Watercolour on Cut Paper, €60

According to the Chinese Calendar this year was the year of the snake. It still is until February 2026. In many traditions there appear to be cycles coming to an end. The snake as it sheds its skin physically leaves old parts of itself behind. It feels, personally and in a wider sense, that we are being asked to do that now. Things that maybe worked for a long time for some, brought growth and prosperity, are no longer working. Old political, financial, interpersonal ways of relating need an upgrade or even a fundamental redoing.

The process of shedding a skin and exposing a new one is no doubt uncomfortable and vulnerable for the snake. The old skin temporarily clouds the eyes, it slows them down. All they can do is wait. Maybe the new skin then is soft and porous. They need to move a little more carefully. When they finally move off again they don’t take the old skin with them. Maybe they thank it, then they move forward with the wisdom they have gained. Gleaming and powerful. Until the next shedding.