28:58

Introspect: Yin Wood Snake, Change And Peak Of Yang Energy

by Filipa Costa

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As the astrological year is almost halfway through, I invite you to retrospectively look at how it has been. By understanding the past few months, you are more likely to be better equipped to make good choices and live in more harmony the following months, until February 2026. Thus, on this talk, I share tips on what to cultivate to navigate as smoothly and as gracefully as possible all of these tremendous changes that we are going through, personally and collectively. I go from what the Yin energy brings, what the Wood element brings, and I dive into the Zodiac Sign of the year, the Snake, the peak of the Yang energy. The Yin Wood energy of this year encourages deep introspection, emotional intelligence, and flexibility to handle the coming changes. The Year of the Snake is a time for personal growth, applying wisdom, and making strategic decisions. It is about applying intuitive thinking, seeing and understanding hidden truths, and embracing change, no matter how difficult it may be.

AstrologyYin YangFive ElementsNumerologyEmotional IntelligencePersonal GrowthSpiritualityCultural TraditionsEmpathyIntrospectionChinese AstrologyYin Yang PrincipleEmotional DepthPersonal TransformationSpiritual PracticesEmpathy And Compassion

Transcript

Hello,

Thanks for tuning in.

I'm Filippa and I want to share with you something that I recorded in February when the astrological new year began.

And as we are kind of halfway through the year,

This is a good time to reflect and introspect about how things have been so far and how we can do better for the rest of the year considering the energies and themes which is exactly what I'm sharing today.

Since I'm doing this myself and I'm advising my clients to do the same,

And as I'm a baby still here on Inside Timer,

So I thought I'd just share this reading here with you as well.

I hope that this helps you to understand the energies that are at play and how you can make the most of them at this time and taking advantage that right now you can already look back retrospectively to have a better understanding of the things that when we are in the moment and things are still happening and playing out,

We don't really have all levels of understanding of course.

So I really hope that this helps you with that.

And I also share the numerological energies for 2025 here on Inside Timer,

So check them out as well.

I think they will also be useful because both things are happening and are playing out for us.

Today I will be diving into the Chinese Zodiac New Year,

Sharing with you a very,

Very tiny bit of the wisdom of Chinese astrology and the ancient Chinese wisdom.

To understand the energies for this year,

I think we need to first understand what is the first day of the New Lunar Year and what is the first day of the Chinese New Year,

Or if you want to speak astrologically,

The New Zodiac Year.

They are different and often used interchangeably.

And to be fair,

The dates are very close to each other,

But I don't see often people explaining this.

But since this is just about the year of the yin with snake,

I find it is important to let you know,

If you don't know,

What is a Chinese calendar year,

Which is one of the calendars that is very intertwined with natural energetic patterns of the Earth and of the cosmos.

Okay,

So the first day of the Lunar New Year,

What is commonly called here in the West on the news and social media,

The Chinese New Year or Chinese Lunar New Year,

Is in fact,

The same date of the New Lunar Calendar for any of those countries in the Southeast Asia,

Such as Japan and Malaysia,

That also celebrate this Lunar New Year.

And this Lunar New Year begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice,

Which in the Gregorian calendar this year was the 29th,

30th of January,

Depending where you are in the globe.

Now,

The Chinese New Year is indeed very close to the new moon of the New Lunar Year.

And Chinese people do celebrate their New Year for days and not just one day,

From the accounts of the different Chinese people I have met throughout my years,

And they begin celebrating on the new moon of the New Lunar Year.

Thus,

It is very easy to confuse and assume it is all the same if the right information is not provided.

After this new moon,

We have the beginning of the spring,

Which overlaps with the Chinese astrological New Year.

And by the way,

If you are into Celtic traditions,

Then this is kind of the equivalent to the Imbolc.

If you check the Gregorian dates of the Chinese zodiac for the year of birth,

You'll see that the dates fall in February,

Because it is in our Gregorian calendar when the astrological year,

The Spring Festival,

Begins.

In Chinese astrology,

The first day of the year is when the sun has a celestial longitude of 315 degrees,

And it also marks the beginning of the spring.

So,

This year for me,

Where I am on earth,

It is the 3rd of February and lasts until the 18th of February.

And it is on the 3rd of February that technically the year of the snake begins.

Now that we've got that sorted,

Let's learn what energies,

According to the Chinese wisdom,

Are in store for us that add to the vibration of the global Gregorian calendar of 2025.

By the way,

If you are interested to hear about the numerological energies for 2025,

Then check out episode 2 if you haven't done so yet.

Okay,

Let's begin.

In Chinese astrology,

Each year has a polarity,

An element,

And a zodiac sign.

Hence why we say that the complete name of this astrological year is the Yin-Wud snake or the Yi snake because Yi spelled Y I means Yin-Wud.

A very important thing to know and note is that whilst each zodiac animal has its own fixed polarity and fixed element,

These are not to be confused with the polarity and element of the years which have their own.

In ancient Chinese wisdom,

There are two poles,

The Yin and the Yang that compose all existence.

Regarding the polarity of the years,

Remember this is specifically for the astrology of the years,

The Yin is represented by the odd numbers and the Yang by the even numbers.

So since we are in the year 4723,

Then it is a Yin energy.

Then there are five elements and each one will be present in the two polarities in consecutive years.

So we are leaving the Yang-Wud dragon and we are going into the Yin-Wud year with the next zodiac animal,

The snake.

And let's understand what it means when people say the green dragon,

Which you've heard last year,

And the green snake,

Which you've heard this year by now.

Each element is predominantly associated with a color.

The Wud element color is a blue-green color,

Which the proper translation is gru,

Spelled G R U E.

And if you speak more than one language,

You may have noticed that colors and how we speak of colors don't always have a real equivalent name or expression in another language.

But I think that for simplicity sake,

For English translation,

It is being referred as green dragon and green snake.

So now you understand why when someone says that you need to balance the Wud element,

They tell you to go for blue and green colors.

And now you also know that when someone says it is the year of the green Wud snake,

It's a pleonasm because if it's Wud,

We immediately know which colors are,

And if only the color is referenced,

You know which element is.

Right.

Now let's see what the Yin-Wud energies are bringing to the table this year.

One of the main Yin principles I'd like to talk about for the energy of this year is the feminine principle.

And one of the aspects of the feminine energy is the material realm,

The physical manifestation.

We should expect material and physical expressions and manifestations of the underlying energies that will be present during this year.

The Yin principle is also associated with the energy of water.

So hidden parts of ourselves,

The buried feelings and memories,

The mysterious side of things,

And also anything that is hidden or precluded.

Thus,

I think it is important to acknowledge that in a Yin polarity,

We should realize that there is likely to be great depth on emotions running a little bit wild and intensely during this year.

In the context of the other energies playing out this year,

I think these Yin energies will be seen as truth coming out,

Secrets being revealed,

People showing their true colors,

Including making peace with parts of themselves,

With parts of the past,

And all with something that is very deep underneath.

And I know that this type of language is often associated with negative things.

For example,

The expression secrets being revealed,

We tend to default to negative,

But it doesn't really mean that a secret is bad or negative by default.

There are many reasons that people and things have secrets,

Not all are dark.

Just putting it out there,

This reminder.

Let's look at the wood element now.

One of the aspects of the wood is that it is associated with change.

And actually Yi,

The word I refer to as an alternative for Yin wood,

Is translated as change in English.

So I think that the Yin wood year is definitely a year of change.

And the wood element is associated with the number eight,

Which is the number of change.

The change in the eight happens because of separation,

But there's also cooperation and creation in the number according to the Chinese wisdom.

An example of what this separation and yet creation and cooperation means is,

For example,

How in a Chinese wisdom view,

There is the separation into four seasons that bear eight aspects.

Winter,

Winter solstice,

Spring,

Spring equinox,

Summer,

Summer solstice,

Autumn,

Autumn equinox.

There are many other examples in ancient Chinese wisdom of this dynamic and meaning of the eight,

But I hope this one is simple but clear enough to let you understand a bit of what may seem as a contradiction in the energies of change that are inherent to the number eight.

Now,

Putting the energies of the Yin I mentioned and the energies of the wood together,

I think the change is going to be running on deep levels of our consciousness,

Of our emotions,

Of our psyche,

Of our lives.

But unlike in a Yang year element,

Which is a masculine principle,

So it is the spirit,

This is a Yin year,

So mother is matter.

Thus,

All of these changes will have physical expressions.

We'll have separation on one hand and cooperation on the other.

And cooperation implies unity,

So the other pole of separation running alongside.

I think we will continue to see the polarization that has been happening and we've been observing,

But I think this year has space for the unity and for people starting to be pulled to each other and start building the new together.

And all of these changes will be manifested particularly as to how,

In the end,

We will live our lives both collectively and individually.

It might be more of a year where there are changes and beginnings embedded,

But what happens this year will definitely impact our lives and how we live our lives in the future,

Even if it doesn't have an immediate visible effect.

This unity and cooperation that are embedded in the changes of the wood elements of this year are also in line with the fact that the wood element is also associated with the Hun spirit,

Spelled H-U-N.

The Hun brings meaning to life.

It is responsible for our awareness to suffering on us and around us,

For bringing us empathy,

Compassion and tolerance.

It definitely thinks that we need and this year is bringing up a very strong need for the type of qualities that the Hun spirit offers us.

The Hun is associated with the liver system in the body.

A strong Hun enables us to navigate and to process the changes that happen in life and helps us to be flexible.

With all of these changes and transformations happening during this year,

Now you know that if you take care and promote your Hun,

You will be better equipped to handle the changes.

On the spiritual,

Psychological and emotional levels,

Part of taking care of the Hun involves dissolving and transmuting anger.

An imbalanced Hun this year can be a real problem on the collective and create lots of anger and conflict and quick escalation of what we initially perceived as a minor thing or situation.

Okay,

Lastly,

Let's talk about the Zodiac animal.

Chinese astrology and 12 animal symbols are based on ancient Chinese cosmology and the five elements theory.

Various legends tell about the origin of the Zodiac animals and because I want to tell you a fun story,

Or however you might see it,

I have to tell that one of the legends says that Buddha himself determined the 12 earthly branches,

Hence the 12 Chinese animal Zodiacs.

And in line with this legend,

In Buddhism,

There is a patron or guardian for each Zodiac year animal.

To understand better the energy of the snake,

Let's dive a little bit into the Yi Qing or Yi Xing.

The 12 tidal hexagrams in Yi Qing represent the energetic patterns of their related Zodiac animal and the hexagram Xian,

Spelled Q-I-A-N,

Symbolizes the snake.

This hexagram comes from two same trigrams that also have the same name as the hexagram Xian.

The trigram Xian's original meaning is the rising of Qi or energy,

Which I find interesting that the Hindu and others' representations of the rising Qi is often interpreted and described as the Kundalini and the Kundalini is the coiled snake at the base of the spine.

Also,

In the Celtic tradition,

The snake is the totem animal of the earth goddess and the sky father sun god and one of the things it represents is the sexual energy.

The character Xian can mean strong,

Uprising,

Strengthen,

Among other meanings.

So overall,

Just the meaning of the trigram and the character alone tells you that we are dealing with a very intense and strong creative energy that it can either bring much enlightenment and creativity and new sustainable and great creations if properly harnessed or it can be the opposite and even be quite self-destructive and the more it tries to control and to force that energy into something that is not the right way,

Let's say,

The more damage it can cause around itself,

But ultimately,

It's really the cause of one's own downfall or destruction.

I didn't want to sound very fatalist,

But I think you are understanding.

I hope you are understanding the message that I'm trying to bring with the other side of the polarity that can be equally intense.

Now,

As I said,

The hexagram that represents the snake has the same name as the trigrams that birthed Xian and in essence,

It is the combination of six young lines and this indicates a completing or peak of a state of young and accordingly,

The snake is the sixth zodiac animal and it represents the peak of the young energy in the zodiac invoking a sense of completion of something ending and another beginning with the next cycle of the rising Yin.

This tells us that we should expect this year to be a year of endings and in my opinion,

Of beginnings as well,

Much like the energy of the 9 for 2025,

So check out episode 2 if you want to learn more.

But it can also represent something or someone being at their top,

At their maximum.

A way of interpreting this meaning is here,

It could be telling that top figures,

Top systems,

Top companies might see their end or might start seeing events that hugely shake the way that they exist and operate today,

Forcing them into a change with a subsequent rise of the Yin energy in the next zodiac year.

Another meaning of Xian is that it can be a symbol for circulating and strengthening new life energy of power.

A reading for this could be that if you or something in the collective are aligned with the light energies,

Then this may be a great year to initiate new projects and ventures and a new lifestyle,

A way of living your life.

So if you want to have a huge life change,

This year is a good year for that to happen,

Even if the year is more about eliminating what is no longer serving you and setting the foundations.

To navigate this year with the energies of the snake,

The wisdom of the hexagram is that we must be and we have to cultivate practices to be strong and healthy mentally,

Physically,

Spiritually and emotionally.

So in my reading,

A big theme for this year is to invest on your well-being,

Whatever that is and makes sense to you,

So that you feel good and re-energized.

Lastly,

What else to expect from the snake?

According to the Chinese zodiac,

People with a snake personality are cautious,

Intuitive,

Wise,

Sympathetic,

Attractive.

The snake is also associated with wisdom,

Intelligence and mysticism.

And I remember that in a channeled message for this new year,

The main message was that this year was about the wisdom and how it fits in the transition from the dragon and what this wisdom is about.

So I think that this year calls us to cultivate and embrace these beautiful qualities of the snake,

Which will be much needed to have the strength to move forward and weather all the changes that are and will be happening.

The snake is also much about transformation,

Letting go of the old and shedding anything that is stopping us from growing.

The energy of the snake means that if we don't go along and allow the shedding of the old skin to happen,

We might be under much more disarray and pain than if we surrender and let go,

No matter how difficult it may be.

In summary,

The year of the snake is about growth of personal wisdom and opportunities to apply wisdom,

To learn and to improve,

Even if they are not very pleasant experiences.

It is about being intelligent in decisions and strategic,

Which involves not only the mental aspect,

But also putting into use the intuition.

Seeing under the rocks,

Beneath the water,

What is the truth,

What are the hidden aspects or factors of all situations,

And to remember to try to always have great mental and intuitive accuracy.

I surely could have said much more and I could continue.

I think that the ancient Chinese wisdom is fascinating.

I hope that this has been helpful and will be helpful and that you actually enjoyed listening to it.

Let me know your thoughts,

Your comments,

Your experience.

I would really love to hear from you.

Take care and have a rest of a good year.

Meet your Teacher

Filipa CostaNorway

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© 2026 Filipa Costa. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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