Month of the Earth Monkey – Wu Shen- Yang Earth above–Yang Metal below

 August 7 – September 6  2012

Navigating along in the most complex times of 2012 to date, I do not need to remind you of how most extraordinary the road we traveled this year was. We may be reluctant to turn our heads to even look back: it was hair-raising and beautiful at the same time. There isn’t any ‘time’ to look back, the pace is so fast. Let’s look ahead instead. As we leave the fiery months of June and July behind we suddenly find ourselves at the foot of a mountain. Or a brick wall.

As we gaze up at the height and terrain of this new path, we are faced with a new set of challenges. How high and how far we each venture on this steep rocky road will be up to each individual. We could go well-prepared, plan ahead and enjoy the adventure or we can make it a lot harder on ourselves going at it without preparation and immersed in fear.

Yes, amazingly, we managed to reach the beginning of August. This year’s August falls on the lunar month of the Earth Monkey, ruled by Yang Earth – symbolic of a rocky mountain. Earth brings a more stable character to the Monkey, making him more reliable and focused. That Monkey curiosity and intelligence never skips a beat, which will be very helpful for all of us this month. These qualities can bring us a better perspective for the road ahead. Like in the event that some may just wake up and realize that their path is a dead-end street, the crafty Monkey energy could be there to help figure a way out.

The difficult task of the Earth Monkey is going to be to set us straight, and make us get our feet firmly back on the ground. Welcome to reality. If you remember, we started out on the mighty waters of this Water Dragon-ruled year, thinking we got on a cruise ship that will take us on a fun adventure. However, even adventures have their obstacles. As of now this year’s Water Dragon will find its greatest face-off with the powerful energies of Yang Earth. This could place us right in the middle of a mighty drama playing out on Terra Firma.

Before you throw up your arms and give up, let me remind you that the Dragon and the Monkey are good friends. Also good news: our Dragon is familiar with this territory, because its original source element is Yang Earth. So, as we navigate the constantly changing landscapes of 2012 we find that the August landscape will change more dramatically than in any other previous months. We can take the path to blend with the evolutionary flow of the cosmic waters: just living in the NOW. OR, some of us would prefer the hard road: climbing uphill battles on the seemingly harsh rocky roads and hills ahead. The current paradigm brings abundant choices: all we need is to use a bit more focus and careful discernment as to where we place our next steps.

 We know how clever and intelligent the Monkey sign is. As most Monkeys can’t help and also be clever pranksters, they could lead some unsuspected souls down a dead-end ravine just to get a good laugh. Fortunately, thanks to the sensible Earth element, the jokes may only be there to teach us to loosen up and lose the ignorance and pay better attention.

I am reminded how brave, nurturing and supportive the year’s ruler, the Water Dragon really is. More than ever, it encourages us to have faith in our own skills and abilities; to start using those extra set of skills we did not know we had until now. This August the tests are multi-fold: they can include mental puzzles, practical jokes, boot-camp-type physical endurance tests and more. It is not a month –or year- for slackers.

The rocky road ahead could very well end up being a smooth mountain path, or a steep, dangerous dry ravine: we will only know once we bravely begin the journey. There is no way to turn back, but to face the challenges ahead.

In summary, it will be an interesting time to see who is playing a joke on whom? How do we know we past the tests? When we get to the other side, we may likely stand up and laugh at ourselves. The Monkey managed to trick us to learn not to take the ride too seriously.

So dear fellow travelers: prepare well, both, mentally and physically, but make sure you laugh and enjoy the ride along the way, just like our friend the Earth Monkey: after all, life is a brilliant adventure.