Gong Xi Fa Cai! Are You Shedding Your Snake Skin?

Happy Chinese New Year of the Water Snake (also known as the Black Snake!)  It kicked off today, amidst a celebration of firecrackers, tiger dances, smoke, delicious food, and hopes for what the Black Snake may bring.  It ends on January 30, 2014, going out with a bang in many Chinatown hotspots throughout the world.  In New York City, Chinatown will have its yearly parade and festival.

Why is the Water Snake considered Black?  In Chinese Medicine’s Five Elements, the color of the Water element is Black.  The sixth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, the snake represents wisdom, intelligence and self-control.  In the Year of the Black Water Snake, there is steady progress and attention to detail, and support will be given to added responsibilities.  The Snake has sneaky energy that can be to your advantage. Look for the holes in the loop.

The Snake likes protection, needs to feel safe and secure to utilize its special analytical skills. This is the year to make headway in slow and methodical ways. Things will definitely be accomplished as you focus forward.

5 Things You Can Do To Celebrate The Year of The Black Snake in 2013:

1. Clean house!  Figuratively and symbolically.  It’s believed that by clearing out clutter and cleaning/sweeping floors not only removes debris, but also prepares to welcome in the good luck. It’s recommended to not clean house during New Year’s span of a few days, since it’s believed that you’ll sweep all the good luck out with it.  But, ideally, it’s good to sweep before New Year’s, and also after it.
2. Bring red into the house.  Red is a color of celebration in Chinese culture, so bring the joy inside!  Another idea is to bring flowers into the house, especially lotus flowers, since they symbolize birth and new growth.
3. Eat noodles for Long Life!  My family always does this on our birthdays, but this is a good idea for New Year’s, too.
4. Visit your relatives and friends.  This is a time of connection and celebration that should be shared with loved ones.  It’s customary to give red envelopes full of money.  Red scares away evil spirits.
5. Interact with others in positive ways.  Chinese New Year celebrations are full of happiness and good fortune.  Avoid quarrels, fighting, and thinking negatively during this time, since it’s believed that it will bring you bad luck.

On another level, it’s time to shed our outer layer, like the outer lining of a snake, of things that no longer serve us.  We saw much of this shedding happening already at the end of last year, which oftentimes came in jarring, uncomfortable lessons, but were very necessary to release in order to embrace our heightened selves (if we were ready to go there.)

I’m intrigued by Chinese horoscopes, and Western ones, too.  But, ultimately, I believe in the greater power of creating our own destiny, no matter what.  I believe we can create miracles just by thinking them into being.  I have seen this happen firsthand.

What skin will you shed this year?  Will it be a negative way of thinking, something you have operated from for many years, even though it made you miserable, simply because it was safe and you’ve been used to it for so long?  A toxic relationship that’s been detrimental to your spirit and body (because it’s not so coincidental that the “pain in your neck” may have arisen around the same time you met that negative person you interact with at work all the time?)

Whatever it is, if it hasn’t been working for you, it’s time to shed that skin and let your new, stronger, more resilient skin shine through!

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