2025 Year of the Yin Wood Snake

Happy New Year! Lunar New Year on January 29th brings us the Year of the Yin Wood Snake.

Introduction

The Snake is associated with Fire energy, and 2025 is the first of three years in a row of Fire Energy.

Chinese New Year 2025 year of the snake

First, let’s look at the overall effect of these Fire years ahead. Then we’ll see what to expect in 2025, with suggestions to prepare for the next few Fire years.

The 20-Year Cycle of Fire Energy

2024 was the start of a new 20-year cycle of Fire Energy in Feng Shui. Fire is associated with innovation, electronics and technology. And being that the next three years are Fire years, we can expect big changes in these fields. Because Fire moves fast, I think we’ll see fast change and innovation.

The two biggest innovations I can see now are AI (artificial intelligence) and blockchain technology (mainly Crypto). We may also see more rapid adoption of electric vehicles and solar power, since they’re associated with Fire energy.

AI is already advancing rapidly. I get emails almost daily about new AI software that can automate things that people used to do. Companies are already switching from humans to AI for tasks that AI can be trained to take over.

There is AI software to run chatbots and do graphic design and copywriting. Some of it is so good you can’t tell it wasn’t written by a human. New AI “agents” are being rapidly developed that will do even more and are predicted to become a huge factor in the near future. (No AI was used in writing these predictions.)

I recently read about an AI that learned to invest in crypto and made $40 million dollars, and another AI that was given a choice of what to do with a sum of money and decided to donate it to charities. All on its own. AI is already aware of itself as a separate entity from humans and will change everything.

As with any major technological changes that make some human jobs obsolete, we’re likely to see changes in the workforce and employment levels. Historically, these kinds of changes have led to societal disruption, depending on how fast the new tech is adopted and people become unemployed. There used to be a lag between the end of old industries and adoption of new ones. For example, horses and buggies to cars, which took place over a longer period of time. In contrast, the adoption of new technology has been speeding up and this is even more pronounced in Fire years.

Being that we’ve got three Fire years in a row, I think that we’re going to see fast changes and disruption in the next few years.

Even if we don’t work in a field where AI can put us out of work, we’re all going to deal with AI. Companies that we interact with will be rushing to cut their workforce and switch to cheaper AI. We already have AI chatbots on websites, and more sophisticated ones are already here, such as AI voice chatbots that can take phone calls and do most of the functions of customer service people. This may be good or bad, depending on how well they work and if they actually help people. The point is, we’ll all be affected by these changes, and it may cause unemployment and economic challenges in these types of fields.

There is also opportunity associated with new technology, both in using it and potentially investing in it. Please remember, these are predictions, not financial advice. Do your own research and use caution (especially in crypto). It’s risky investing in new tech companies because most of them won’t survive and thrive. All those tech billionaires? Those companies mostly didn’t exist twenty years ago. That’s the scale of change we’re looking at.

New Technology

We can use some of this technology to help us. Think about how you use it from a patient, or potential patient’s point of view. How frustrated are you when you have to jump through hoops to get a live human? And how excited are you when you actually get one quickly and easily? I have potential new patients thank me all the time for calling them back when they leave me a voicemail. I’m constantly astounded by this! Do they expect me not to call back? I think it’s a function of how hard it can be to get a live human on the phone when you need help.

What’s the best way to deal with this new technology? First, accept that it’s here. A lot of people are freaked out by AI, because we don’t know what it will do in the future. There’s nothing we can do about that. It’s here, and way past the point of being able to stop its development. Stressing out and worrying about it will only imbalance your Liver and Spleen.

A good way to use technology is to simplify your life and business, especially if it’s for repetitive tasks. For example, there is AI software that can read your blog, learn about your business and writing style, and generate and automatically schedule and post social media posts.

In an increasingly automated world, connecting directly with people will make you stand out. We all know how frustrated patients are with their six-minute average western medical doctors’ visits. Patients love it when you take the time to listen to them and talk to them, and they’re not just hustled in and out. Good customer service is what will set you apart now and in the future. Use tech to make your life and your patients’ lives easier, rather than making it harder to get to you. Your patients will love you for this.

I expect that once AI is more widely adopted and until the bugs get worked out, there may be a backlash. Businesses that make it easy to interact with them will stand out.

Maybe in a few more years when it’s easier to use crypto, our patients will be asking us if they can pay in crypto. There are already credit cards to pay with crypto, and I know of companies working on developing this further. Right now, crypto is in its infancy, but because of the next few Fire years, I think we may see rapid development in crypto progress and adoption. I’ll gladly take payment in Bitcoin!  

The Year of the Yin Wood Snake

2025 is the Year of the Yin Wood Snake.

Every year is either Yin or Yang, and they alternate. Since 2024 was a Yang year, 2025 is a Yin year. If we know the natures of Yin and Yang, we know that generally Yin is cooler, quieter, and calmer than Yang. That already tells us a bit about the year.

Nature of the Snake

Next, let’s consider the nature of the Snake before we discuss the elemental natures involved. The Snake is considered calm, intelligent and wise. They’re also clever and known to be flexible escape artists when kept in captivity. 

If you think about visiting snakes in the zoo, they mostly hang out chilling and not doing much. They’re calm creatures that only attack if they’re hunting for food or feel threatened. Even if they’re startled, they generally give you a warning before they attack. Those are very Yin characteristics, in keeping with the Snake being a Yin animal.

Unlike most creatures that replace skin cells constantly, snakes shed their whole skin, which allows for their continued growth. Metaphorically, this may be a good year to shed old parts of you that were holding you back and reinvent yourself and/or make big changes.

Heaven and Earth

According to Chinese philosophy, we have the concepts of Yin and Yang, and Heaven, Earth and Humanity. The way these energetics combine determines the energy for the year.

Each year, we have Qi, or energy arriving from Heaven (the universe), and Qi arriving from Earth (the planet).

In the cosmology of “Heaven, Earth and Humanity”, we the people, being “Humanity”, live in between Heaven and Earth and are affected by their energies and the energy of the year.  

The Heaven energy in 2025 is Wood, and the Earth energy is the Snake, which is associated with the Fire element.

Since the color green is associated with the Wood element, you may see the year referred to as the Green Snake.

chart showing the 5 elements fire, earth, metal, water, wood

5 Element Relationships

Let’s first consider the relationship between the Heaven and Earth energies of Wood and Fire.

In the five Elements creation/ production cycle in the diagram, we see that Wood gives birth to, or is the parent of Fire. This is the normal flow of Qi. Since the Heaven energy of the universe is much bigger and stronger than the energy of earth (the planet), the Wood energy gives strong parental support to the Fire energy. Heaven energy giving birth to earth (the planet) is also the correct flow of Qi. These are all positive indications, as opposed to a year where the elements conflict.

Because Wood gives birth to the Fire energy, it means the Fire energy will be strong. Because it’s a Yin year, it won’t be as overpowering as it would be in a Yang year.

Nature of the Elements

The Nature of Wood

The Heaven energy this year is Wood, which is associated with the East direction.

The atmospheric nature of Wood is wind and warmth. On earth it refers to plants. Since this year is Yin Wood, it’s more like grasses or small plants, rather than big sturdy trees.

Yin wind is more like gentle breezes, rather than strong winds, although we may have them, too.

Yin plants tend to bend and be flexible. They can still break though, so there is the possibility that people who cannot bend this year are more susceptible to “breaking”.  This may refer to both physical and mental states. People should be cautious to avoid falling. There is the potential for falls this year to break bones, although it’s not as severe as in a Yang Wood year.

Wood is the starting element of the year, and refers to the Spring season, growth and change. The nature of wind/ Wood is change, since wind never stays in one place. Wood energy is growing, spreading and dispersing. This provides good potential for starting and/ or growing businesses, projects, etc., and dispersing it out to others.

Nature of Fire

The energy coming from the earth (the planet) this year is Fire, which is associated with the South direction.

Its atmospheric nature is heat, fire and dryness. It moves fast and can create pressure and steam. It’s bright and transformative. Think about a fire burning and how it rapidly transforms whatever is burning, which implies fast change.

On earth, Fire refers to heat, fire and dryness. Yin fire is like a candle flame, or small fire, rather than a raging bonfire, which would be more Yang.

Implications

Wood and Fire are the two strongest elemental energies this year.

Wood represents kindness, compassion, healing, and medicine, especially natural medicine. It should be a good year for businesses in these industries, and any other industry related to wood or working with wood, trees, and/ or plants, like farming.

Fire represents etiquette, courtesy, respect, joy and passion. It is associated with things like electronics, technology, the stock market, crypto and industries related to actual fire. Firefighters are about to have their hands full.

People who are perceived as kind, compassionate, courteous and respectful have good support from the elements and should do well this year. People and institutions who are not will most likely have a harder time.

Earth energy is neutral to slightly strong this year. Because Fire gives birth to Earth, there is good parental support for Earth energy this year. But Wood restrains Earth, which weakens it and makes it more neutral. Earth industries like real estate, mining, pottery, and others related to earth will most likely have a neutral or balanced year.

Metal and Water are both weak this year.

Industries associated with metal, metal-working, and/or that use metal may suffer. Metal is associated with right and wrong and justice, so it may not be a good year for progress in those areas. That doesn’t mean we won’t see any justice, just that it will have a harder time this year because the element is weak. Metal comes back to strength in 2028.

Water is the weakest element this year. It’s associated with wisdom. We may not see a lot of wisdom prevail this year. Water industries like plumbing and shipping, and education and learning (related to wisdom) could suffer.

Weather

As already mentioned, the atmospheric nature of Wood is wind and warmth. Fire’s nature is heat, fire and dryness.

We’re in for hot, dry, windy weather and fires. Because the Earth energy is neutral to slightly strong, and it’s in charge of dampness, we may see some humidity, rather than a lot of actual rain.

There’s a good chance we’ll have droughts. All of this may be worse in the East and South of the country you’re in and the world, since these are the directions associated with Wood and Fire. That doesn’t mean these things won’t happen elsewhere, just that there is the potential for them to be worse in those areas. For people in areas that tend to have a lot of fires, please prepare now.

Fire’s season is summer, and the dryness of autumn may be worse this year. It’s very likely we’ll have a bad fire season. I encourage preparation now, because the power of predictions is to help you know and prepare for what the year has in store.

Note: These predictions were written in December 2024, before the Los Angeles fires in January. The Los Angeles fires are a horrible preview of the type of fires we’re likely to have this year and next year.

And, we’ve got three Fire years in a row ahead, and 2026 will be double Yang Fire. Both the Heaven and Earth energies will be Yang Fire. Next year we can expect even hotter temperatures, bigger fires, and more droughts. Since Water is so weak in these years, please plan ahead now.

If you live in an area susceptible to fires, think about clearing highly flammable plants and planting succulents. Plan now what you’d take if you have to evacuate. Living in California, where we regularly deal with fires, I know people who’ve gotten out of their house with only the clothes they were wearing before it burned down.

Keep copies of important documents digitally or in another location. Do this now, so if you’re affected later, you’re already prepared. Remember Fire moves fast, so it’s best to plan ahead.

Consider getting rainwater collection and storage vessels to collect whatever rain we get to water your yard or important plants. (If it’s allowed in your area.)

Because of the increased potential for fires, it’s highly likely we’ll have more drought. The last two years were the hottest recorded years. It’s going to be worse in 2025 and 2026. We’ll get relief after 2027.

Be careful when using fire, for example in campfires, fire pits or fireplaces. There is a strong danger of accidents happening with fire.

There is also a possibility of flooding in low-lying coastal areas from ice melting in polar areas due to the heat. If you’re in this type of area, please prepare accordingly.

I don’t expect we’ll have big damaging hurricanes and cyclones. We’ll have wind, but since it’s a Yin year and Water is weak, there should be smaller, less damaging storms. There will be more damage from fire and wind, especially when they are together.

Emotions

Wood’s negative state of mind is anger, and Fire’s is mania. People with Liver and Heart excess and heat conditions may be more prone to these emotions, while those with deficiencies in these organs should benefit.

People who tend toward mania or getting overly passionate about things may be worse, especially in the summer and/or hot weather.

It’s likely we’ll see a continuation of the anger that we’ve had over the past several years, but maybe not as severe or lasting, since it’s a Yin year and Fire is associated with joy and happiness.

Metal is weak this year, and its negative emotion is sadness. But the strong fire energy can cancel out some of the sadness.

As Water is the weakest element this year, people with Kidney deficiencies could still be fearful. Again, the joyful Fire energy can help overcome the fear.

Since the positive emotions of Wood and Fire are kindness, compassion and joy, there is the potential to see more of these. To stay in harmony with the year’s energy, focus on these emotions within yourself. Engage in activities that bring you joy and make you happy, just for the fun of doing them. Do things with other people who are kind and compassionate. Like the snake shedding its skin, maybe it’s time to shed those people in your life who are negative, unkind and unhappy.

Health

The strongest organs this year will be the Liver/Gallbladder (Wood) and Heart /Small Intestine (Fire). Those prone to excess in these organs could have problems, especially when wind, heat and/or dryness are part of the pathology.

Any condition involving wind, heat and/or dryness could worsen.

Because a danger of strong Wood energy is risk of falling and breaking, combined with weak Water (bones), there may be broken bones.

There is the possibility of new or worsening conditions associated with Liver Wind this year, especially in people with excess Liver conditions. There may be dizziness, vertigo, muscle spasms, tremors, strokes and worsening of Wind diseases like Parkinson’s and MS.

Any conditions considered by TCM to involve Wind, and especially Wind and Heat together, could move fast and change quickly. They may require more aggressive treatment to stop them.

Fire is associated with the mental state, thought and consciousness.

Fire is strong, so any excess Fire, heat, and heart conditions may worsen. People susceptible to high blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia and/or mania may worsen.

Since Fire is strong and Water is weak, we may see more issues where the Fire and Water are not in harmony with each other. There may be issues with insomnia with busy mind, as well as Shen disturbances, so herbs that clear Heat and calm the mind may be helpful.

Even though it’s a Yin year, because of the heat, fire and dryness, any Yin deficiency conditions may worsen, and we may see more of these conditions in clinic. Use drying herbs cautiously this year, as they could have a more powerful effect.

Respiratory colds this year will be the dry kind, with more dry cough than mucus. There will also probably be more conditions with heat and fevers.

Because Metal/ Lungs are weak this year, strengthening the Lungs and using herbs for prevention and at the first signs of respiratory illness will be helpful. Especially with the heat that makes conditions worsen rapidly, quick treatment will be important.

There may also be more, or worsening, of skin conditions involving heat and dryness due to the weak Metal element which is associated with the skin.

The Earth element is fairly neutral this year, so Spleen/ Stomach and digestive issues shouldn’t be out of the ordinary.

The weakest organ this year will again be the Kidneys (Water) because both Wood and Fire weaken the Water element. People with Kidney deficiencies may worsen, and older people are especially at risk if they fall.

Those with Kidney deficiencies, especially Kidney Yin deficiencies, will benefit from tonifying treatments and herbs.

Because of the heat and Fire, there may be a tendency to do too many things too fast. Overdoing it can lead to burnout and harm the Kidneys (their Water element is weak this year), so taking time to rest, recharge and getting good sleep will help.

Final Thoughts

These predictions are based on study of the Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen, mainly Chapters 66-71. It provides a deep and profound understanding of the Five Elements, their movements and interactions, and how they affect Heaven, Earth and Humanity. If you’re interested in learning more, I recommend the Unschuld version. Most other versions I’ve seen leave out the majority of these chapters. As Professor Unschuld says, this section of the Su Wen is a full third of the entire text, which indicates its importance.

Is it going to help you in clinic tomorrow? Maybe. I’ve found it useful to know what sorts of illnesses to expect in the next year. If I see a lot of patients with anxiety and dizziness, for example, I know a part of it is the energy of the year interacting with their particular state of imbalance. It may be a short-term issue for the year, or it may be an indication of things to come if the patient gets worse. I find it extremely useful information.

Remember that snakes and Yin Wood are both very flexible, so being flexible is important this year.

There is strong moving and change energy again this year because both Wood and Fire are always moving and changing. If you want or need to make changes in your life, this is another good year to do it. Maybe shed a skin and continue evolving into something new.

The Wood element includes the Gallbladder, which is in charge of analyzing and decision-making. This is a year to consider options, analyze them, and take action. But the Liver is also about control and boundaries, and its' energy is strong this year. It’s difficult to catch and control wind and fire. Rather than trying to control things that are difficult to control, use the Wood/wind and Fire energy to be flexible. The Snake is Yin and cautious, so analyze first, then take action and then be flexible and open to change.

The over-used phrase “follow your passion” does apply this year. Fire is associated with joy, so do things that bring you joy and happiness. Play time is important. I see so many adults who’ve forgotten how to play, that I frequently recommend play time to my patients. It’s particularly important this year to help balance the mental state and stay in harmony with the year. Make time to do something silly you enjoyed as a kid, just for the fun of it! Reclaim your joy in life if you’ve lost it.

Finally, people in the west seem to have an unreasonable fear of snakes. They look creepy and can be dangerous. But so can most animals. And maybe we look creepy to snakes. Snakes would rather give you warning and go their own way, rather than fight with you. That seems like wisdom to me.

So, think, analyze, be kind and flexible, and back away from fights and go play.

Note because it’s a big misconception: if you were born in a Snake year, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good year for you. Or a bad one. How the energy of the year affects each individual depends on their Ba Zi or Chinese Astrology chart. “Ba Zi” means “Eight Characters”. Each individual’s chart has the energy of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, for the year, month, day and hour you were born. The year is only one of the eight characters. Most years for most people are a mixed bag, with some years good, and some not so good.

The energies of Heaven and Earth for the year affect us all. The advantage of forecasts is to know what to expect and how to prepare ourselves and our patients each year, so we can take advantage of opportunities in the year and avoid problems.

I wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Snake!

About the Author

Wendy S. Goldman, L.Ac. has been in private practice in San Diego for over 20 years. She is also a 14th generation Master in the 800-year old Emei Qigong lineage. Wendy can be reached at info@GoldmanWellnessCenter.com.

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