2017 - The Year of the Ten Fire Rooster

 2017: The Year of the Fire Rooster

 

About now, you may be brushing the dust from your clothes, grateful to have made it through the crazy Fire Monkey antics of 2016 relatively unscathed. For many personally, and for all of us nationally, we went through one of the wildest roller coaster rides of our lives this past year. Standing firmly in the new year, we can release a big sigh. But it ain't over yet, folks...

2017 may not bring much relief, though it is sure to harbor more change. In numerology, 2017 amounts to a number 10 or a 1 (the energy of 1 magnified by 0). This number is associated with new changes and also with the potential for peace, harmony, unity, and vitality. The number 10 also relates to manifestation and the potential to create a wise balance among seemingly opposing principles such as masculine/feminine, creation/destruction, good/evil, etc. resulting in a powerful wholeness...all feel-good possibilities.

With so much going for us, how can we go wrong? Because even though the foundational energies of this year offer an opportunity to evolve to a higher vibration, we must claim it. The number 10 also comes with a dark side that is ruthless, competitive, unemotional, domineering, stubborn, independent, and eccentric. If we play out these qualities instead, we are sure to suffer.

Now let's add in another piece of the 2017 puzzle: January 28th marked the start of the Chinese New Year - the year of the Fire Rooster. The energy of Fire Roosters is generally cocky, dominant, overly self-assured, resourceful, hard-working, bullying, boastful, vain, courageous, outspoken, blunt, egotistical...sound familiar? 

Interestingly, our country's new leadership personifies this energetic like never before. Barely a month in and there have already been authoritarian rumblings from Washington that smack of an "I don't give a damn about protocol" approach to governance. We would be wise to pay close attention to where things go from here, as our nation moves ever so tentatively through this historic period.

Such a 10 Fire Rooster-esque profile is ripe for big, huge things to happen, but we cannot say of what nature. Perhaps this energetic is exactly what we need to catapult us forward into evolutionary greatness as some believe. Or perhaps this energy will tear us down in brutal ways as others believe. The potential is ripe for either to occur. And most people stand with firm conviction on one side of that belief or the other. 

 But I will say this: If you give a rat's ass about things like compassion, integrity, unity, stewardship, diversity, or equality, you best pay attention. The dark side of 10 Fire Rooster energy is not interested in such things. Nope; they are interested in only one thing: getting their way. They like their way, and they tend to disregard the rights and opinions of others to get it. That's the tricky deal with the dark side of 10 Fire Rooster energy; its nature is divisive rather than unifying.

Two verbs to ditch not only this month but this entire year are apathy and complacency. Just pitch them right out of your world because a 10 Fire Rooster energy demands the opposite - a centered, clear, assured, solid stance with deliberate and right action. Right action? Who can say what that is? 

In a nation more strongly divided into two distinct camps than we've seen for generations, with each group determined to stand up for what they believe is right...all wallowing in the cocky energy of the 10 Fire Rooster...there is potential for things to get rather ugly this year.  

Standing up for what you believe in is fine; necessary even. Just be careful not to stoop to the immature bully-antics that the cocky 10 Fire Rooster may bring to the ring. If you do, you just may find yourself on the receiving end of a mighty ass-whipping. Knee-jerk reactions do not serve the individual or our current evolution as Human Beings. Neither does being overly optimistic, overly pessimistic, or plain old apathetic. Clear, conscientious conviction with decisive, aligned action is what is called for.

Aligned action can be as simple as holding an undying faith in the inherent goodness of Humankind. Goodness is in each one of us somewhere; even those we may view as our enemies. Goodness is everywhere, actually. Just take a quick look around. People everywhere are standing up for goodness in all kinds of ways, big and small, publicly and privately, because they believe. They believe in the importance and power of things like compassion, integrity, unity, stewardship, diversity, and equality. And they believe in the importance and power of basic Human goodness.

But you won't feel a connection to that goodness if you don't do anything to cultivate it in yourself. One simple way to do so: meditate. Even 3 minutes a day of meditation can achieve this. Meditation is also a powerful way to stay out of knee-jerk reactions so you don't add to the messiness of the Fire Rooster energies at play in the world, or find yourself on the receiving end of an ass-whipping. Plus, as a bonus, every time you meditate, you shift one vibrational thread in the energetic matrix of our world toward the light and love and goodness of the Universe...and every little bit helps.

Try something basic like the universal Sanskrit syllable of Om (believed to be the basic sound of the world, containing all other sounds), or Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Se So Hung (another Sanskrit Mantra that invites unity of heart).

Or you can simply meditate on your breath, knowing it is connected to all other breaths. Or on the goodness beating in your own Human heart, knowing it is connected to the goodness in all other hearts.

So it appears, my friends, that 2017 will be a year of big change and action. Let's make it right action based on unity rather than segregation, equality rather than inequity, and compassion rather than ego...all of which start within each and every one of us Human Beings, and all of which are nurtured through meditation. Such a simple action makes a powerful difference. This month's energy tip: start meditating regularly.

Til next time... Namaste'

Let Your Light Shine!!

December brings us Winter Solstice - the longest night of the year and for some, the true New Year's Eve - as the next day starts the journey into growing days and increasing light. Until the Solstice, cold Winter days and long, crisp nights call us inside, not only to stoke the fires of our hearths but also the fires in our hearts.

This month, we enter a time of introspection, reflection and integration. We reflect on our past and use the lessons we find there to make plans for our future. What does your deepest heart long for and how can you stoke the fires that burn there?

December's energy is aligned with organizing and readying yourself for what's next, even if you can't see it clearly. What preparation is needed to move toward your heart's desires? Where is growth needed? Surrender? Patience? Trust? Courage? Action? How can you best prepare yourself to be the person you want to be in the future? What skills do you need to sharpen? Are there foundational pieces to your dream that need shoring up so you can go the distance? These are questions to reflect on and tend to this month.

Despite today's very commercialized Christmas season, December is an opportunity to honor our inherent innocence and to celebrate the birth of our own light. Each one of us has a gift to offer the world, and we are the only ones who can bring that gift forward in our unique way. No one is excluded from owning the Sacred Light they bring forward.

These tips can help you make good use of December's opportunities:

• Shift your gift. Consider shifting away from commercial gifting and instead, create gifts that nourish the heart and spirit of your loved ones and others in ways that make the world a better place, such as: make donations to worthy world causes; make something homemade like art, ornaments or body products; write loved ones a special letter; take on a project to help someone; volunteer time to those in need; or just offer to be there for someone who is lonely.

• Learn from your year's harvest. Reflect on what worked and what did not. Release what feels complete or no longer serves and use it as fuel for your future successes, just as the fallen leaves become a warm protective blanket of nourishment for the tree roots beneath the ground.

• Notice your inner fire light. Does it feel strong or weak? What does it need to burn more evenly? What will sustain it through time? Make plans to bring this balance into your life.

• Honor your inner light. Use the colorful lights of the season as reminders that your inner light shines on, despite any darkness around you. All you have to do is allow it. Light a special candle in the evening and take a moment each night to sit and fill your heart with gratitude for the unique contributions of your inner light to this world.

Happy Holidays to you!