Welcome to the Year of the Sheep! Or Goat! Or both! Depending on whom you ask. February 4th, 2015 is the first day of the Year of the Sheep/Goat in both the Chinese and Tibetan calendars – specifically the Year of the Female (or Yin) Wood Sheep/Goat. Although Chinese New Year’s Day and Losar (Tibetan New Year) will not be celebrated until the new moon on February 19th, the 4th is the start of this lunar cycle, and so really the first day of the related energy shift in both astrological systems.

Over the last few years, exploring the energy and meaning of the lunar New Year shift through astrology, imagery, and mythology has become one of my favorite posts to research and write. But I have to admit, despite having been born in a year of the sheep/goat myself (or maybe because of this), I initially found this…