As many of you are aware, we have entered the year of the wood snake in the Chinese Zodiac. I wanted to take a few moments to explore what this means on an individual and global level. The snake is a creatures that is sometimes revered and sometimes feared. Fossil evidence indicates snakes have been around for at least 165 million years. A highly adaptable organism, snakes exist on all continents except Antartica. Some species are deadly, while others are benign. Most often, snakes notice you before you notice them, if you do at all. Evolved to blend into their environments, snakes are masters of stealth.

In lore that spreads throughout the globe, snakes are depicted as symbols of wisdom and mystery. Sometimes they are heralded as gods, and sometimes as villains. Almost always, though, they are a symbolic of rebirth. Snakes offer an invitation to shed our old skins and find a new way of existence that is different from what we have become accustomed to. They can be both powerful messengers and omens, in both our waking hours and in our dreams.

In yoga, snakes are associated with the kundalini energy, also known as the serpent energy that is said to exist, coiled at the base of our spines until it is awakened. It is a powerful, yet sometimes dangerous energy. Stirring it to life too quickly can cause shock to our systems, yet with care it can lead to powerful creative awakening and healing.

When serpents appear in mythology, they often sprout wings, attesting to the magical, mystical nature of the snake. Consider the depictions of the god Quetzalcoatl from Aztec mythology, Hermes in Greek mythology, and Isis in Egyptian. All adopt the form of feathered serpent gods with the power to heal and transmute.

Add the element of wood to the snake, and the symbolism becomes more complex. In Chinese medicine, the wood element is associated with the season of spring and the emotions of anger and assertiveness. It is the second element in the cycle of five elements that repeat themselves (it might help to think of a snake here swallowing an egg). Beginning in the season of winter/birth and the element of water, we cycle through spring/adolescence/wood into summer/young adulthood/fire, equinox/middle-age/earth, ending in fall/end of life/metal, before we repeat the cycle. It can be an endless loop, or it can be a cycle of growth and transformation.

People who are stuck in the element of wood can become rigid with their thoughts and beliefs. Anger is their dominant defense mechanism. It can be a period of resistance to growth. Consider a tree refusing to release its buds. Consider the kundalini energy tightly coiled to the point of rigidity.

Let’s go back to the elemental wheel and look at in terms of the stages of growth in a human being. Water is the period of birth and infancy. When we move away from the womb and into the embodiment of the individual self, we find ourselves entering the season of spring and adolescence. Here is where the wood element resides. As we all know, adolescence is not an easy or comfortable time for most. In order to move into the early stages of maturity/ young adulthood, represented by summer and fire, adolescents must learn how to temper their emotions as they begin to establish their personal autonomy. It is a period of growth ruled by the ego. Or, in yoga speak, the “I Am” presence.

Many people who enter the world of politics often have wood as their primary element. If you are interested in gaining a better understanding of the five element system in relation to personality traits, I recommend Dondi Dahlin’s book The Five Elements.

Wood, in order to cycle, needs water and sun. It needs to be able to bend and grow. Consider now, the flexible nature of the snake. I find it interesting that we have entered the year of the wood snake when here in the USA (and throughout much of the globe) we are facing an onslaught of wood-driven energy in a quest for power and dominance. It is a chaotic and troubling time, yet the snake offers the promise of transmutation. The opportunity to, eventually, shed long-held beliefs dominated by the ego and move into the stages of growth and wisdom. “America” is very much in the wood stage of adolescence. We have been in this stage since colonialism took over a land that was once in a state of harmony and balance.

In this year of the wood snake, we have the opportunity, both individually and collectively, to move ourselves out of the rage-filled energy of adolescence and wood and into the stage of maturing growth represented by the next element of fire. Fire can be destructive when it is not controlled, but it is always transformative. Fire is the element of creative alchemy. It offers the opportunity to acquire wisdom and a different way of existence than what the ego might want to hold onto. It offers the ability to create something new out of the old.