Happy New Year of the Dog

Happy new Chinese year. The Chinese New Year starts on a different date each year and this year it begins today: February 16^th.  We are moving from the year of Yin Fire Rooster of 2017 to the slower paced Yang Earth Dog of 2018.

I wonder if you will feel the changes of the animal. The Rooster embodies more the qualities of creative, quick thinking, fiery, flamboyant, friendly and outgoing energies. The Dog embodies more stable qualities. I don’t feel that we should view the yearly changes in animals in an overly simplistic, predictive way. Instead, we can use them as an opportunity to focus on different qualities of being and to understand that each year does have a different energy.

I have been writing these Chinese animal blogs since my first one on the Snake in February 2013.  You might like to review some of those posts as I give general information on the significance of the animal signs in Chinese culture and reflections on how we can relate to them today. The Horse was in 2014 followed by the Goat in 2015 and the Monkey in 2016.

I missed out on writing about the Rooster last year, partly because my dog Jed died at the end of January.  This year it feels poignant to reflect on the nature of dogs while I honour the anniversary of Jed’s passing.

Jed

Each year there is a change of animals, there are 12 animals, but there is also a change from Yin to Yang and every two years a change of element. The easiest way to remember this is:

If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.

If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.

If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.

If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.

If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.

If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.

If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.

If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.

If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.

If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.

I have written in various other blogs about the difference between Yin and Yang and each of the elements: The Nature of the Elements in our Body and Space, the Missing Element. Yin is essentially a more inward energy and Yang a more outward. Today, 16^th February 2018 we are entering the Yang, Earth Dog. Earth is a more solid and grounding quality than the Fire of the Rooster last year, but the Rooster was Yin Fire which is a more inward quality of Fire. Dog is in Yang Earth, which is a more outward expression of Earth.

The rooster is by nature Yin Metal, so it was expressing the fierier aspects of its nature last year. The dog is by its nature Yang Metal.  This means that being in the Yang Earth it is drawing out the earthier qualities, of stability and loyalty rather than the Metal qualities of boundaries and communication.  I think we all consider dogs generally to be loyal, good natured, wanting to help people, having a quiet life and focusing on the beauty and joy on Earth. However, dogs, like all living creatures, can be abused and betrayed and if this happens they will be shocked and hurt.

Dogs tend to be very connected to the person they think is the most important in their life. I was extremely touched by the fact that Jed, my dog, waited for me to return from a 6-week trip away, until he got ill. He had been not so strong before I left, he was nearly 14, but it was on the day I was flying home that my daughter told me he worsened.  Apparently, it is not uncommon for dogs to do this. He always knew when we were coming home, but I was in Thailand at the time, so I was amazed how he could sense that over such a distance.

Obviously, the temperament of dogs depends a lot on their breed. My dog Jed, was a whippet. When he was out he loved and needed to run: and was always on the alert. When he was at home he would curl up like a cat. My grandparents always used to have Collies: they needed to be outside all day long, needing an activity to keep them engaged.

The Earth dog: means a more stable, solid, grounded dog, communicative, serious, and responsible in work. Although it is interesting then to discover that both Madonna and Michael Jackson are earth dogs

So, I wish you a year of having time to connect with the important people in your lives in a loving, caring way. I hope you have time to share earthy activities such as walking, making things, singing, dancing, cooking and eating together. Earth is very much the energy of “mothering”: caring and being there for each other.  I hope you will be able to find the places of calm and support when you need them.

Take what you like from these reflections, and please leave comments on the blog page. I love having discussions about your feelings about the different qualities of the years.