Make Love, Not War

For the Monkey, all relationships involve Water. This could be a saving grace for Monkeys who experience the Fire penalty in 2025. Only a thorough analysis of your Ba Zi will tell you what the heck this might mean. What I can say without a full analysis is that because the Dragon is followed by the Snake in the Cycle of 60, Monkeys are potentially still in a Water cycle in 2025.

I think the Monkey both loves Water and fears it. The challenge for all Monkeys is to learn to surf, maybe not literally, but metaphorically. Emotions are the ocean, you ride them to get to a new place. Try to avoid the waves and they will knock you around. Ignore your emotions and you might flounder.

To share how the Fire penalty might play out in real life, maybe you remember the Water Tiger year of 2022 when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock? Obviously that wasn’t a good year for Will, being clashed and experiencing the Fire Penalty too. Will Smith was born in 1968, an Earth Monkey year. Chris Rock, the slapee, was born in a Wood Snake year. So all three of the “players”, Tiger, Snake and Monkey, were there at that moment, but one player was unknown. In addition to Chris Rock making a joke that Will Smith thought was wrong, maybe Will was already raw due to the presence of a third party in his marriage.

In 2025, Jada Pinkett-Smith, born in a Metal Pig year, will be clashed. Is Will going to come to her rescue once again? I guess we will see.

When the Monkey is with their friends and associates, meaning the Dragon or Rat, Water, or wisdom, is being produced. Think about this for a moment. How do we gain wisdom? Often, we come to wisdom due to hardship pushing us to look for meaning. What I see is there is usually work involved. To learn is not a comfortable choice.

In the year of the Wood Snake I encourage you to pursue learning anyway Monkey. Pursue the changes you want, knowing that things are going to change regardless. The friends you choose, or no longer choose are a big theme for you this year. The flavor of your Water is dependent on the flavor of people you run with. If you don’t like the taste, make new friends. If you feel like no one understands you, become more articulate.

In more intimate relationships, the pairing of Snake and Monkey can produce Water too. This relationship has two distinct names in a Ba Zi: Secret Friends and Six Destructions. As it sounds, the relationship of Monkey and Snake goes deep and perhaps that’s what makes it feel threatening: the vulnerability that comes with intimacy. 2025 is the year to learn how you might want to change your rules about that – or not.

One possible outcome of the Fire Penalty is that both Snakes and Monkeys may be prone to breakups this year. Fire Monkey Jerry Hall learned this when she experienced the clash of Tiger along with the Fire penalty in 2022, but I don’t think that breakups are inevitable. Communication is the way to keep everyone safe regardless of outcome. Honesty will go a long way in any relationship when it comes to avoiding feelings of betrayal. Be kind too.

I know I’m kind of hammering away on this, but I want to say again that every relationship for Monkeys depends on Water, obviously suggesting that communication is always a live issue for the Monkey. The extreme yin and yang of this would be not talking enough or talking too much; nondisclosure vs info dumping. The challenge is to stay somewhere in the middle.

I’ve mentioned some general meanings of Water…what is Water to the Monkey?

With Monkey having 庚 yang Metal as their main element, Water is what they produce: words, actions, offspring, any creations. Water is a healthy outlet as well as a potential source of fear. This is true for the Rooster too. Since the Water element is very much related to words and emotions, when there is an excess of Water it can be overwhelming for the Metal.

When there is too much Water a Monkey could get lost or drained. A Monkey can be overwhelmingly productive and overwhelmingly emotional, anxious, ill, or depressed all due to the same element. All of these things can happen at the same time. When it does, it’s kind of dramatic. It’s hard to decide what to do to change things.

The Year of the Wood Snake will ask you to make some choices and make relationships a high priority. Healthy and supportive relationships will make the second half of the year smoother. You may have the opportunity to form an alliance with someone in a position to help you with your career in the first half of the year, possibly a mentor or advisor.

Getting more money in this Year of the Wood Snake might seem like the way to fix everything. I think many of us will feel that way in 2025, and I’m not saying you’re wrong, however you (and others) may feel driven to go further than you would normally to make that happen. Be assertive about pursuing wealth but avoid being too aggressive. That usually doesn’t work and I don’t think it’s your style. Don’t let fear drive you.

While it’s true that the Fire Penalty falls on the Monkey this year, know that you are not singled out, there’s enough Fire to go around to affect the Tiger too. Without knowing the role of Fire in your Ba Zi, there’s not much more to say about that except Monkeys may be stressed and/or distracted, so take care with driving and other travel. You could be more accident prone in 2025. If you can commute less, that will be a bonus.

The Fire Penalty may also make it prudent for Monkeys, Tigers and Snakes to watch for situations where, unbeknownst to you, a third party is involved. If this happens, don’t rush to judgement, but do make firm decisions and stick with them. This is the way. If you think the Fire Penalty might apply to a love relationship in your life, you could change the game by improving your communication with your partner now. The same could be said about the Monkey’s family relationships.

The coming energy of the Wood Snake suggests Monkeys might choose loneliness instead of participating in all these absurdities of life. Withdrawal probably won’t change anything other than whether or not you have company. I think Monkeys were lonely in 2024 despite the Dragon’s presence. The Dragon isn’t always the best supporter of the Monkey even though you would think they would be. This could be due partly to the remoteness of the Dragon, and excessive Water again.

In 2025 there’s also good news for Monkeys – of course! You are a Nobleman this year so improve your flexibility. Limber up. Find ways to do your good deeds without overstretching yourself. Remember this advice if financial or other circumstances are making you feel like you are flying by the seat of your pants. Venturing into further risk is not a good solution for your situation. Minimize potential losses. It’s okay not to give out loans.

I’ll say again – much if not all of the potential bad luck a Monkey might have in 2025 can be neutralized by clear communication. Avoid clouding it with sarcasm or too much humor. Make it constant, you will need to do it more than once. Make sure you are understood.

And finally, here’s the best news about 2025 for Monkeys. You are under the influence of the 太陰 Tai Yin or Moon, and the Moon can help you get your life organized, re-organized or even help you to set up a new business. The yin energy of the Moon will help Monkeys get things done that are very useful and practical, but maybe not things you would think of as fun or social media worthy. You might be doing things like filling out an applications, possibly for a business license or opening a bank account. You might not have things to show off yet but you will.

The Sheep go went through this very process last year, step by step. They can tell you there will be lots of things to do that are tedious, and yet they are very important. Remind yourself of this when you might tire of working with so many details. Get help with that if you need it.

When you have the Moon on your side and you’re feeling it, it’s time to break away from the establishment, man. Set up something of your own. Of course, when to do that is your decision. If you want to know how soon you could make money, how a potential new business fits you elementally, or when to open we could address those questions in a reading.

Note to Monkeys: For further revelations, read the 2025 Fortune for the Snake and Tiger too.