Insights into 2025 from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine

Year after year, spring sprouts, summer grows, autumn harvests, and winter stores. It seems to be a cycle, but it is different every year.

 2024, the Year of the Wood Dragon has entered its last season. It is the time to plan for next year’s care. According to the rules of five movements and six qi dynamics, 2025, the Year of the Yin Wood Snake, is a Metal deficiency fortune. The organs corresponding to metal are the lungs and large intestine. Therefore, the aggravation and recurrence of diseases caused by environmental energy are mainly reflected in the deficiency problems of the lungs and large intestine. For example, chronic tracheal and bronchial diseases, chronic asthma, pulmonary heart disease, sadness, and discomfort in the chest, ribs, shoulders, and back caused by lung qi deficiency may recur. Chronic abdominal bloating, hemorrhoids, bloody stools, senile constipation, and inability to let emotions be released caused by significant intestine qi deficiency may be aggravated. Preventions need to be implemented in daily life.

As you already know, the whole world is connected in TCM theory. The foremost fortune of 2025 is the metal deficiency, and the connecting elements are also affected. Metal controls the wood and is controlled by fire. When the metal is insufficient, the fire and wood become more active. If you remember what we mentioned in the 2024 annual Fortune, the world entered a new fire cycle era in 2024. The central and western United States have entered the new 30-year wood era, superimposing the next three years of fire prosperity in 2025 （wood-fire), 2026 (fire-fire), and 2027 (fire-earth (a wood warehouse earth)). Vigorous wood and fire energy from the environment will manifest as excessive fire in the liver, gallbladder, and heart. People will see more headaches, dizziness, vertigo, high blood pressure, acid reflux and heartburn, mouth sores, dryness of the mouth and tongue, manic depression, irritability, nasal congestion, or nosebleeds than before. If your family members have heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or underlying heart disease, you should pay more attention to daily precautions; the key to maintaining a balanced life will be gently clearing fire and detoxing. Avoid excessive spices, and eat a bit of bitter flavors such as grapefruit, pomelos, and bitter melon, which will help cool the system. Mild pungents like cinnamon twigs, perilla, acrid, and cooling food like mint and chrysanthemum will help disperse the fire.

According to the principle of the generating cycle, the earth generates metal, and metal generates water. If metal is insufficient, excess earth and insufficient water will result. The second half of 2025 is dampness and heat accumulation, which will insult people's digestive systems. We should pay attention to the stagnation caused by weakened spleen transportation and transformation functions, which makes us suffer from indigestion, bloating, acid reflux, edema, etc. If the blockage lasts for a long time, generating more heat and turbid phlegm is easier, so people should eat damp-heat-clearing foods such as mung beans, coix kernels, cucumbers, watercress, bean sprouts, watermelon, winter melon, etc. To help smooth the flow of Qi, it is appropriate to use some tangerine peel, roses, mint, radish, perilla, sandalwood, etc., as food or aromatherapy. When dampness and heat are intertwined, the overall water metabolism will not be smooth, and Yang Qi cannot be stretched. Therefore, people with kidney and urinary system diseases should take preventative measures by cooperating with Tai Chi/ Qi Gong movements and herbal food therapy.

Regarding the home layout, 2025 is inappropriate for renovating rooms and gardens in your properties' southeast and northwest directions. Attention must also be paid to rooms and gardens in the entire north location. The center of the residence must be kept very clean and bright to prevent debris accumulation and ensure fresh air flow. These are particularly beneficial to the owner's health.

In the rooms in the south of the residence, care should be taken not to create too much wind when keeping the air fresh. If there are water pipe leaks, they must be repaired immediately. To enhance wealth accumulation, you can appropriately add gold and yellow furnishings, metal ornaments, and money trees.

People preparing to have a baby can relocate the bedroom to an east facing or located at the east of the house, or change the bed to a direction east of the bedroom. The room should be kept clean, bright, and warm. Grapes and pomegranates can be placed in the yard/balcony east of the property.

 People who hope that their careers will go smoothly and their children's school work will progress can relocate the working area and study room to a west-facing or a room located in the west direction of the house and place some healthy and fresh evergreen plants with large leaves to adjust and help their fortune.

People born in the year of the Snake, Tiger, Monkey, or Pig will take on more challenges in 2025, and some will travel more frequently. 2025 is a good year for people with these zodiac signs to get married, have children, start a business, and invest in real estate to initiate good fluctuations and neutralize passive changes proactively.

Everything we have experienced in the past and what is about to happen is a gift from God. It will ultimately guide us to cultivate our inner selves, strengthen our bodies, and become a better version of ourselves. In traditional Chinese medicine, we read the movements and changes in advance not to challenge nature but to adapt to the environment and better adjust our physical and mental state to achieve a natural balance with ourselves, others, and the environment.

I hope everybody has a happy and healthy New Year!