Enter the Snake
It’s the second of five New Years here on the Far Side, and yet another national holiday. I’ve changed the bed linens, trimmed my hair and nails, put on my new red shirt, stuffed ang pao (red envelopes) full of cash for the youngsters, baked bread and brownies, put up the paper lanterns, and helped with Mrs. FarSide’s spring cleaning (stayed out of the way).
Welcome to the year 4723, or the Year of the Yin Green Wood Snake. If Chinese astrology has anything to say about it, this will be an exciting year. As you will see in a moment, it’s no mistake that China has announced DeepSeek and sustained fusion at this particular moment.
The Lunar New Year is something to behold. I say “lunar,” because it is based on a lunar calendar, and also because it is not limited to China. Most if not all of the Orient celebrate this event in some form or another.
Chinese astrology is a very complex thing. While the West has an annual cycle of 12 signs representing the zodiacal constellations, the East has 12 animal characters (Earthly Stems) each representing one lunar year, or a cycle of 12 years. The animal symbols have unique characteristics based on the 10 Heavenly Stems of Eastern cosmology. It appears the 12-year cycle may be based on the orbit of Jupiter, which is 12 years long.
But that’s not all!
Each 12-year cycle falls under one of the five elements: fire, water, wood, metal, and earth, with each element having a yin and yang polarity (10 Heavenly Stems). We are currently in the wood cycle, representing growth, vitality an
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LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
