In the context of the year, the Ox symbolizes the effort needed to pull ourselves out of winter’s darkness and into the promise of spring. After facing the year’s darkest aspects and our own shadows, the Ox embodies the commitment to self-improvement and gradual growth.

Some people naturally have a "damp" constitution, meaning their bodies are more prone to retaining moisture, especially if they have weak digestion or tend to eat cold, raw foods. Others may be more prone to heat as well, where stress, spicy foods, or alcohol…

When we think of grief, most often there is an aversion to the emotion, as it is (correctly) associated with periods of mourning: death, dispossession, loneliness and sudden, difficult changes. It is important to remember, however, that grief is the body's way of letting the waves of pain these moments bring up wash over and through us, so that we can come to terms with the world as it is, in spite of how we would like it to be.

In Chinese cosmology, this month represents the moment when Yin and Yang come together and transform into one another, with the contracting Yin energy of the autumn and winter suddenly reversing and expanding into the Yang energy of light returning and growing in the world. At the same time…

Pigs represent the start of Winter in the lunar calendar, and at the same time they are also the final animal in the Zodiac cycle. Pigs are therefore symbols of both beginnings and endings, and this duality is meaningful: the energy of the Pig relates to…

This is a way to conceive of polarities not as oppositional– like light and darkness in a battle for supremacy–but rather as complementary. Light and dark complete one another and co-exist within each other. In the world at large, we see how...

As autumn settles in, colder weather and gray skies invite us to cozy up indoors. The Chinese zodiac symbol of the Dog perfectly mirrors this seasonal shift. What’s the first thing...

Let’s take a look at what the Chinese lunar calendar is, how it differs from the Gregorian calendar, and how the zodiac symbols are mapped onto this calendar...