Read: The Year of the Sheep/Goat and what’s in store for us—a Buddhadharma perspective.

February 19th, 2015 is the second new moon after Winter Solstice, which marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year in Chinese Cosmology.

This year the new cycle also falls on the same date as Losar, the Tibetan New Year!

Known as the Sheep, Goat or Ram, it is considered the most feminine sign of the zodiac and corresponds in many ways to the sign of Cancer in western astrology.

This astrology system interprets how the five elements—or the alchemical forces of nature—affect our human experience. This year, Yin Wood mingles with the Yin Earth of Sheep.

The Spirit of Wood says to go with the flow of our creativity and imagination, with focus on our true nature for the most positive growth. Spirit loves beauty.

The Spirit of Earth encourages us to manifest the rich soil of our purpose through persevering action.

As we move into 2015, we are still strongly under the influence of the powerful and potentially tumultuous Wood Horse of last year. Sudden, unexpected changes and impulsive behaviors could still bring intensity this winter. It is a transitional time where either breakthroughs or breakdowns can occur.

The 2014 Horse tested us on many levels, centering more on our individual soul-searching while galloping at breakneck speed down our personal paths. Not the slower moving and deliberate Sheep, a community minded animal herding in a group consciousness focused on serving the greater good. We are in an extraordinary time of transition in human consciousness, shifting to higher group awareness.

The more kind and compassionate heart of the Sheep offers an opening for us to recognize how interconnected we really are, and cheers humanity on to choose peace over separation.

All this shifting, rearranging and adjusting can stir up some major confusing and chaotic energies out in the world as well as our inner lives. Use spiritual practices or whatever we can do to stay strong in our own center, solid in our purpose and platform. If we’ve done the homework of rooting out what we don’t want to take with us into the future, of letting go of patterns and relationships that are no longer our deepest desires, our path to manifesting what we want will be more open and available.

It’s Roto-Rooter time, folks! Now is the time to clean out whatever needs clearing, whether it’s letting go of negative mental and emotional patterns, doing a physical cleanse, jettisoning clutter, or a major space clearing of your environment. In the Tibetan tradition, Nyi-Shu-Gu, the next to the last day of the old year (February 17th) is a most powerful time to purify any negative energies in our homes and bodies from the previous year.

Personality of Wood Sheep:

Generosity, sustaining a strong and steady path toward goals, and keeping the peace are key qualities of Sheep Nature.

Known to be sympathetic, gentle, kind and compassionate, they can easily forgive and be understanding, always considering what’s in beneficial service to the good of all. There is an innocence and grace to Sheep, giving them an uncanny ability to attract helpful people and situations. This quality offers the opportunity to magnetize prosperity this year, and potentially from new sources. Being pacifists, they tend to make excellent listeners and are brilliant at problem solving.

The Sheep has high moral principles and a capacity for a rich inner life, an invitation to deepen on spiritual levels.  Expect to see more people choosing to take the high road. Home is important to Sheep, as is a deep connection to spending time in nature, our true home.

An aspect to watch for in others and ourselves is if this kindly sensitive sheep gets to be too passive, it’s prone to people pleasing and making unwise sacrifices for the sake of keeping peace. Resist any pressure to be persuaded to what others believe we should and should not do, and develop healthy boundaries. This can potentially regress to codependence and martyrdom. Not pretty. The caution is to not blindly follow the herd but to stay strong in one’s truth, trust our own judgment and listen to our own inner wisdom. Stay centered to be less thrown off balance by the demands and needs of others.

Some other challenging traits to watch for are non-direct and roundabout ways of communicating, being overcome by emotions and emotional reactions, and a tendency to worry. A lot.

Appearing subtle, reserved and quiet, and not so noticeable as the more audacious Horse, Sheep can still be surprisingly intense. Sheep has an inner Ram hidden inside, so best not to mess with them or take advantage of their kind nature. The Ram has great strength and is capable of powerful action and achievement. In the extreme they can be aggressive, and will be motivated to charge headlong against all obstacles. We will likely see more aggressive head cracking duals and conflict this year.

Challenges of Ram: locking horns, overly competitive, lawsuits, arguments, tempers flaring (your basic prickly behavior), making too many sacrifices, stubbornness and resistance.

Being clear about our vision of what we want to create this year, based on what truly inspires us is essential, as it has the potential to be greatly magnified. The Sheep strongly embodies the attractive principle, so retrain thoughts to focus on a higher vibration to attract beneficial connections.

Personal clarity is crucial in helping to connect with and attract others of like-mind. Its important to herd up with those on our same wavelength, people that inspire us rather than relationships that sap energy. Be passionate about our dreams and follow our hearts, choose love and not judgment, says the Sheep.

Teamwork, cooperation and collaboration are the magic elements this year, and are likely to generate more success in all arenas—whether it’s career, social change, or personal and romantic relationships. The more gregarious, good-humored aspect to the Sheep says have more social gatherings! With a softer heart, be open to creative ideas and new relationships coming in.

For those of us so inclined, be receptive to the multidimensional and subtle worlds in the intelligence of nature—collaborating with these beings helps both the evolution of the planet and that of humanity. Cultivating imagination is key.

Doing things on our own is not the name of the game this year, so make use of our groups and community, and co-create with beneficial alliances. Because this is a terrific time to begin a new project or business, partner up with colleagues and affiliates for achieving so much more than we could accomplish by ourselves. Sheep are known as the “agents of change!”

Bighorn sheep only need a two-inch space to get a foothold, a reminder that the openings for new beginnings may be small, but if acted upon in a timely manner they can be secured. Cultivate courage to remain in balance in unstable situations, and trust in our ability to land safely on our feet.

This is not a year to play it safe, so be courageous and go beyond fear and take the leap!

Creativity, Innovations, Art and Beauty.

The sheep is a very refined and sensitive creature, appreciating beauty in all forms. Let’s feed our souls by surrounding ourselves with beauty, particularly in nature. Immerse in the arts and creative projects, and commit to expressing imaginative and artistic gifts.

The spiral of the rams horns are a symbol of tremendous creativity, stimulating imagination and inspired innovations, with the energy to act on it. Interesting creative ideas and innovative inventions could go viral at lightning speed. Be creative, cut loose with imagination, trust the intuitive impulses and just go with it. It will help us stay in the flow, a creative flow that connects us to the quantum field, where we can gain access to symbols, dreams and ancient knowledge from other dimensions.

When these intuitive messages and flashes come, take inspired action immediately and trust—don’t over think it or some great opportunities could be missed!

Relephant Read: 

Dön Season: How to Survive the Next 10 days of Chaos.

Author: Gaela Morrison 

Editor: Emily Bartran

Photo: philhearing/Flickr