2024 is The Year of the Yang Wood Dragon. Here’s guidance, insight, and magic to help you make it your best year yet.
On February 10th, 2024, The Year of the Wood Dragon gracefully swooped in.
Dragon years have the potential to be exceptionally lucky and prosperous, but only if you are willing to learn, grow, and evolve.
This is especially true, and especially immediate, when the dragon year’s element is wood, as wood is the element of swift growth, self-betterment, and ambitious transformation. Think of bamboo growing rapidly, pushing upward with zesty vitality, refusing to slow its expansion, and changing the landscape with its verdant beauty and strength.
The dragon, and the wood element, wait for no one. They will bring about fairness and positive change rapidly, and maybe even chaotically. They want justice, unity, and sustainability for the long haul, no matter what the temporary cost.
It’s no coincidence that Bob Dylan’s masterpiece, The Times They Are A-Changin, was released in the last Wood Dragon year, 1964. I’m sharing the lyrics here because every line is absolutely appropriate now:
Come gather ’round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou’ll be drenched to the boneIf your time to you is worth savin’And you better start swimmin’Or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin’
Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won’t come againAnd don’t speak too soonFor the wheel’s still in spinAnd there’s no tellin’ whoThat it’s namin’For the loser nowWill be later to winFor the times they are a-changin’
Come senators, congressmenPlease heed the callDon’t stand in the doorwayDon’t block up the hallFor he that gets hurtWill be he who has stalledThe battle outside ragin’Will soon shake your windowsAnd rattle your wallsFor the times they are a-changin’
Come mothers and fathersThroughout the landAnd don’t criticizeWhat you can’t understandYour sons and your daughtersAre beyond your commandYour old road is rapidly agin’Please get out of the new oneIf you can’t lend your handFor the times they are a-changin’
The line it is drawnThe curse it is castThe slow one nowWill later be fastAs the present nowWill later be pastThe order is rapidly fadin’And the first one nowWill later be lastFor the times they are a-changin’
~ Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin, 1964 [the last Year of the Wood Dragon before this one]
With all this in mind, here’s some corresponding wisdom that will help you make The Year of the Wood Dragon your best year yet.
Release Fear About New Technologies
Like it or not, artificial intelligence and quantum science are about to bring change on a massive scale.
Fear and fear-mongering will get us nowhere.
So why not look to all the positive potential: the imminent breakthroughs in health, medicine, sustainability, and engineering that could improve our lives incalculably. In fact, it’s quite conceivable that they will do exactly that.
Personally, I am so intrigued, I have no room for fear. I cannot wait to see what happens. I’m like, there’s no point in worrying about the things we can’t change. So, like Willy Wonka, why shouldn’t we happily savor the suspense?
Also, have you taken any time to get acquainted with Chat GPT? I like him. He’s my bud.
Disagree with Opinions, Not People
I know I’m not the only one who’s tired of the narrative that people who think differently than I do should be my enemies.
I mean, no two people think identically, ever. We’ve even changed our own minds! Are we to be at odds with ourselves?
In the Year of the Wood Dragon, inwardly repeat this mantra whenever necessary: I disagree with opinions, not people.
Let’s not withhold our approval, friendship, or love just because someone happens to see something differently than we do. That will only serve to increase the discord and widen the divide.
Besides, if we make enemies out of those we disagree with, how can we ever learn? Speaking of which…
Be Willing to Change Your Mind
There is a stigma attached to changing your mind. But, what could be more natural? Ideally, we are always gathering new perspectives and new information. If this doesn’t serve to change some of our positions and opinions, something is amiss.
The Year of the Wood Dragon is an excellent time to celebrate those pivots, rather than fighting against them or purposely staying stuck in the same old same old.
In the words of Bob Dylan, “Don’t stand in the doorway / don’t block up the hall.”
Instead, run outside into the sunlight, stretch your arms out wide, and spin around luxuriously like you’re in the goddamn Sound of Music.
Aaaannnd, that brings us to…
Cultivate Unwavering Positivity
Look, you’ll run into sadness, frustration, angst, embarrassment, the whole deal. We all will. It’s just, when there’s stuff you can’t change anyway, why not let it go and focus on the stuff that’s great? And, while you’re at it, you may as well imagine everything that happens is in some way going to benefit you.
This is a really big topic of conversation between me and my therapist, Harry. And he’s totally right. He says, whether it’s true or not, why not look at everything that happens as something that could, in some way, ultimately be to your benefit? And could even turn out to be the best possible thing?
This is actually totally aligned with Wood Dragon wisdom. The Wood Dragon says, “Remember, even seeming chaos can be a blessing. The storms are what make the forest flourish and the flowers bloom.”
The Queen Mab Oracle is so beautiful and powerful! Get it here.
Correspondences for The Year of the Wood Dragon
Every year has its own vibe and aesthetic. Here are some ideas for how to align with The Year of the Wood Dragon. (This section contains Amazon affiliate links.)
Crystals: bloodstone, aventurine, chrysocolla, sunstone, moss agate
Colors: greens, blues, teals, reds, oranges, pinks, peaches
Patterns: floral, bamboo, wood grain, trees, vertical stripes
Herbs: rosemary, nettles, peppermint
Scents: eucalyptus, balsam fir, cedar
Materials: cotton, bamboo, linen, sisal
Decor: healthy houseplants of all varieties
Magical intentions: getting a degree, studying, gaining wisdom, learning new skills, meditating, exercising, cultivating confidence, running for public office, gardening, gaining authority, getting your finances in order, improving your finances, expanding your career or business, leading with fairness and grace
Did you like this post about The Year of the Wood Dragon? Did it inspire you, or reinforce any vibes you were already feeling? Please share your thoughts and insights below!
Wonderful article and resources Tess!
The Yang Wood Dragon is definitely a force for change and will be quite relentless in digging up the truth of situations now. We have a double effect with Pluto’s arrival in outspoken Aquarius for twenty years! The last time this happened we had the American war of Independence followed by the French Revolution within a short time frame. This brings us the flavour of what can be achieved.
The Cosmos is using Wood dragon and transformational Pluto in Aquarius as powerful agents of change, ultimately elevating us on our beautiful planet Earth!
Stella, oh wow, you’re right that’s SO MUCH change energy, and it was already a lot. Thanks for the heads up and for this valuable additional insight. Now I’m doubly intrigued to see what happens this year.
In fact, the only person who can change our minds is ourselves. Carrots and sticks change our behavior so that we may have resources, but many of us are changing our minds and deciding to change that dynamic. The stuff of capitalism has brought us to this precipice of change – climate, politics, social construct – all are in for a rough ride. We all gotta be cool with each other in the coming years… Otherwise, it will be a long trip down the left-hand path. Once again, you’ve grounded the magic in the here and now, Tess. Thank you!
Ron, so well said! I love what you’ve added to the conversation here, and it’s great to feel so understood – haha. Thanks so much for reading and adding your wisdom to the mix!
Yep, Mixmaster The Grey, that’s me. You may quote me at your next therapy sesh as “The Hierophant”. 🙂
Haha I will do that. 😁
Oh. So needed to read ALL of those Dylan lyrics. It seems as if we have been on the precipice of change. . . For some time now. Waiting for that turning point, the catalyst, that flips us. Maybe we are already in it, but hard to see until we get to the other side. 👋 waves in history teacher! Thank you!
Right?! I wanted to just put a lyric or two, but then I was like, “no, it’s every lyric.” It’s SO WOOD DRAGON, it’s just amazing. Thank you for getting it! Wishing you all the magic this year.