Turning of the Year

In 2026, July 7 begins the month of the gentle Yin Wood Sheep – Yi Wei. It runs through August 7 and completes the first half of the Chinese solar year. It also provides a bit of a respite from the more rigid Yang Wood Horse of June. If you are feeling the weight of the Yang Fire Horse year, this is a good time to pause and assess where it has taken you so far, and how you feel about that.

The element of Yin Wood in Chinese Metaphysics is the sprout, the climbing vine and flowering blossom that moves slowly and purposefully toward the sun. When it meets resistance, it changes direction and adapts to a new path. I think this is a lovely metaphor for dealing with extraordinary, fast-moving times. In Feng Shui, Wood represents the east direction, agricultural spring and the early morning hours of awakening. It embodies knowledge and experience that is accumulated over time and built upon, not gifted. Wood is flexible and patient and can survive tough conditions, like the weed poking through a crack in cement. More sublte than the Fire element, Wood brings pioneering, expansive energy that moves in all directions, allowing us to see the world through different vistas.

While the Yang Fire Horse of 2026 urges us to move quickly and dramatically, the Wood Sheep of July briefly lifts the blinders, slowing the pace long enough to offer options, a reset and perhaps a different way.

I hope you’ll take advantage of this brief intermission to assess your options then proceed at your own pace. As always, let me know if I can help.

Wishing you a peaceful and thought-provoking July!

Diane