Painting by Ethan Harper

2021- The Yin Metal Ox–Swords into Plowshares

by Karen Abler Carrasco

2020, the Chinese Yang Metal Rat year, was like a brutal sword fight or a devastating siege, right in our very homes. In fact, its blades sliced through everything foundational to our daily lives, and that was world wide. For an entire 12 month cycle, in all four seasons, we gave up every usual way of doing things. Meals, school, work, church, travel and holiday celebrations were all warped. Finances wobbled, many businesses collapsed, life became “virtual” and we suffered in strained isolation. We were cut away from our stale beliefs about the world and our roles in it. That Yang Metal Rat scurried absolutely everywhere, unearthing the disease, degradation, and waste hidden below the surface of our global lifestyles.

What was shattered for you last year? Which daily patterns were you forced to change? How did you adapt to that, and do you now wish to keep some of your new habits? How did your self image shift, and what personal shortcomings or talents did you uncover? Where did your truest support for your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health lie, and will you choose to maintain the most nourishing aspects of that?

These are the questions to be answered this year, as the 2021 Yin Metal Ox year pulls its metal plow through the fertile soil of the coming decade. This year, with its slow pace of Yin Ox qualities, you are being granted the time you need to establish fresh footing on higher ground. Trust that the worst of the seismic shocks are behind us. What remains is the task of sifting through the scattered shards of the past, and selecting the best parts to build a radically different future. This is the Yin Metal Ox’s true talent.

The Ox is stereotyped as a dull, “slow and steady” creature among the 12 animal energies of the Chinese zodiac, but it is the strongest, most unswerving of them all. It has the proverbial strength of a bull, but none of its swaggering ego. The Ox’s animal element is Water, relating to its inherently yielding nature. Just as water will find its resting place no matter the obstacle, so does the energy of the Ox flow inevitably to the destination set for it. The Ox has endless endurance and a relentless determination to reach the goal.

This year’s element is Metal. In the Chinese medicine theory of the Five Elements, Metal supports Water. Thus, similar to last year, the year’s Metal energy magnifies the Ox’s Water energy, resulting in another year of important, powerful influence. There is, again, no time for waffling indecisiveness. This year, keep your choices and decisions simple, practical, reachable. Plan for the long term, but act in the short term. Whether they be long range career goals or your weekly grocery list, commit to your choices fully and with confidence. This Metal Ox will graciously and dependably carry you where you aim to go. Climb onto its powerful back this year and steer its mountain of energy into the heart of your desires. Once you have answered the critical questions regarding your life’s new directions and motivations, don’t look back. Let self doubt and fear of the unknown slide off your shoulders. The Yin Metal Ox clears away the tangled weeds of confusion, pushes aside any rocky insecurities and handles uphill challenges easily.

Actually, the biggest challenge for us all this year is to generate trust and optimism. Trust that the chaos of this decade’s beginning is actually positive, like the “healing crisis” that precedes the cure. We’ve suffered daily with the very real fear for survival for ourselves, our beloveds and the world. The resultant trauma requires acknowledgement and compassion, something we are all gradually learning to share as a society. The ways we are bound together across all physical and social boundaries are crystal clear. The opportunity to realize our unity as a species is here and now. And while it is easy to stay in fear of the misfortunes befalling so many, it is not the way forward.

Our combined human energy creates a collective perception of the third dimension, and moves in waves, spiraling through time and space, and evolving ever higher in vibration. The aspects of that perception, that life we make, which are old, heavy, and drained of joy must be discarded now. Though our daily experiences may yet bring discouragingly corrupt remnants to our attention, it is time to steadfastly rise above and stay focused on the “New Earth” forming ahead. Physicists tell us that the wavelengths of light flooding the planet are rising in quantity and vibration, while the earth’s pulsing resonance has risen as well. All of life’s vibrations are tuning us in to a higher dimension. There is truly a brave new world birthing.

The Yin Metal Ox year is the skilled midwife to this birth. The yin quality itself brings the wise internal feminine realm into play. Thus, your work this year can go as deep and profound as you wish. The Metal element brings mental acuity, decisiveness and sharp, shining clarity of purpose. The Ox brings its single-focused, unfaltering strength. There is a kind of simple naivete to it, springing from its endearingly obstinate nature. The Ox chooses a path, announces its intentions clearly, marshals its massive power and confidently forges ahead. No dithering, no hesitation, no excuses. The Ox will not rest until the job is completed.

Though difficulties and surprises may continue to litter your path this year, stay grounded and walk slowly. Curtail your peripheral vision. Concentrate on your own immediate circumstances, and keep to your own lane. Discipline your mind and heart to plow ahead towards the shimmering horizon of world healing, trusting the sweet, steady gentle energy of this year. Yin Metal Ox, we climb onto your massive capable back in exhausted gratitude and hope. Carry us up and out into the light of the new decade on the New Earth.

by Karen Abler Carrasco

January 25th, 2020. A new cycle and a new decade begins, with a built-in metaphor for clear, sharp, 2020 vision. This particular decade also starts with the Chinese lunar astrology sign that most perfectly represents clear, sharp, focused intent and action–the Yang Metal Rat year. This synchronistic combination of vision, intent and bold action portends success for a social restructuring that is nearly unprecedented.

The last Metal Rat year was 1960. The decade that followed has held an almost mythological place in history for the breadth and depth of the changes it brought to the modern world. In the West, societies tore apart at the generational seams as cultural expectations were questioned, governmental policies protested, moral hypocrisies exposed and “business as usual” rejected. Science and technology challenged religions, corporations began to control public resources and rampant consumerism became the recipe for world wide economic success. Altruism and hedonism both battled for ascendancy. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Drawing from the lessons of those turbulent times we see that one needs a rock solid inner guidance system to navigate the shifting terrain ahead. We are in the midst of a polar shift in every aspect of life as we attempt to reconcile the starkly interdependent realities of a global economy with the old structures of independent nations. Just as the 1960‘s examined social justice within human diversity, so the 2020‘s will inevitably focus on ecological justice within the diversity of all the other species on the planet. The ultimate “bottom line” of ecosystem fatigue is becoming too evident to ignore any longer. With 2020 vision we see that reweaving ourselves and our entire civilization back into the world-wide web of life is the critical priority now. Fortunately, the Yang Metal Rat energies support this exact and exacting task, as they bring precise focus, keen wit, and a remarkable talent for self-preservation and species survival.

With razor sharp precision, the Metal Rat slices through any obstacle to realize its goals. It is a clever, opportunistic creature, with a compulsion to thrive regardless of the difficulties. Endless will power, tireless persistence and a reliance on bold action are the Rat’s tools for success. The Metal Rat year combines grounded practicality with inspired action to achieve a most formidable position of safety and comfort within any environment. Thinking on one’s feet, making lightning quick decisions, altering course whenever the advantages shift–the Metal Rat’s energy offers the perfect strengths to those who latch on to it’s tail, seeking the best possible placement to face the unpredictable years ahead.

The Metal element highlights the ability to sniff out what is truly useful and valuable as well as to identify what must be jettisoned as useless and unworthy.

Photo by Rebecca Lai

Use this quality to redefine your future, asking “What is my time here worth?” “Which are my highest values and most cherished relationships that I wish to nurture?” “What is my authentic response, based on my inner truth, to the clamoring choices facing me?” Evaluate every facet of your life again, and get crystal clear on where solid, life-sustaining value lies within it. This is THE year for this vital revisionist work. The energy of this year promises to move swiftly. Do not procrastinate in reviewing everything that currently sustains you and your family’s security. Food, housing, finances, health, support network–determine what is essential for you and your beloveds, locate the cleanest, best quality sources and procure them. Some peripheral interests or involvements may not make the cut, and this is good. Be pragmatic. Anchor your core choices with daily and weekly goals to meet your needs and carefully guide your steps along the new, precarious path towards global transformation.

While 2020 is ruled by the Metal element, representing the mental body, the common sense of smell, and precise boundaries in time and space, the Rat’s native element is Water, representing the spiritual body, the sense of hearing, timelessness and fluid movement. Metal supports Water in the Nourishing Cycle of the 5 Elements. Such a unique harmony of qualities means that this year has a stronger influence than years which have elemental and animal energy conflicts. We can embody the Metal and Water elements ourselves this year in how we approach every moment. Picture the clever Rat, with its long nose to the air, whiskers twitching, ears wide, locating the faintest smells and sounds leading to food and safety. Metal–keep your nose alert to the winds of change, Water–listen for guidance and be fluid in your response.

The final overriding quality to understand about this amazing year is it’s yang aspect–that quality of big, bright, loud, fast, up and out, social ACTION. Be quick about setting up your guideposts of values and goals for the year, and the decade, because yang years offer actionable opportunities in rapid succession. Here comes a great chance to do…oops, there it goes. No worries, another will come along soon, but not endlessly. Use the Metal Rat’s talent to define what’s truly useful to secure your future. You can trust that the clarity provided by the bold, noisy yang energy will light up the most excellent choices for you like a beacon. Venture out into the wider world and leap into the fray with confidence, once you have your internal housekeeping done. Armed with fresh clarity of purpose and redefined lifestyle priorities, you can face the coming decade of change and transformation with a secure, well stocked home base and the generous grace to help others do the same.