Mastering Momentum
In the Year of the Wood Dragon
Image: Enoki Toshuyuki
Chinese Astrology explores the sequence of time to illuminate our place in the unfolding of life. We are the cycles of time, and exploring these cycles reveals insights about our nature and the authenticity of our experience. The gift of astrology is alignment with the whole.
The New Moon on February 9th, 2024 heralds the Year of the Yang Wood Dragon. Each year possesses its own energy profile, characteristics, and available nutrients. The assimilation of these qualities depends on our unique capacity. The alchemy of the year unfolds differently for each of us based on the individual configurations dictated by our year and time of birth.
Some basic insights can help us tune in to the vast scale of the year ahead. Consider this an invitation to reflect on the particular rhythm and flavor of the cycle of time known as the Wood Dragon.
The Beast Known as Kotobuki – Dragon
feebee Japan, 2024
Majestic Synthesis
The Dragon stands as the most overtly powerful and auspicious animal symbol in the Chinese Zodiac, associated with success, strength, courage, charisma, intelligence, and good fortune. Highly significant and revered, this mystic creature has deep historical and cultural roots in China and beyond.
Dragons embody a harmonious synthesis of various animals and elements. They are chimeric beings: part stag (horns), horse (strong body), fish (carp-like scales), snake (sinuousness), bird (eagle-like wings), and tiger (claws). A composite image of resourceful magnificence, the Dragon is far from mundane. It captivates us with otherworldly power and mystique.
Dragon Qi represents unlimited potential, exuding confidence, ambition, and assertiveness. It demands attention. The image of the Dragon likely originated in oral tradition, influenced by the existence of dinosaurs in Earth’s distant past. In that fertile space between memory and mythology, the Dragon figure emerged and became associated with leadership. Throughout Chinese history, the Dragon has symbolized the Emperor, representing imperial authority and contributing to societal organization and cohesion. Dragon Qi surges forth as collective leadership, uniting through its ruling power of unknown origin.
Image credit: Toshiyuki Enoki
Closer to the Heart
Dragon Qi’s composite quality grants it immense power. Being part everything, it becomes part all. The Confucian idea of the “mandate of heaven” suggests that true leaders rule in alignment with a divine source. The legitimacy of their power hinges on moral virtue, benevolence, and the ability to govern justly. The ideal Emperor can empathize with everyone. Dragon’s superpower lies in having heart. Real security doesn’t come from control, but from relationships and belonging. Genuine leadership arises from fostering a deep sense of connectedness.
This year’s intelligence is deeply intertwined with the vast perspective of Dragon. How broad is our view? How encompassing are we in our moment-to-moment experience of reality? Dragon Qi shows us that our true body is the body of the universe itself—an interconnection so vast that the human mind can scarcely fathom it. This year is big.
Buckle Up, Buttercup
If you got kicked by the hind legs of Rabbit, you’ll be ready for the new year. The profound in-and-down movement of Rabbit Qi transforms through toroidal forces into an equal and opposite geyser of pure potential. The turning of the year can be rough, but take heart—the Year of the Wood Dragon brings many gifts and opportunities.
Dragon bolts out the gate, bucking with surprises, sexual impulse, and joyful provocation. He gallops giddily with a teenage enthusiasm that throws caution to the wind. Wood Dragon encourages decisions fueled by passion rather than common sense. Exercise both if you can. Fortunately, Dragon Qi matures and becomes more competent throughout the year. Expect a full-force spring ignition, periods of grounding and stability in the summer, a mixed-bag fall, and whiplash at the tail end.
The year is infused with tremendous creative drive. and timing is crucial. Big things are possible, but charging ahead blindly is a recipe for disaster. Slow down, listen carefully to your intuition, and allow circumstances to unfold naturally. Action is how we make a difference this year. Tapping into the Wood Dragon’s profound hidden potential requires patient precision.
Image credit: Toshiyuki Enoki
To Boldly Go
If you have been desiring change and been unable to move forward, Wood Dragon Qi serves your needs well. Start where you are. It’s time to let go of idealism, and just get up and do. Dragon Qi is not timid; it is intelligence through bold action. Go in the direction of your deepest values, and join forces with those who share your vision. Transform your strong sense of justice into true caring about the causes you believe in.
Dragon teaches us that it’s about awesome deportment, not dogma. The way you carry yourself creates the world. We already inhabit a new world; we are co-creating it in every moment through our actions and even our thoughts. If you have big ideas, but your relationships are crap, this is the year to square that up.
Be thorough. Dragon’s vision is so broad that details can get lost. Don’t fall into the gaps of your own negligence. Big perspective does not mean blurred. Action does not mean restlessness. Don’t let the energy of the year sweep you into superficiality.
Strive for sincerity and authenticity. Just be yourself. This year welcomes it. Dragon Qi is neither artificial nor contrived. Stop trying to promote a better version of you. Modesty is key. Embracing humility allows the Wood Dragon’s energy to manifest maturely. Dragon power is spontaneously connected to coherence—understanding how things work together, and encouraging their unified direction. Think holistic.
Image credit: Toshiyuki Enoki
Blacksmiths and Boundaries
The fire-breathing Dragon is a natural blacksmith. For this shamanic art, every blacksmith needs a crucible. Boundaries matter this year. Without a strong container that can take the heat, we will end up with a hot mess. Have you cultivated the ability to manage your energy, emotions, and reactions? Are you a master of yourself?
Access Denied
There is no accessing Dragon’s power without cultivation. Self-reflection, routine, discipline, self-restraint, patience, the ability to work within limitations—these are the qualities that enable us to play with the enormous creative force of this year. Without cultivation, we could feel tossed around by chaos. Dragon Qi is the alchemy that emerges from grounded power. The Dragon embodies not just stability or power alone, but the combination.
Threads of Connection
The Daoist idea of ganying, or reciprocity, reminds us that everything in the universe exists in sympathetic resonance and constant flux. From the interconnected web of life on earth to our family and loved ones, we already belong to a multitude of community bodies. Recognize this interdependence—that is your Dragon body, where power lies dormant. Cooperation replaces competition.
If you want to see a different world, go within and put your attention on what matters: serving life and beauty on Earth. No more sentimental turning outwards for answers and guidance. The world is broken, and whoever is in charge is loyal to values that probably are not aligned to the ones of your heart. Don’t look for a new leader. Reject the new norm of cynicism, and pierce through the veil of ignorance that causes it. Don’t give your power away. Eliminating ignorance starts within. Our conduct is the superstar we are looking for. Already. The blacksmith-shaman forges any circumstance into tools that benefit the community.
Artist Unknown
Dragon’s Shadow
There is a potent dark side to Dragon Qi: ruthlessness. And this year there will be plenty. Without stability and focus, Dragon Qi turns into insensitivity, compulsion, egotism, and selfishness. As the “most youthful” of the five elements, Wood amplifies adolescent irresponsibility driven by primal confidence that is (un)grounded in pure fantasy. Wood Dragon Qi can be cocky, garish, and blunt. Strength doesn’t mean brute force. Adaptation this year happens through the hidden resources of gentleness and adaptability. Muscles are cumbersome without flexibility.
As our teacher Ming used to say, “For Chinese philosophers, the power of the Dragon is of no value unless it is turned away from selfishness by self-reflection, and dedicated to the benefit of others.” Reflect on that for a moment. The extent to which we integrate this wisdom will determine the resolution of turmoil and conflicts in our world communities.
Raise the Roof
What doesn’t scale up this year will be pushed aside. Innovation is in. Turn forward to face the future as Wood Dragon fans the flames of our appetite for knowledge and information.
What do you want to learn this year? What inspires you and ignites a deeper sense of connection to the universe? How do you want Dragon Qi to flow through you, as you? A colossal force is cresting the horizon, and you get to decide what to do with it. It all comes down to where you put your attention.
The year brings big surprises, dynamic change, progress, and novelty. Wood Dragon year will see significant advancements in science, while imagination and artistic creativity will have no bounds. Expect digital technology and robotics to make significant leaps, with AI poised for dominance. Electrical disturbances and power outages are likely. Anticipate groundbreaking developments in healthcare that hold the potential to reshape our future. Resistance is futile—saying yes to what presents itself is in. We will see a global reset of epic proportions over the next two years.
N Sync
We can harness immense power through cooperation with, rather than resistance to, the wisdom of nature. While the year will undoubtedly bring disruptions, it also carries the promise of new solutions that guide us toward the future we envision. We have the choice to embrace technologies that align with our emerging values of beauty and life. This year the environment takes front and center.
The antidote to climatic, social, and political dysregulation is synchronization with nature. Dynamic awareness of our surroundings is a full-time job that invites constant, subtle adjustments. This synchronization with nature results in synchronicity. Synchronicity is a sign of success, and a skill we can cultivate. Magic always happens when we’re on the right track.
Image credit: Toshiyuki Enoki
The Nature of the Seed is to Sprout
Picture a seed nestled beneath the ground—its roots have grown deep enough into the soil to send one tender shoot reaching for the sun. This spontaneous emergence is the Wood element. Intrepid and innocent, Wood literally reaches for the stars. Wood isn’t merely lumber; it’s potential, initiation, birth, and renewal. We express its qualities through freedom, freshness, adventure, and innocence. Aggression keeps it out of reach.
Drama and victimhood are out this year. Stop complaining about what isn’t working. Being negative and projecting a pessimistic outlook onto the world is out of sync. Sarcasm, stubbornness, attention-seeking, and aloofness are qualities of depleted Dragon Qi. If you notice yourself veering into these territories, it’s time to rest and nourish.
Nature wants to let you in on its profound secret: Just relax—you don’t have to do this life. It is in the nature of the seed to sprout. It is in the essence of the flower to burst into fragrant splendor when the time is right. The only way to bloom is by being. Relax into the ground of your experience to feel this dynamic spontaneity. There is no more powerful action than that which arises naturally.
Ready to Mingle
Expect less from all troubled relationships and more from yourself. Think fresh beginnings. Forgive and forget. You can’t manage other people, but you can manage your expectations. Call yourself forward from where you are stuck in the past. Let Dragon Qi compost, through love and inclusivity, everything that has come before into fresh, verdant life.
This year’s Qi is unburdened and single without regrets. Neediness has no role to play. Dragons can fly and not return—a phenomenon often witnessed in relationships. Reclaim parts of yourself you have “given away” to others, and give people back to themselves.
Let Go and Let God
This year lends abundance to everything, including our health. With the fullness of its composite presence, Dragon Qi exorcizes imbalances that can usually remain hidden, especially in the dark depths of last year’s Rabbit Qi. Therefore, we can expect all manner of surprises (rashes, dormant disease patterns) to surface, as earth and people shake off their hidden hauntings. Recognize these outbursts for what they are (resolution), and let go!
[Note to acupuncturists: Luo connecting points work the same way. Use them to shunt latent conditions to the surface if the patient is robust enough to tolerate their expression. Fewer needles are needed. Even one needle is enough. Try Stomach 40.]
Image credit: Toshiyuki Enoki
Where the Power’s At
Delve deep into your inner world and explore the layers of your existence. Do it with precision or not at all—no haphazard, syncretic mix-and-match. Meditation as sedation is out. As humans, we possess a unique ability to turn our attention backwards to examine our nature and look at what we actually are. Making contact with this fathomless reality clarifies and catalyzes. This is where the power’s at.
It’s time to see through the illusion that enlightenment is a grandiose, peak experience. No amount of effort, practice, or substances can make you become yourself, because there’s nothing to fix.
Confront your experience directly, and this year can be magnificent. Be honest about how you limit yourself; let life reflect back to you where you are acting out of fear and ignorance. Explore your deepest desire: is it to live a life filled with love, to recognize the ordinary profundity in every moment, and to be put to the very best use for the benefit of life and beauty on this planet? Is it to eat pizza? Play the ball where it lands. Consider taking breaks this year—plan a pilgrimage, go on retreat, or wander through the woods. It’s a prime opportunity for recalibration and revelation.
Ordinary goodness is a spiritual path without any need for grand commitments. Show generosity where you naturally can, without exhausting your resources trying to do it “the right way.” Another name for this year is Laughing Dragon. Unencumbered, we can relax into humor, friendship, and caring. Follow the ancient thread of kindness that our grandmothers have always nurtured. Cultivate a robust context—find new allies, deepen relationships with ancestors, family, and friends; belong to the land you live on. No blame, no enemies—only circumstances that help us forge the world we want to live in.
A Dragon’s Tale …
Dragon’s Treasures for the 12 Animals
What we make of Wood Dragon Year largely depends on our character. Generally speaking, we are entering a time of great change and renewal. How we feel about true change says a lot about our ability to make use of the year. This year’s vast power is available only through modesty.
The following descriptions are helpful for very broad context and understanding, but should be held lightly. The animal of our birth year gives us a generic glance of where we are, and how to harmonize with what’s available. But we are compound beings—our individual charts reveal a much more detailed picture of our position and the best way to align with the whole.
Rat: Act Decisively then Be Receptive
A Chinese expression says that when Rat sits on the neck of Dragon, that is a powerful partnership. Dragon is so big and powerful that he doesn’t need to be smart, while Rat relies on cleverness for its very survival. Rat whispers purpose into the Dragon’s ear. Start running now, jump on, and have a great flight.
Gnaw away at problems until you can bite through the hidden obstacle to unity. Decisive action is necessary and appropriate even in unusual circumstances. Confront impediments to justice, including your past conduct, and make things right. Reimagine your story, and assert your courage. This is a great year to reinvent yourself. Leave what is complicated and return to what is simple. Breakthrough opens a new way forward.
After the release of tension, become receptive. Let new ideas find their footing and processes come together before you seek resources. Return to your original innocence and inspiration! Take a summer vacation.
Good for shedding the old, direct action, reimagining, receptivity, generosity.
Bad for starting too many things you can’t follow through on, distractions, selfishness.
Ox: Start New, Illuminate the Way in Community
You already have the brute strength of continuity, but the power of this year invites you to adapt. Dragon force is very flexible. Expect sudden changes of direction and stay limber. A stiff spine is out—think sinuous. Progress is non-linear this year, so allow the year to teach you the virtues of modesty and flexibility.
Dawn comes after the darkness. A low point has passed, and now Ox experiences a unique window to bring people together with the warmth and clarity of the returning sun. Ox has the power to illuminate central ideas and purposes that serve the greater good. Seize the moment. Supportive friends show up to help. The strength of a truly united community wins by sheer numbers. Even people who opposed you may see the light and join in. Ox can reveal the natural common spirit of the community, and in doing so, succeed at whatever they dream up. Celebrate this opportunity and share in the joy of true connection.
Good for romance, leadership, new opportunities and alliances, new goals, and moving quickly.
Bad for routine maintenance, security, expenditures.
Tiger: Express Interconnectedness with Nature and Adapt
No one doubts your strength, but your capacities differ from Dragon’s. You crouch, focus, and lunge, while Dragons fly. Your perspectives come from different places, so don’t try to compete. Go for internal accomplishment instead of external.
Enlist your powerful depths to find inner solutions to any situation. Working for the common good enhances your access to resources. The unevenness of the year mirrors the unevenness of our collective conduct. On a personal scale, Tiger’s choices matter significantly in terms of what comes to them this year. Cultivate dialog with the natural world—ancestors, family, friends, and environment. Enter the conversation receptively and respectfully. This rapport builds a natural reverence for life, and smooths bumpy terrain.
Good for listening to mentors, elections, collective social action, marriage, recovery, reform, re-evaluating your relationship to resources, repairing, nesting, and long term investing.
Bad for retreating, new ventures, and isolation.
Rabbit: Level Up and Take Precise Action
Your intuition is the internal mechanism of the spirit of Dragon. Partner up with Dragon’s creative force to make new choices. Last year saw the dissolution of many relationships. Wood Dragon brings so much freshness that we will all need our communities to help us manage it. Move ahead with new or renewed relationships. Good things are on your doorstep. Showing respect and modesty from day one opens the door to success. You may find yourself taking some risks this year. When strong measures are needed, move forward with humble confidence and keep only what matters. Don’t reach for the past or hold on to grudges. Dream yourself forward with judicious and timely movements. Small, measured, intelligent actions hold your power as Dragon year matures.
Good for new opportunities, experiences, alliances, moving quickly, discipline, editing, education.
Bad for routine maintenance, retrospection, security, unbridled ambition, fantasies, and gossip.
Dragon: Comply and Synchronize
Yield. The key to this year is about managing momentum. Dragon has the primal power to nourish all life. Use this gift in service of the common good. In a sea of conflicting forces, avoid acting rashly or taking up the sword of leadership. Work in a supporting role. Calm competence and generosity open the way not only for you, but for everyone else.
This year is about synchronization. Cultivate your creative intent within life’s limitations. Timing is everything. Listen to early warnings, and heed them. Compliance means actively responding to the signs like is giving you (situations, obstacles, dreams, gut feelings, etc.). In this case, pausing is not passive! Use these ordained moments of stillness to gather strength. Then, when life asks you to take strong measures, you can do so justly, with impeccable timing and virute.
Good for acknowledging helpers, giving bonuses, self-cultivation, meditation, manners, observing correct timing.
Bad for overusing your energy, self-promotion, pushing personal agendas.
Snake: Succeed by Subordinating, Find Freedom in Constraint
Success comes easily and immediately when you accept your position. Many of Snake’s difficulties arise due to corrupt authority, rather than personal conduct. You have a gift of bringing what is hidden to light. Doing this without blaming others liberates you and increases your capacity to help your community. Let things come together in this tender time of waiting. Dragon year gives you the opportunity to do what you love best: withdraw. Successful waiting is a matter of survival.
Remain calm and service-oriented, and the year is a success. Lay low as the world celebrates nonsense. Let them be hysterical. Use this time to retreat and deepen your insight for the years to come. Next year you are in charge.
Good for caution, patience, humility, and self-discipline, hiring consultants, following superiors, postponing decisions.
Bad for pressing forward, selfishness, anxiety.
Horse: Slow and Steady, Stay the Course
The Horse is a sort of terrestrial Dragon. With feet planted on the ground, your superpower is doing things properly and systematically. Your steadfast conduct holds up the world. Cooperate with the flow, and the constancy and modesty of your progress will be greatly rewarded. Follow established routines with a collaborative spirit, while leaving drudgery behind. Slow and steady does not mean stagnant. Apply a fresh perspective. Don’t attempt to conclude things prematurely, but don’t be afraid to be assertive at appropriate times, either. Your fundamentally unselfish quality is a perfect match for Dragon year. Allow events to carry you forward.
Remember, the apparent external world is a reflection of your inner sense of security. There is an opening for you to discover trust in life and relationships. Trust your insight. You are always in the right place. Let go of what does not support you, including feelings of inadequacy and defeat. Inquire into the hidden causes of emotional distress and allow the flame of self-reflection to dispel the shadows.
Good for education, industry, courtship, marriage, and distant travel, collecting receivables on long term investments, compliance, continuity, marriage, renewing commitments.
Bad for lawsuits, innovation, loans, reclusiveness, expectations.
Goat: Be Constant and Let Go
Dragons exemplify dynamism. Limber up your stiff spine so you can be flexible and supportive this year instead of getting whiplash. Goat’s gift to the year is constancy. You hold down the fort with a stable presence throughout this year’s surprises. Receptivity opens the road, while control and domination create obstacles for you and those around you. Learn the wisdom of moment-to-moment letting go of the outcome. No micromanagement. Trying to straighten others out won’t work this year. The future finds its own way in its own time, best encouraged by participatory listening. When Goat virtue loses its naturalness, it becomes critical, contrived, performative, and perfectionistic. Keep it real, use your time wisely, comply with omens, and you’ll be good to go!
Good for routine work, calculation, compliance, active listening, humility, conserving energy, listening to those around you, following orders and subordination.
Bad for stubbornness, retrospection, new ventures, and being controlling.
Monkey: Transform and Lead
Your cleverness is useful this year. During a time of dramatic change, Monkey’s opportunity is to grow into a new and powerful role. Progress is based on letting go of old and inappropriate habits. Dedicating yourself to the service of others makes it easier to lay off addictive and harmful behaviors. Holding yourself to a higher standard of conduct refines the qualities and resources you can offer to family, friends, clients, and the earth. The ball is in Monkey’s court, as dramatic change is your jurisdiction. Whether personal reform, political revolution, or magical transformation, Monkey needs to be ready. Resisting major change feels like being flayed. Luckily, Monkeys were born to adapt. Big ideas come to fruition with follow-through. Stick with it.
With great strength comes the capacity to injure and kill, but also the instinct to preserve life at heroic costs in times of danger. Be kind to yourself and others. Help others find their agency and belonging during this time of upheaval. Develop a wider sense of what to do by including others in your escape plan.
Good for constancy, imitation, inclusion, sacrifice, dramatic reform, revolution, meditation retreat, moving home.
Bad for frivolity, selfishness, security, holding on, resisting change.
Rooster: Free Yourself and Cultivate Mastery
You are released to enjoy a period of liberation after being held down. Ride on the foundation you have already established. Your confidence is returning—savor being unencumbered this Spring. If you are unsure how to use your newfound freedom, welcome opportunities as they come to you. Your role isn’t to reform the corrupt leader but to refine yourself, so that even during times of oppression, you maintain inner strength, agency, and authority. Attempting to change others depletes the resources needed for self-cultivation. Directed inward, this vital energy generates authentic power and natural leadership, influencing the societal fabric. When the adept takes the lead, they often do so invisibly, allowing the world think that good things happened all by themselves.
Good for cautiousness, positivity, planning, progressive movement, self-liberation.
Bad for pressing forward, cockiness, trying to change other people, self criticism, idealism, looking back.
Dog: Lean into Loyalty and Expand
Make it a relax year if you don’t want it to be an obstacle year. Dragon is your diametric, your antithesis.
Loyalty is your superpower, and this year invites a radical redefinition of that quality. Your loyalty to the continuity of things is useless in a Dragon year. Expand your sense of loyalty to whatever happens in the next 12 months. True loyalty is not uptight.
Lean into authentic relationships and values—loyalty is limitless unconditional recognition of unity. Acting on sexual impulse creates entanglements that lead to long term adversity and complicated fate—not just personally, but generationally. The attraction cools if you let it go. Accept your situation, become comfortable with discomfort, and wait for clarity to return. Then get back to business as usual—small but progressive.
Dogs have a gift for upholding personal principles. All goes well when you keep your integrity. Advance your inner world and you will have the most impact on the outer world this year. When it comes to societal principles, focus on cultivating the values that uphold healthy communities, rather than on changing the powers that be. Growling and barking are where you deplete your energy. Be open to the unexpected.
Good for relaxing, self-cultivation, restraint, retreat, and polishing.
Bad for traveling, risks, speculative investments, barking.
Pig: Wait to Be Moved
There is a traditional Chinese image that Pigs lend heart to the Dragon. You are magical at adapting while keeping your heart open. Feeling at home with groups of people is natural to you and enhanced this year.
Pay attention to timing, though. Spring is a slow burn. Let creative tension build. If you wait for ideas, people, resources, and inspiration to mature, your actions will have a positive and enduring impact on the world. Use your knack for sensing when it’s the right moment to dive in, versus when you’re itching to go but need to hold back. Wait for the green light. Pig has the opportunity to “mount the winds of fate” and rise into a position of natural leadership. Your talents are perfect for this time and place, and you will be asked to use them for the highest good. Everyone can learn from your generosity. Take advantage of expansive leadership this year because next year will require more challenging forms of cultivation.
Good for: slow-growing feelings, inspiration, acting in concert, gradual growth, partnerships, negotiations, mergers, pregnancy, offering promotions, developing an established business.
Bad for impulsivity, ambition, aggression, hedonism and vanity.
May all beings have an auspicious Wood Dragon Year!
Image credit: Kate Oh, Taiwan
Traditional Taoist New Year Invocation:
I would like to start over.
I would like to be honest and say that I really don’t know why I do what I do.
If I am owed anything, may that debt be canceled.
If what is owed me is merit – I’m not interested.
If what is owed me is retribution – I’m not interested.
I’d just like to start over in the cycle of time.
I am recalibrating my relationship to the whole universe.
This article was written by Claudia Anfuso and Erin Langley.
Erin Langley is a multidisciplinary artist, acupuncturist, and educator. She is co-facilitating the Dao of the Night Dream Series, a complete cycle of Daoist dream teachings this March. Learn about her work at Ancestral Acupuncture.
Claudia Anfuso is an astrology practitioner, advisor, and mentor. She is inspired by 20+ years of explorations in meditation, Yoga, Tantra, Advaita Vedānta, Jyotiṣa (Vedic Astrology), Hasta Sāmudrika Śāstra (Indian Palmistry), Vāstu (architecture and design theories from ancient India), and Chinese Polestar Astrology. Learn about her work at Consider Astrology.