What the Chinese Lunar New Year has to teach us about 2025: Year of the Snake 2025 Leadership Lessons
The year to shed old skin and embrace the mystery of change
As we welcome the Chinese Lunar New Year, I find myself pulled into the deeper wisdom offered by the Chinese zodiac. I'm no expert in feng shui, but I adore the Chinese New Year because it offers more guidance on the theme of the new year than the western new year does (“new year, new you!” isn’t exactly specific).
The Chinese Lunar New Year also feels like a second chance at a reset, giving us a few weeks of normal life after the busy holiday season. As someone born in the Year of the Snake, I look forward to a year of fullness and growth. I'd like to share the key themes of the Snake that resonate with me and offer them as inspiration for those seeking guidance in the coming year. These Year of the Snake 2025 leadership lessons hold particular relevance for those navigating personal and professional transitions.
Yin vs. Yang Years
Before I dive into the hidden meanings behind the Snake, let’s first look at the toggle of this being a Yin year. In the Chinese Zodiac calendar, years ending in even numbers are Yang, while those ending in odd numbers are Yin. 2025 is a Yin year, which is an important lens to view the Snake themes.
In Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang are two opposing but complementary forces. They exist in the natural world and within individuals. Neither is better, both are necessary in balance.
Yin represents an introspective, feminine, and nurturing energy. Yang represents a masculine, active, assertive way of being. So as we talk about the theme of transformation that the snake represents, the Yin quality makes this a more subtle process. Think of a small fire versus the stick of dynamite that came with the Yang energy of 2024.
This feels particularly relevant to those of us who (like me) just love our lessons served extra spicy. Not every change has to be rough; this is a year to embrace the lessons that we can learn with softness. That’s one of the key Year of the Snake 2025 leadership lessons—transformation doesn’t have to be forceful. Sometimes, the most meaningful shifts come from gentle introspection.
The Mystery and Duality of the Serpent
On the outside, the Chinese Zodiac confers wonderful characteristics to the Snake: wisdom, intuition, and even fertility. But much like snakes in the real world, they also have a deadly side.
Chinese texts speak of snakes as being linked to death. Many species of snake bites are lethal, and they dwell in underground caves. They live in mystery. Their form, their slithering movement, inspires fear in many people.
I love this duality. I’m not only a Chinese Zodiac Snake, I’m also a Western astrology Gemini. My cofounder used to tell me I had Work Mode and Play Mode, and they were extremely distinct sides of me. I used to long to be one personality at all times, but embracing the mystery of what side comes up is part of the fun.
The deeper I go into working with clients on their own professional and personal transitions, the more I learn to embrace the mystery of change. At Downshift, we teach professionals in transition to embrace the liminal space—this is what comes after loss. It’s the wandering space, the Neutral Zone as William Bridges calls it, the place of lostness. While many people fear this space, I lean into the mystery, the newness, the magic of this land. This is the land of the serpent. It wanders into crevices and tucks into corners, leaving no stone unturned. What if we could embrace our confused times with that amount of curiosity and exploration? This is another one of the Year of the Snake 2025 leadership lessons: allowing ourselves to explore uncertainty with openness and trust.
Shedding Old Skin
Snakes have the unique ability to shed their skin. In the animal kingdom, animals shed their skin to remove parasites, heal wounds, and grow beyond the limitations of their external covering.
When humans transform, we often don’t look that different from one moment to the next. We certainly don’t leave behind a complete physical copy of our skin! Snakes have the ability to see what they left behind. And when they wriggle out of it, they do it with a kind of ease. They aren’t writhing in pain or screaming out or resisting. They simply, slowly, wriggle out of what no longer serves them.
I find myself going through my own wriggling process as I lean into my role as a coach and facilitator. I spent the last four years questioning this role, wondering if that meant I was no longer a get-shit-done operator. But recently I’ve been relaxing into my new role. I’m shedding my old way of identifying myself with less of my existential fears. The Snake has much to teach me.
I see Snake energy weave its way into my relationships with my coaching clients. Just as the Snake moves with ease and grace through the mystery of change, I strive to hold space for my clients, allowing them to shed their old patterns and beliefs and emerge with renewed clarity and purpose. The Snake’s mark is everywhere.
Embracing the Feminine
The snake goddess in ancient Chinese mythology is a creator deity. She has a human head and snake form. She is the goddess of creation and fertility, representing the Great Mother. The Snake’s representation of the feminine on top of a Yin year means we double down on nurturing energy.
The feminine is a side of myself that I've danced with but not fully embraced. The Snake forces me to assess the dominant masculine element of my life that has me constantly pointed forward in motion. As a coach, I hold space for leaders going through big challenges, and I'm embracing what it means to carry the energy of love and nurturing. This feminine energy grounds people so their fears can be soothed and they can move forward.
I’m still figuring out how to imbue my daily life and work with more of this energy. I’m shifting from an older paradigm of productivity, efficacy, and outcomes to a more integrated paradigm of embodiment, flow, and presence. I still care about results, but the way I move through the world matters to me. I long to move with the ease and flow of the Snake—another key theme in the Year of the Snake 2025 leadership lessons.
Reflection Prompts for 2025
As we navigate the year ahead, may we all find the courage to shed our old skins, to embrace the subtle transformations that lead to growth, and to honor the creative, nurturing energy within us all.
Here are a few prompts for you to deepen with the Yin Snake of 2025:
How can I embrace my own transformative process this year, shedding old patterns or beliefs that no longer serve me?
In what areas of my life can I bring more balance between my masculine and feminine energies? How might this impact my relationships, work, or personal growth?
Where in my life am I being called to slow down, turn inward, and allow for more subtle, yin-like transformation?