Year of the Wood Snake 2025: A Year of Transformation and New Beginnings

The Year of the Snake begins on January 29, 2025 with the New Moon in Aquarius. Our themes for the year ahead include transformation and deeper connection to intuition. We will say goodbye to the Year of the Wood Dragon and welcome the Year of the Wood Snake. The signs are changing, but the element of wood continues our lessons around flexibility and change. 

The Wood Snake year brings a less intense, but still powerful energy to call in change and transformation.

Year of the Wood Snake Themes

• Creativity
• Growth
• Intuition 
• Expansion
• Wisdom
• Transformation

The Snake is traditionally aligned with Taurus in western astrology, but I believe we are actually experiencing energy more closely related to the sign of Scorpio. The Snake is known for its wisdom, mysteriousness, transformative nature, and intuition. It has many similarities to Scorpio. Scorpio is a sign of death, rebirth, transformation, and deep healing. Scorpios are known for their strategic outlook, magnetism, and emotional depth. 

If you are a Scorpio sun, moon, rising, and/or Scorpio energy is prominent in your chart, you’ll find this year extremely activating. You may even find that people understand and appreciate you more as they seek to understand the themes of this year.

For the rest of us, as we learn more about Scorpio characteristics and themes, the more we’ll be able to use the energy of the Year of the Snake to our advantage. Prioritize deep healing and seek to understand the uncomfortable truths you may have been ignoring. Pick up a creative hobby, try new healing modalities, or start therapy.

According to Anjie Cho, Feng Shui educator and co-author of Mindful Living, “We can collectively attract prosperity by investigating what we can learn from the snake. The snake archetype invites us to remain grounded and take the subtle indirect route. The yin wood aspect of 2025 also supports energy that is intuitive, tapping into our hearts more than our intellectual mind.”

The Year of the Snake occurs every 12 years, and if you were born in the Year of the Snake, it is known as your ben ming nian in Chinese culture. 

Traditionally, this fated year is known as an unlucky year filled with challenges and obstacles. To ward off negative energy, people wear a red bracelet or red underwear. From a modern perspective, your ben ming nian can be interpreted as a year of accelerated growth and opportunities. 

Think of it as the part of your hero’s journey when you’re being called to a new adventure but feel reluctant about this new chapter because it is a big change. Observe what in your life feels forced and what invitations you are receiving. Release anything that no longer serves you. Follow your curiosity. 

History doesn’t repeat but it does rhyme. The last time we had a Wood Snake Year was in 1965. Major themes include civil rights, humanitarianism, music created for self-expression and protest, and technological advancements.

1965 Historical Highlights

• Moore’s Law – Significant impact to the semiconductor industry and thus technology overall
• Vietnam War continues 
• India-Pakistan War
• The Sound of Music – Global popularity for its themes around family, love, and overcoming adversity 
• Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the United States – Prohibits racial discrimination in voting 
• The Gambia, The Maldives, Singapore, and Rhodesia Independence 
• First Spacewalk by Soviet cosmonaut 
• Assassination of Malcom X

Coupled with the lunar nodes shifting into Pisces and Virgo, this is truly a year that will amplify intuition and creativity at the collective and individual level. With the north node moving into Pisces on January 11, 2025, the shared focus and lessons are around activating creativity, trusting your inner voice, and deepening spiritual connection. 

We are also settling into the energy of Period 9, which is a new 20-year cycle that runs in parallel with Pluto in Aquarius. These western and eastern cycles have many similarities. Period 9 is a Feng Shui cycle that started last year, and will shift the power from the young male to the middle-aged woman. We are seeking purpose, and redefining and reconnecting with spirituality. We should expect surprises, technological advances, and continued transformation in all areas of life. Pluto in Aquarius tells us old, outdated structures are leaving and freedom is key. 

The element of wood brings in expansive energy that allows us to continue to plant new seeds for whatever dreams we want to ground into reality. It represents growth and creativity. As we continue this elemental theme in 2025, incorporating creative hobbies and exploring what creativity means to you will be a great way to work with the energy of this year. 

As we welcome the Year of the Wood Snake, be patient and strategic. Honor the promises you make to yourself. When you keep your promises, you learn how to trust yourself and feel more confident. And don’t shy away from the truth. Embrace the discomfort that comes with growth and evolution.