Some of you may be aware that the Chinese calendar is divided into 12 months represented by 12 animals. What you may not be aware of is that the Chinese calendar is the oldest calendar still in use. Our modern view of the calendar stems from a very basic understanding of the ancient Chinese calendar. The explanation of this tidbit of historical data will need to wait for a future article.

The common 12 animal delineation that many of you have seen while dining in a Chinese restaurant is purely for entertainment value and it does not carry much scholarly weight. In fact, most interpretations of the 12 animals are quite comical and fun to read for their entertainment value.

This year the Yang Water Dragon is transitioning to the Yin Water Snake as the cycle of change continues from Yang to Yin. The snake is also known as the minor or little dragon and has some of the same attributes of Dragon years.

In general, Snake years are regarded as auspicious years and a time for great change. It is also not uncommon for natural disasters, war and financial crisis to occur during these years as well. According to Master Zhongxian Wu in his Year of the Snake greetings newsletter:

“In general, I [Master Wu] expect that the climate will be drier than it was during the Yang Water Dragon year. Si Fire will transform to JueYin 厥陰 Wind Wood, which provides a clue that the first half year will be windy and the second half of the year will be warm, including an unseasonably warm winter (in the Northern hemisphere).”

In our next article we will look back over the last 150 years to examine prior Snake year occurrences.

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