Year of the Dragon

Welcome to the Year of the Dragon, the one year that is more than capable of getting us out of the doldrums of recent years, with a chance from 10th February 2024 to 29th January 2025 for a major shot in the arm and a chance to reboot our lives.

The Dragon does not watch from the sidelines and you will find it hard to remain a passive bystander in your own life, with a real chance to reinvent yourself, as the Dragon itself has done. The Dragon is the only one of the 12 Animal signs that is not real – it is a manufactured invention or a product of our imagination. While we only need to look around or drive into the country and we can see an Ox, a Horse, a Rabbit, a Pig or even an Ox, you can’t go somewhere to see a Dragon, for they don’t exist. The Dragon itself is not only an invention, but it borrows much of itself from real world animals and takes on their essence, such as the body of a snake, the horns of a rooster, the head of an ox, the mouth of a crocodile, the claws of an eagle or the scales of a fish, with a diverse range of tools and resources to draw on.

If the Dragon can invent itself from scratch, then we can reinvent ourselves, taking on its bold sense that anything is possible.

The Dragon is bold and daring, making this a year for taking chances and choosing to go bigger and bolder. If you have thought of starting a new business, going after that job you have always wanted, follow a hobby, a passion or taking a chance at love, the Dragon can give you the confidence to give it a go. It is not about being the best, getting to the top of the food chain or even being a success in anyone else’s eyes, but about at least trying.

If at the end of your life, you were to look back and regret the things that you should have done or at least tried, then a Dragon year would have been the year to do it. Yet here we are, at the start of the Year of the Dragon and with it a chance for a fresh start, new beginnings or even a do over.

The Year of the Dragon is also said to be a lucky and auspicious year, but while luck might be on our side and the Dragon might want to bless the coming year, much of this is our ability to make our own luck. It is less that the Dragon is making this a lucky year and more that by giving us a sense of confidence and an unwillingness to remain a bystander in our own lives, and by giving us the courage to take action, take a few risks and by being prepared to fail that luck is more likely to find us.

In essence, the Dragon is not about whether we win or succeed at what we are aiming for and more that we have tried in the first place. You might not get everything you go after, but you can have fun trying. Whether you want to jump in the deep end or take small steps, the Dragon gives us the confidence to replace ordinary life experiences with extraordinary ones.

While the more gentle Year of the Rabbit was a soothing tonic after the more challenging Years of the Ox and Tiger, we are ready to come out of convalescence and start living life again. For the Dragon, it is not just about being but about really living and from 10th February 2024 right through to 29th January 2025, this is what we will have a chance to do.

The Dragon also encompasses the concept of generosity and especially generosity to others, though what goes around will often come around. One myth that personifies this, is the myth that explains why the Dragon is the fifth of the 12 Animals in the Chinese Zodiac and not the first. In the Great Race that determined the placement of the animals, racing across the heavens it was almost guaranteed that the Dragon would get there first.

However, as the Dragon was flying through the skies, he noticed that people were suffering because of a drought, which meant their crops were failing. Instead of flying on the Dragon stopped and took the time to make rain in order to save the crops. By doing so the Dragon was late and arrived fifth in the Great Race instead of first. However, for the Dragon it was never about winning and more about the journey, the people he could help on the way and the experience and that is the way to approach the Year of the Dragon in your own life.

The Dragon is about enriching your life and that doesn’t necessarily mean with riches themselves, but from the richness of life. However, as the Dragon is spontaneous and passionate, there could be times when you get frustrated or impatient if the things you want aren’t happening quickly enough. In which case, remember that you have until 29th January 2025 to embrace all that the Year of the Dragon has to offer.

At the same time, not all Dragon years are the same and this year, we have the Year of the Wood Dragon. Wood, combined with the Dragon’s influence makes this a good year for formulating and implementing ideas, new concepts and for working in collaboration with others.

The Wood Dragon is curious and wants to explore concepts, understand how things work and explore theories. This might be a year when we start to hear of a lot more discoveries in the world of medicine, science or archaeology or where our own journey of discovery might take us. The Wood Dragon is also more diplomatic, more willing to take the middle ground or let others take the glory. This is the less self centred of all Dragon years and a year where real success comes from when we all win.

Click here to read your Individual Year of the Dragon Horoscopes