We are currently transitioning into the Year of the Yin Water Rabbit according to the Chinese calendar. It’s also going to be the year 4721! As I have been enjoying reading about the coming year and learning more about my chart as well as some of yours, I am reminded that astrology can provide an interesting prompt for exploration. Many of the customs around the new year serve to give us that opportunity - to celebrate, to set goals, to consider the value of relationships and the direction of our lives. Astrology, rather than fortune-telling, is a playful mirror to explore our potential. What follows is largely summarized from Tiger’s Play Astrology. I encourage you to read more there.
Last year was a Yang Water Tiger Year. Yang Water is more like a tidal wave, tumultous compared to the underground grotto of the Yin Water Rabbit. Water is associated with death and last year was intense. Now in the Yin Water Year, we faced death and we are dead…or at least in the liminal space of early morning dreams. Down the rabbit whole we go. While this is a dark place, it can also be quiet and peaceful, a time for introspection. A great year for therapy! Also a wonderful year for sex. We all know that rabbits are associated with a prolific ability to reproduce, so now is the time to make babies, or practice. Water (death) generates Wood (birth). The rabbits typical nature is Wood, so the Water nature of the year is supportive of the growth to come. Next year is a Wood Dragon year!
Intuition will be strengthened in the coming year. While this can be helpful, there is a also a vulnerability that rabbits have, with their big ears they can hear everything. For the people who are more empathic, they may feel overwhelmed or even paranoid. But rabbits have great social instincts and in general are very happy in the domestic sphere. They are gentle, charming and compassionate. Close friendships are key and its a great time for nesting and enjoying home.
The rabbit’s health and well-being has everything to do with how they handle their emotions. More than in other years, how we perceive of our situation will have a significant impact on its outcome. “Anything repressed, suppressed, or unacknowledged can manifest in the body.” So singing to your tumor may shrink it and medicines will be more effective if we believe they will work. But illness will be exacerbated by worry and conflict. It is a good year for less-scientific forms of healing.
I could keep going, but I think this gives you an idea of some of the central themes. Don’t forget to check out Tiger’s Play Astrology to read more in detail and look at the other signs and how they might thrive in the coming year.
By Amber Hincks LAc FABORM