and alternating yin and yang years. The Dragon represents good fortune, power, and wisdom. East Asian dragons are benevolent creatures that bring blessings and change. This energy alongside the element of Wood creates a space for expansive growth and transformation. Wood is the element of the Liver and the spring. It’s quick and flexible. It can also feel urgent and impatient. Yang is dynamic action and movement, compared to Yin, that is material and substantive. A Yang Wood Dragon year beginning during the wood time of year can create a lot of energy, sometimes without a clear outlet.
I’ve felt this restlessness and fitfulness too. Everything grates my nerves, and I can’t find the best place to direct my energy. This is the energy of seeds on the verge of transformation. They need to build resources and rally to break through their shells and up through the surface of the soil. Wood qi moves up and out. How can we use our seed energy this year for abundance, growth, and transformation? How can we channel that restlessness and fitfulness into liberation?
Acupuncture and herbs can be great tools to get clarity and be centered in our purpose, soothe that restless Liver Qi and ease transitions in different seasons of our lives.
Reading Recommendations
Ruby’s Chinese New Year by Vickie Lee
This is a cute story follows Ruby in her quest to deliver a special gift to her grandmother during lunar year and the 12 animal friends she meets along the way.
Strictly Medicinal Seed Catalog
Even if you don’t plan to grow anything this year, this catalog has a ton of information about Chinese and Western herbs as well as cool line drawings throughout. It’s always a favorite spring read.
