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Welcome to 2024 – the Chinese Year of the Wood Dragon. The Dragon is a supernatural creature symbolising power, nobility, honour, luck, growth, and success. The Wood element is also connected with growth and success.
Wood rules the East (where the sun rises); the season of spring (new growth); and the planet Jupiter (the largest planet in our solar system). Wood is all about new beginnings, new opportunities, excitement, hard work, power, and prosperity. Wood is the mother of Fire, meaning this element creates passion, invention, and novelty. A small spark can transform into a mighty flame.
Wood’s colour is green, symbolising life and vitality. Plants and trees require water, sunlight, and nourishment to flourish, in the same way we need nourishment to utilise our full power and achieve prosperity and wisdom.
The Year of the Wood Dragon promises high energy and passion to fuel our personal, professional, and spiritual growth. It promises to be an extra-special year for those born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 and 2012.
Pluto has been in earth sign Capricorn since 2008, but on 21st January he will leave Capricorn, and spend the next twenty years in Aquarius. That’s two full decades of revolution – our lives will change in ways we cannot even imagine!
In the 21st century, with Pluto in Aquarius, we have the Technological Revolution which is already dismantling traditional workplace hierarchies. Employees are demanding better work-life balance and are willing to stand up to leaders and bosses who ignore their demands for flexible work. Digital technology has given birth to digital nomads and hybrid workers, making geographical borders, city centre offices, and workplace culture increasingly irrelevant. Women are stepping up and demanding more equality at work and at home.
As NASA’s telescopes become ever more powerful, and we marvel at images of star clusters and far distant galaxies, there is increasing evidence that we are not alone in the universe. In 2023, the Pentagon launched an online UFO reporting system, and NASA held its first ever public meeting on UFOs.
From mummified alien corpses to UFO sightings to crop circles, a quick search on Google under ‘alien disclosure’ provides a wealth of evidence, much of it from respected scientists.
Having witnessed multiple UFOs in Sardinia in 2018 this does not surprise me at all. My prediction is that there will be many more extraterrestrial sightings and visitations with Pluto in Aquarius. Discussions on this topic will change from fringe to mainstream as new information surfaces. Expect disruption to cherished scientific beliefs!
• Reducing, reusing, and recycling
• Outlawing fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions
• Individual petrol car ownership replaced by shared electric cars
• Massive reduction in use of plastics
• Better public transport and use of trains rather than planes
• More local food production, planting trees, and water storage
• Crackdown on air and water pollution
• Solar panels everywhere with excess power fed back into the community
• Moves to combat worldwide population growth
• Collective and individual responsibility to improve the environment
And if Pluto in Aquarius really delivers, we may even discover how to harness solar power and crystal technology to create and distribute free, clean, green, power.
• New living arrangements and different models of home ownership
• Embracing the concept of solidarity, community, and cooperative action
• Massive explosion in the capabilities of artificial intelligence and medical technology
• Advanced genetic engineering and robotics
• Real-time translation and interpreting
• Move towards a cashless society and international digital currency
• Rise of cryptocurrency and similar systems designed to avoid surveillance
• Rise in bartering and exchange of goods
• Increased government control and censorship of information
• Development of drone technology and new forms of destructive weaponry
• Brain-computer interface capable of translating thought into action
• Exciting technological breakthroughs used to both empower and destroy
• Sharing information and inventions between different cultures/countries
• The moral dilemmas of science vs ethics
Every generation has its time in the sun, and competitiveness and consumption worked for the boomers. But under Pluto in Aquarius, boomers will be increasingly seen as out of touch with the realities and challenges of modern life. Their power and influence will gradually fade as a new cycle with a new set of values begins.
The gift of Mercury retrograde in Capricorn is the capacity for level-headed thinking, while the gifts of Mercury in Sagittarius are wisdom and perspective. Mercury retrograde in Capricorn is also good for checking finances and focusing on what is real and feasible, rather than indulging your fantasies.
On 2nd January, Mercury will come to a halt, pause briefly and then start moving forwards again. If you have been trying to make some big decisions, the past few weeks would have helped you gather information and weigh up the pros and cons of whatever project or idea you might be working on.
With Mercury picking up speed in January, you can put plans into action and make sense of the events and insights of the past few weeks.
The even better news is the Mars will be making a trine to Jupiter and sextile to Saturn from 5th–13th January, helping you get things moving smoothly and efficiently. Bearing this in mind, you should be able to get lots done during this six-week period – particularly tasks you’ve been putting off or are not looking forward to. Yes folks, the gifts of discipline, grit, persistence, and determination are yours for the taking. Don’t waste them!
• Learn something new
• Embrace your independence and love of freedom
• Explore different cultural experiences
• Try different cuisines
• Spend time outdoors enjoying the natural world
• Travel anywhere and everywhere
• Enjoy intellectual debate
• Wear something fun or bright-coloured
Stella Woods is an astrology teacher, writer, and consultant. Contact Stella at stella@stellastarwoman.com or www.stellastarwoman.com or
www.facebook.com/stellastarwoman
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