Celebrating the Universal Year 8 and the Chinese New Year of the Dragon
Background
The Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year marks the start of the new year. The Chinese calendar is based upon the movements of the Sun and the Moon. It’s called a lunisolar calendar. It has also been referred to as the Yin, Xia, Lunar, or old Chinese calendar.¹
Although China has adopted the Gregorian calendar for official and business occasions, the traditional Chinese calendar is widely used to define 24 solar terms and traditional holidays and helps to choose a lucky day before important activities such as wedding or moving into a new house.¹
In 104 BCE, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE) approved a calendar reform that fixed the beginning of the year on the day of the first new moon after the sun enters the 11th sign of the solar zodiac, or the second new moon after the winter solstice. This is also the first day of the solar term known as “beginning of spring.²
The solar zodiac in Western Astrology refers to a cycle of constellations starting with Aries and ending with Pisces. Aquarius is the 11th sign corresponding to dates between January 21st and February 19th.³
The winter solstice in China, the shortest day and longest night of the year, occurs around the 21st December. So the Chinese New Year or Lunisolar Calendar Year begins on the day of the first new moon after January 21st or on the day of the second new moon after approx. 21st December.
Moon Phases 2024 – Lunar Calendar for Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Numerology
Numerology is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. Numbers carry spiritual significance and meaning, according to the Pythagoreans in the 6th century BC.⁴
We find ourselves universally in a Year 8 in 2024, which is calculated by adding the digits together — 2+0+2+4=8. A Year 8 is a powerful one and seeks to show us that anything is possible.⁴
The Universal Year Number is what colors the canvas of our world and our lives, and what flavours our collective experiences throughout the year.
2024 is the Year of the Dragon
The Chinese year of the Dragon is the fifth year of the 12-year-cycle of Chinese Zodiac animals. The old Chinese story (legend) behind this was that the Jade emperor ordered a race to select the 12 animals to be his personal guards. The animals arrived in the order of the cycle.
The Chinese Zodiac is based on 12 consecutive lunisolar years, observed to correspond to particular characteristics of 12 animals.
People born in the Year of the Dragon were born in 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, and 2024.⁵ Find out what Chinese Year you were born in by clicking here! The picture below shows the 12 Chinese animals.
“Dragons” are seen as intelligent and bold self-starters with big ambitions. They’re passionate about their goals and have the self-reliance, smarts, and charm to win over people, succeed at business dealings, and in general enjoy life!⁵
I was born in the Year of the Water Rabbit. I am a quadruple Virgo (with the Sun and 3 planets in Virgo) with Scorpio rising and a Leo Moon, according to Western Astrology.
Did you know that each Animal sign has a fixed element, one of metal / water / wood / fire / earth, and a fixed polarity, being either Yin (feminine) or Yang (masculine)?
Also, colors are associated with the elements.
The last Year of the Dragon was in 2012. The next will be in 2036.
But animal signs have a changeable element within a 60-year cycle consisting of 5 lots of 12 animals utilizing the 4 elements! Each month, day and hour are also associated with an animal and an element.
This means that the Wood Dragon and the other combinations of animal and element appear only once every 60 years.
10th February 2024 ushers in the Year of the Green (Wood) Dragon. It’s the Year of the Green (Wood) Dragon from 10th February 2024 until 28th January 2025.
Green and Wood denote growth and prosperity!
The Table below is a great resource showing the 60 year cycles of Chinese years from 1924 to 2044.
Exploring Chinese History :: Features :: Chinese Lunar Calendar :: The 60- Year Cycle
The Energies of the Year of the Green Wood Dragon
“Life is like a garden, you reap what you sow”
“You are the star of your own show”
2024, the Year of the Dragon is associated with the element of wood, which is associated with the colour green. Therefore, this year is specifically the Year of the Green Wood Dragon, sometimes referred to as the Year of the Green Dragon.
As we move from the Year of the Rabbit with its attendant love of home comforts and yearning for personal satisfaction, along with the Universal Year 7, which was about looking at the meaning of life and renewing our spirituality, into the Year of the Dragon, we build upon what we learned and upon the foundations created in 2023.
The dragon stands for connection, transformation, liberation, and the natural flow of life. It pushes us towards making wise decisions for our future and comes with the potential for significant choices.⁶
The wood element is all about getting things done, physical exercise, embracing change, and following your passions. But it’s also important to keep an eye on your emotional well-being and look after your liver and gallbladder health.⁶
Eat fresh foods and ditch fried, fatty foods, sugary foods, and high dairy products. Consume fibre such as legumes, whole-grain cereal and bread, make sure that you exercise regularly, keep your weight at a healthy level, and drink plenty of water to look after your gall-bladder.
Dantian Health states the following about 2024.
- The Year of the Wood Dragon symbolises strength, vitality, and new beginnings with confidence and courage.
- It offers countless opportunities for personal and professional achievements, encouraging boldness and pursuing dreams with creativity and passion.
- Wood Dragons in 2024 should embrace change and adaptability to unlock opportunities, while being mindful of potential challenges and utilizing their unique strengths for strategic moves.
- Recognise the potential health challenges associated with the Wood Dragon’s yang energy, particularly affecting the liver and gallbladder.
- Maintaining inner balance through relaxing activities like meditation and spending time outdoors is crucial during this period.
Master Steven Chen says on his Facebook page that the Year of the Rabbit and the Year of the Dragon combination is a match made in heaven:
Rabbits: Gentle, calm, and compassionate.
Dragons: Powerful, charismatic, and ambitious.
Together, they create a harmonious and happy relationship:
They balance each other out and bring out the best in one another.
Rabbits admire dragons for courage and confidence.
Dragons appreciate rabbits for kindness and support.
They share a common vision and work together to achieve goals.
As 2023 the Year of the Rabbit ends and merges into the Year of the Dragon on 10th February 2024 let the above characteristics support you in 2024!
The Year of the Green Wood Dragon and the Universal Year 8
2024 is said to be about flexibility, adaptability, growth, strength, vitality, confidence, discipline, action, courage, and believing in yourself and taking charge of your life.
Some people regard astrology and numerology as pseudo-science, yet their study and use has lasted, and their use began as long ago as the study and use of human endeavors such as astronomy.
People over millennia have observed recurring correspondences of energies and traits with astrological and numerological movements. The earliest evidence for astrology dates from the 3rd millennium BC, i.e. 3000 to 2001 BCE. In ancient times it was inseparable from astronomy.
Adding 2+0+2+4 gives the number eight for the Universal Year for 2024 in numerology.
Simone Matthews says that the last time we experienced a Universal 8 Year in numerology was 9 years ago in 2015. The next Universal 8 Year will be 9 years from 2024, i.e. in 2033.
Recall that the next Year of the Dragon (red Fire Dragon) will be in 2036 resonating with a Universal 11 Year (2+0+3=+6=11 and 11 is a master number so you don’t reduce it to 2 by adding 1 to 1). The last Year of the Dragon in 2012 (black Water Dragon) coincided with a Universal 5 Year.
There are a lot of combinations of the numerological Universal Year with the Chinese New Years. The next combination of Universal 8 Year and the Year of the Green Wood Dragon will be in the year 2204!
As 2024, the Year of the Green Wood Dragon is also a Universal 8 Year, it will be tinged or impacted by the energies of the number 8.
Simone Matthews states:
“The number 8 when turned side-ways looks like the infinity symbol or the central core of a toric field and that is exactly the energy of what the Number 8 is about. The Number 8 is expansive, connects you ‘as above, so below, as within’, and transforms your life on every level.
It’s the number of mystery & miracles that connects us with our powerful & spiritual natures through eternity.”⁷
So, in 2024 we will be reaping what we sowed in 2023 through employing our personal power, ambition, strength, courage, and resilience, while connecting to our spiritual core.
2024 is a Universal 8 Year in Numerology, the year of ‘Cosmic Weaving‘ — taking charge of your life, believing in yourself, and weaving your God given eternal light with grace. It’s a year of personal power, spiritual & material abundance, bringing your dreams into material reality, and having the courage to be assertive and operate from your true north.⁷
And combining this with the Year of the Green Wood Dragon portends a year of success and good fortune.
Wood energy is about flexibility, adaptability, and growth. Dragon energy is about strength, vitality, confidence, and courage.
Dantian Health says the wood dragon’s energy holds the following:
- Strength and Flexibility: Like the resilient boughs of an ancient tree, you’re endowed with an unyielding strength, paired with the ability to adapt gracefully to change.
- Nurturing Prosperity: The wood element fosters a fertile ground for your ambitions, watering the seeds of your dreams with abundance.
- Leadership and Innovation: As wood dragons harness their energy, they lead with creativity and wisdom, pioneering new paths for themselves and others.
Let the energy of 8 and the wood dragon’s energy guide your path in 2024 as you fearlessly chase your dreams, fueled by boundless creativity and unwavering courage.⁶
Astrology and numerology are used not to control our lives, but like anything else, to serve as guides to what we can tap into and to what might be.
References
1.Chinese culture: the Lunar calendar
2. The Lunar New Year: Rituals and Legends
3. The Western Astrology Zodiac Signs Cycle
4. Numerology: Why Do Numbers have Spiritual Meaning?
6. Green Yang Wood Year in Chinese Medicine
7. Numerology 2024 Universal Year 8 Cosmic Weaving
Fascinating Animals 
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