Many blessings and a warm Happy Lunar New Year! We have left the Dragon, and stepped into the Year of the Wood Snake. We also have entered into a New Moon, the Sun, Mercury and Pluto all aligned in Aquarius.
The Aquarian energy is all about fostering deeper connection within community. How these humanitarian vibes play out in Mercury is an enhancement in how we communicate. What do we want to create in order to improve our tribe? It’s about breaking out of status quo thinking and putting on the hat of innovation.
Aquarius in Pluto collectively signals a cultural revolution and political activism for the betterment of humanity. It’s definitely not a coincidence that this alignment is coming into play with Trump stepping into the Oval office. On the personal front, Pluto-Aquarius is here to push us into the deep end of the transformation pool. It’s a call to get rid of anything that is keeping you from stepping into your full truth.
Snakes, for the most part, trigger a deep fear in the psyche because of what they symbolize. Their fluid bodies are constantly adapting with less physical constrictions than the structured bodies of mammals, and so they are the poster child to deep and rapid transformation. And rightfully so, fear arises when we are confronted with quick changes.
In the yogic tradition, the snake represents the kundalini life force that lays dormant in the base of the spine. The moment awakening happens, kundalini surges through your spine. It changes your physiology and allows you to have a deeper connection to your senses and inner abilities beyond the norm; enhanced intuition, ESP, healing abilities, etc.
In all indigenous symbology across the world, snake medicine helps you to shed old ways of being, from negative belief patterns, toxic ways of relating to yourself and the world to outdated ways of viewing life itself.
Now, the snake does not shed their skin flake by flake. They go into a trance-like state for up to two weeks where their eyes are clouded with a liquid film that impairs their vision. When they emerge through the other side, their old skin falls away, and they enjoy a completely new body.
Shamans believe the snake is traveling to the underworld during this stage of rebirth and renewal. And so, this is what you have to do to go through your own personal renewal: go into our internal underworld and clear out the junk.
In Chinese lore, the snake represents deep wisdom and an enigmatic elegance. To embody the archetype of an enigma means not being confined by the limitations of polarizing labels like being “too masculine,” or “too feminine,” being “left-wing” or “right-wing” in politics, etc. Enigmas are mysterious because they are paradoxical and true centrists in their views.
Just like the two snakes winding up the caduceus staff of Hermes, you are here to express your inner solar and lunar aspects in an unapologetic androgyny. Deep within, if there is any part of you that places importance in how others perceive you, then you know there is some clearing to do in your personal underworld.
The opportunities that lie ahead in your personal path are waiting for you to find them. As a prerequisite to drink from the nectar of these opportunities, it involves many moments where it feels like you are jumping off the deep end and into the unknown.
However, if you can consider every obstacle you encounter this year as a rite of passage that will carry you through into a portal of unimaginable change, that will only bring you into a more fearless, courageous and wiser version of you.
Here is to a version of yourself that is beyond your wildest of dreams.
Wishing you a prosperous and joyful Year of the Wood Snake!
Upcoming Transformational Workshops & Retreats if you’re feeling the call …
1) Feb 15 Full Day Plant Journey (2 spaces available – email sage@johnsonchong.com for more details)
2) Shamanic Breathwork Journey with Live Musical Guest Feb 22
3) Singapore UpLevel Retreat March 1 & 2
4) March 29 Full Day Plant Journey (email sage@johnsonchong.com for more details)
5) Bhutan Harmony Retreat April 10 -17, 2025 (2 more spaces available)
6) Peru Shamanic Healing Retreat July 11 – 22, 2025 (applications open here)
7) Private 1:1 Healing Program (applications open here)
With Gratitude,
Johnson
