Wishing you continued happiness in this Chinese New Year of the Goat-Sheep!
We have welcomed the Yin Wood Sheep year in 2015. It is also called Year of the Goat or Ram in the Chinese Astrology calendar.
Is it a Goat or Sheep?
This year is confusing as it is several animals, as the Chinese character has different meanings.
山羊 shānyáng (‘mountain yáng’) = goat
绵羊 miányáng (‘cotton yáng’) = sheep
羚羊 língyáng = gazelle
So Yáng can mean Sheep or Goat and to further confuse us, Yáng is also used as the word for “sun” and “ocean.”
The lunar calendar has a sixty year cycle. In the Chinese horoscope, the five elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth, which make up all matter, are combined with the twelve animal signs of Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Lamb, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig to form the sixty year cycle. A Chinese horoscope is based on which lunar year in this sixty year cycle you were born. Read more about Chinese Astrology here
Yin Wood Sheep-Goat happens every 60 years, and this Sheep follows a tumultuous Year of the Horse. The Sheep is
amicable, gentle, and prefers to live in a secure and stable environment. It embodies the qualities of harmony and balance, and portents a calmer and steadier year. The Sheep has a gentle nature, and symbolic of peace and harmony. They are communal animals, and enjoy gathering with like-mindfulness of nature. The Yin influence promotes inward attention to self reflection on spiritual, physical and mental realms.
Balancing Yang with Yin
The character Yáng is the Sheep, while it has a deep Yin quality. Sheep is considered the most feminine of signs, and associated with the Moon, yet the Chinese character carries the Sun in its meaning!
Sheep follows a tumultuous Year of the Horse, and portents a calmer and steadier year. The Sheep is amicable, gentle, and prefers to live in a secure and stable environment.
The interaction of opposite yet complimentary energies is intrinsic to all things. These energies shift and transform into each other for existence, and we depend on this balance for harmony.
Sheep epitomizes the interdependence of Yin and Yang: dark and light, night and day, moon and sun. In Chinese culture, the world is a harmonious place where all beings live in balance with Nature. There are rhythms and movement in the weather and Seasons, and we exist as part of a holistic entity, influenced directly and indirectly by changes in the world around us.
Seasons have rhythms in their cycles, and each season represents an organ of the body, corresponding to one of the Five Elements. As seasons shift, the organs are nurtured, cleansed and supported to promote wellness and health.
In spring, earth begins anew, and it is a season of birth and growth. Energy builds, as animals rise from hibernation, seeds sprout, and blossoms appear. This is a season of fertility, beginnings and new ideas, growth in relationships and planting seeds for the future.
Yin Over Yang Wood
Wood is strength and flexibility, and associated with the qualities of warmth, generosity, co-operation and idealism. sympathetic
Wood is associated with moving, growing and living things, the “spring” or life renewal process. Wood heralds the beginning of life, springtime and buds, and energy that seeks to grow and expand.
Spring is Wood, and represented as a tree, sybolising growth and activity. In Chinese Astrology, Wood is divided into Yin & Yang where Yang Wood (jiǎ) is solid and sturdy like a mature tree , and Yin Wood (yǐ) is light and supple like the new shoots of a plant.
For Chinese, there are Five Elements that represent different movements and forces in the universe and our physical bodies. These are five forms of energy, constantly moving and changing from one into another throughout Nature. These elements help us understand the meaning of our physical, psychological and emotional balance.
Creating time to contemplate and appreciate our accomplishments, to walk a steady path, to find the generosity of bringing goodness to others, to take a deep breath and look at what’s ahead. These might be ways to maintain balance in the year.
In Chinese medicine, wood is associated with negative feelings of anger, positive feelings of patience, and altruism. So balance your Wood Element with seasonal eating, acupuncture, yoga and meditation. Change with the flow of energy of the season. As the days lengthen with sunlight, and endless white snow melts away to the colours and smells of Spring, change your habits.
Like a tree yearning to find nourishment of sunlight and water, nurture your inner spirit by slowing down and resting when needed. You will need to replenish your energy for this high Yang season, when Dark turns to Light.
Livering Your Yin
Seasons have rhythms in their cycles, and each season represents an organ of the body, corresponding to one of the Five Elements. As seasons shift, the organs are nurtured, cleansed and supported to promote wellness and health.
Organs associated with the Wood Element are the Liver (Yin), Gall Bladder (Yang), Eyes, and Tendons.
Wood is associated with the Liver, Gallbladder, tendons and joints. The Liver governs the flow of Chi, and when chi flows smoothly, all is well. So it’s is a good time for a liver cleanse, to clear out the heaviness and any stagnation of winter.
Take time to stop and smell the flowers along the way. The Sheep likes to play and explore the world with wonder. nurture your inner child and cultivate what make you happy and fulfilled.The Sheep attunes to the home, and Wood relates to the hearth.
In spring, earth begins anew, and it is a season of birth and growth. Energy builds, as animals rise from hibernation, seeds sprout, and blossoms appear. This is a season of fertility, beginnings and new ideas, growth in relationships and planting seeds for the future.
Eat seasonal foods to be in harmony with the environment, adapting to seasonal changes and staying in synch with nature. Chinese believe we are what we eat, and Spring is time for cleansing and revitalising foods. Adding leafy greens and sprouts can harmonise the body with rejuvenation and growth in the spring, and following the rhythms of Nature might welcome an easy and vibrant Yin Wood Sheep year.