New Skin, Sacred Beginnings: Renewal in the Year of the Wood Snake
The snake has long symbolized transformation — shedding the old to make room for the new. In the year of the Wood Snake, this imagery feels especially potent. Just as the snake must release its old skin, we too are invited to let go of what no longer serves us. This isn’t just symbolic; it reflects how our bodies, cycles, and spirits are designed to move.
Shedding as a Natural Process
Snakes shed because they must. The skin that once protected them eventually becomes too tight, too rigid, or too worn out. Holding on would only keep them from growing.
Women experience a similar process. Each month, our bodies move through a biological shedding that is necessary for renewal. Beyond our cycles, we also shed in other ways — habits, beliefs, expectations, and even relationships that no longer align with our health or who we are becoming.
When we resist this natural release, we stay stuck. When we honor it, we create space for balance, clarity, and healing.
Returning to Our Roots
Trees are stronger in the fall — not when they cling to their leaves, but when they let go of what no longer serves them. Their strength is in trusting their roots to hold them steady, remembering who they are at the core.
Maybe our power lies there too… in the release, in returning to our authentic selves. For me, coming back to my roots means returning to my core values — the unshakable truths that ground me no matter how chaotic the season becomes.
As a Projector in Human Design with a 3/5 profile, my path is about deep observation, discernment, and sharing wisdom through lived experience. Strength isn’t about holding everything together; the true essence of strength is self-control, trust, and alignment.
This eclipse season has pushed me to lay an old version of myself to rest: the fear, the doubt, the striving. Like the snake, I’m shedding as we move into October. The lessons aren’t all complete, but I see them with new eyes. Patterns are closing. Intuition is sharp.
The Cosmos & Transformation
Eclipses mirror this rhythm of endings and beginnings. They often bring abrupt closures, but also open unexpected doors. Like the snake, eclipse energy asks us to trust what we cannot yet see.
September carried chaotic, friction-filled energy. But friction often precedes growth. It was a month of refinement, of trusting God’s hand even when mine felt unsteady.
October always feels like a threshold month — a place where we’re invited to pause, reflect, and gather the wisdom of both shadow and light. In Human Design, the gates moving through October mirror this rhythm beautifully:
Gate 18 calls us to refinement — to name what isn’t working and shift it.
Gate 48 reminds us that wisdom lives beneath shadow.
Gate 57 invites us to tune into intuitive clarity.
Gate 32 teaches us endurance, persistence, and resilience.
Gate 28 dares us to face struggle head-on and emerge stronger.
Together, these gates tell the story of October: discernment, wisdom, clarity, persistence, and courage. This isn’t a month that coddles — it’s a month that shapes. And when we answer its call with open hearts, October becomes less about survival and more about transformation.
All of this mirrors what our bodies already know: cycles of chaos and refinement, of shedding and anchoring, of letting go and growing deeper roots.
When Shedding Feels Like Missing
Shedding isn’t always neat or painless. Sometimes it feels like grief.
Recently, I found myself missing someone deeply. I wanted to share my day, to hear his voice, to laugh together. But I held the boundary I had set: no more energy without effort.
The ache of longing was real, but it became a kind of shedding — releasing control, surrendering timing, and trusting the process. I know I’m not alone in this. We’ve all felt the ache of letting go, whether in love, health, or identity.
This is the same wisdom our bodies teach us: there are times to lean in, and times to let go. Times to pursue, and times to surrender. Renewal often begins in the quiet space where we miss what was, but allow it to fall away.
Balance & Healing Through Cycles
This is why I teach women to live in sync with their cycles — because our bodies already mirror this truth. Each phase carries wisdom:
Power (Menstrual): Honor release with rest, warmth, and nourishing foods.
Manifestation (Follicular): Welcome fresh energy with creativity, lighter foods, and new projects.
Prickly (Ovulation Dip): Listen to your body, support detox pathways, and manage stress with intention.
Nurture (Luteal): Slow down, prepare for release, and ground in restorative practices.
When we adapt food, movement, and self-care to these rhythms, we stop fighting against ourselves and start flowing with the divine design of our bodies.
The Sacred Beginning
Renewal doesn’t mean starting over from scratch. It means carrying forward wisdom while leaving behind what no longer serves.
Whether it’s the beginning of a new cycle, navigating perimenopause, or stepping into life after a divorce, every phase can be a sacred beginning. Like the snake, like the trees in autumn, like the eclipses, our bodies remind us: there is always new skin waiting, always a new chapter ready to unfold.
Closing Reflection
The Wood Snake year whispers: growth isn’t always about adding more, but about releasing what weighs us down.
Where are you giving your power away? Are you trusting your choices? What if you believed that if God is leading you, you cannot go wrong?
Whether you’re navigating PMS, perimenopause, or the ache of change, remember this: shedding isn’t an ending. It’s the doorway to balance, healing, and sacred new beginnings.
At Cultivated Health, I help women align their lifestyle with their hormonal rhythms so they can shed what no longer serves and step into vibrant health.
✨ Are you ready to begin your sacred new chapter? Let’s walk this journey together.
