Autumn Update
We’re moving through an interesting stretch of the year 💫. The midpoint of autumn—the equinox—arrives later this month 🍂, while Lunar New Year won’t come until mid-February 2026, unusually late. That delay stretches out the sensation of uncertainty, as if the year itself is suspended in midair.
The Yin Wood Snake year has already taken us through a wild spring (wood season 🌱) and summer (snake’s native fire 🔥). Yin Wood Snake energy is deep, malleable, and uncertain, so monthly and daily influences tend to ring louder than usual. Right now, we’re in a Yang Wood Monkey month 🐒—fast, unstable, unpredictable—and with eclipse season layered on top 🌑✨, the result is an immature, rudderless two months. Wood Rooster 🐓 follows, carrying similar instability. In other words: no one quite knows what they’re doing, nor what to make of what others are doing. But it feels big.
Here’s the important part: it’s not really about whether the rest of the year gets “easier.” It’s about when the year itself “clicks”—when we finally catch its bhava, or underlying vibe. Every year has that moment, when its flavor becomes clear: “oh, that’s the year THAT happened.” Once we grasp it, the challenges don’t necessarily vanish, but we know what we’re working with. We can adjust. We get it.
This year, that click has already happened. Unlike the last two Snake years (2001 Metal Snake, 2013 Water Snake 🐍), which crystallized in autumn/winter—2001 being marked globally by September 11—this year’s essence revealed itself earlier. We already know what this Snake year “is,” at least as much as anyone can in a Snake year (which is not much, haha).
Looking ahead: after this Yang Wood Monkey / Wood Rooster turbulence, we move into a Fire Dog lunation 🐕🔥 followed by a Fire Pig 🐖🔥. Expect some shaking of foundations, perhaps people beginning to locate their spines (thus far unavailable). But action may not yet be ripe. Broadly, the rest of autumn into winter ❄️ should feel less intense than the opening half of the year.
And remember: whatever unfolds globally, your personal journey will filter through your own cycles—yearly, decade-based, and your natal chart. If you’d like me to look at your specific chart, just reach out directly.
Most of all: YOU DON’T NEED ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF WHAT IS 💖. Snake time invites us inward, into the mystery, into what can’t be grasped. If you can enjoy it, lean in. If you can’t, simply rest. The light will return. Just let it be dark. The years ahead will grow brighter and clearer 🌕🌟.
Good luck, and good courage.
[Did you miss the annual Year of the Snake Talk that was posted at Lunar New Year? Still relevant! Listen to the full recording by clicking here!]
[Want to study Chinese Polestar Astrology with Anne? Our new group is forming now, called Snake Assembly, and we will begin in October. Reach out directly to Anne and watch the Chinese Astrology page here.)