Polarity Matters

The 子 Rat is one of the four so called Peach Blossoms you might find in a Ba Zi. The other three are 卯 Rabbit, 午 Horse and 酉 Rooster. The main element of the Rat is yang Water, for the Rabbit it’s yin Wood, for the Horse it’s yang Fire and for the Rooster it’s yin Metal. Except for the Horse who has Earth hiding in the middle of all their Fire, these Peach Blossom branches are purely one element. People seem to be attracted to the intensity of a single element more than a mix of them. Maybe the purity is intoxicating?

Each one of the Peach Blossoms can be polarizing. They tend to focus energy. If you have a Rat in your day or year pillar, it’s the Rooster that is your Peach Blossom star. It should be an interesting year for Rats, particularly 1972 Water Rats like Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Obviously, with a name like Peach Blossom, it invokes the properties of a peach blossom in real life. Peach blossoms are sexy, meaning that we are attracted to pretty things that smell good and turn into a sweet treat. When someone smells right to you, well then it’s game on isn’t it? And if they don’t smell right to you, it’s game over. Even if your sense of smell is not that keen, ask yourself if this is true and I think you will find it is.

What I find sort of mysterious about the Peach Blossom branches is that even though they are Earthly Branches, they seem to attract and interact with energy from every level of existence. I was once taught that all the things we are attracted to in life are the same things that attract spirits and ghosts. Why else would anyone place flowers on a grave or incense, food and cigarettes on an altar?

When you see one of these Peach Blossom signs in a natal chart, it usually focuses the elemental dynamics. That is often a helpful thing.* When you see two or three Peach Blossoms in a natal chart, you might notice that the energy flow is variable, meaning the person might have trouble with finding a current and traveling with it for some time. Their career may be broken up into phases. They may find it difficult to stick with their long term goals.

If a person has all four Peach Blossoms in their natal chart, meaning all four pillars are Peach Blossoms, well – that’s a very different story.

The advantages of these Peach Blossom stars is that they generate charm and charisma, attracting others’ attention to you. A potential disadvantage of having the Peach Blossom star is becoming over attached to your preferred brand of focus. I think that might be a foundation of addiction, because addiction sometimes accompanies a Rat, Rabbit, Horse or Rooster in a Ba Zi. A Peach Blossom often can signal addiction and if you think the only possibilities are gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex or food your imagination might be too limited to be a diviner!

Only two of the Peach Blossom stars have what is called the self clash: Horse and Rooster. I think there may be a self clash for Rabbit and Rat too even that’s not in compliance with the rules of Ba Zi. Maybe I will write about that another time.

What does the Wood Snake year have in store for the Rat? Some pretty good stuff. That’s the thing about being a Rat, even when you’re riding the wheel down, luck is never far away. Maybe that’s because the Rat is everywhere and travels everywhere. They see more opportunities.

I started off talking about 桃花 Peach Blossoms, because the Rat is the deep striking Peach Blossom for the Wood Snake year. Some Rats may have already noticed that regardless of how much effort they are putting into their work they are getting attention. For Rats who want to take that a step further, do put in the effort. Attention and popularity are great for the dopamine for sure, but these days attention is also money. There’s less money in circulation so you may want to strategize about what’s next, making hay now while the sun shines.

When you’re prone to getting attention on a regular basis, the attention can be beneficial or not. Too much attention can also lead to some weird situations where people (and spirits or ghosts) become addicted to their idea of you. They may want to be attached to you and stay around you more than you are comfortable with. In a different year, your fears about negative repercussions of your popularity might be more pressing. In the year of the Wood Snake the Rat can be assured that if you find yourself in any kind of harrowing situation, you will likely be okay.

Rats are charmers, but be careful not to overstep when it comes to how charming you think you are. You have good luck this year but you may still get indications from others that you are too much. This is a timing issue right? I mean, you haven’t changed that much. Keep working on other projects that will be satisfying when content creation isn’t paying enough to be satisfying any more. If you don’t have a savings account, open one now if you can.

Each year there are four 神煞 Shen Sha that everyone would like to have in their natal chart: Sun, Moon, Fortune Virtue and Dragon Virtue. This year the 龍徳 Dragon Virtue belongs to the Rat – good news! Right when Rats could really use a solid opportunity to change their reputation here it is. Maybe over the last five years you’ve taken advantage of having a finger in every pie? Maybe you’ve been too discouraging to people who wanted your support – due to the way you provided it? Have you stunted anyone’s growth without meaning to?

All of these are potential, not necessarily actual mistakes for a Rat, they can do plenty of good too. A Rat can learn. If there’s anything you want to change about the way people think about you Rat, I know in 2025 you will figure out a way to do it. Don’t be afraid to take a radical approach, and pre-clash yourself by making reparations where they are due. The Fire Horse of 2026 will be here before you know it.

See what I mean about Rat luck? The Universe is ready to assist your reputation makeover now. In 2026 it will be the Rat’s turn to be clashed but 2025 is where they can make a pre-emptive strike on mitigating it. Clash is meant to bring change, of course the Rat gets a head start. This is what it’s like to be number one. Value your privileges!

As if this is not enough good luck, there’s more. Push the envelope with any changes you want to make because in this Wood Snake year Rats will find that what is wrong can and probably will be made right. Again, you don’t have to put in too much effort, however, more might mean a bigger reaping. You might choose to involve yourself in projects that need to be restarted or restructured – get them back on track. Anywhere you see bad luck your presence might change that if you see what is needed and turn an eye to practical and mundane matters.

While there will be some money challenges for the Rat in 2026, in 2025 that is not the case. It’s likely you’ll be doing well financially. Invest in worthy causes this year, and your investments will grow. I’m not just talking about stocks and such, I’m mostly talking about people and good works. Whatever is happening to someone else could also happen to you. Look around in your immediate environment. Who needs help? If you needed help, wouldn’t you want someone to notice? It never hurts to rack up some good deeds.

In the Year of the Wood Snake, problems will tend to be offset by the Rat’s good luck and people may perceive you as turning bad things to good. The Fire that you usually want to control is actually favorable for you now. Give it a chance to grow. Just in case you are confused about your luck and power – don’t hurt the things that make you happy.

*Ask J.D. Vance who was born in a Wood Rat year (1984). His Rat brings his success element into focus.