Year of the Snake Altar Guide
Altar Guide for the Year of the Snake & New Moon
1. Cleansing the Space
Begin with a ritual cleanse. Burn mugwort or sandalwood incense, both linked to transformation in Chinese medicine.
Understand the power of these herbs:
✧ In Chinese medicine, mugwort (艾草, ài cǎo) is a powerful herb linked to healing, protection, and transformation. It’s used in moxibustion to warm and stimulate qi, improving circulation and dispelling cold.
In mysticism, mugwort symbolizes purification, intuition, and spiritual awakening. It’s burned for protection, enhances dreams, and is used during seasonal rituals to cleanse energy and invoke renewal.
Mugwort embodies transformation, aligning perfectly with the Year of the Snake and new moon energies.
✧ In Chinese medicine, sandalwood (檀香, tán xiāng) is revered for its calming, grounding, and healing properties. It is used to harmonize qi, calm the mind, and support the heart and spleen meridians, particularly for reducing anxiety, restlessness, and emotional imbalances.
In mysticism, sandalwood represents spiritual connection, purification, and tranquility. It is burned in rituals and meditations to cleanse energy, invite divine protection, and deepen one’s spiritual awareness. Its soothing aroma is thought to open the heart and third eye, fostering clarity and connection with higher realms.
Sandalwood embodies serenity and alignment, making it a perfect addition to rituals honoring transformation and spiritual growth.
2. The Snake and Its Elements
Add symbols of the snake, like a figurine or coiled rope, representing renewal. Bring in the Wood Element with bamboo or fresh green plants to reflect growth and transformation.
3. New Moon Magic
Use dark crystals like obsidian or black tourmaline to honor the moon’s mystery.
Aquarian energy is all about individuality and humanitarianism. Add two things to your altar, one that represents your unique nature and one that represents your service to humanity.
4. Balancing the Five Elements
Incorporate the Wu Xing (Five Phases) to align your altar with the natural flow:
Wood: A small plant or sandalwood.
Fire: A gold or red candle.
Earth: A bowl of rice
Metal: Coins or bells.
Water: A bowl of water or sea salt.
5. Symbols and Offerings
Place mandarins for abundance, ginger or cinnamon for vitality, and pomegranate for transformation.
Add calligraphy symbols like 龙 (Dragon) for wisdom or 变 (Change) for renewal.
6. Ritual Activation
Sit before your altar and visualize a coiling serpent rising through your spine. Practice some gentle kundalini. Here’s a quick kriya to practice for 40 days, 11 minutes a day to keep the kundalini flowing.
Light the candle and recite an invocation:
"With grace and ease, I release the old skins that no longer serve me. May the serpentine power of my awakened Shakti rise, guiding me to embody my fullest potential and align with my highest timeline. So it is."Ring a bell or clap to awaken the energy.
7. Setting Intentions
Write your goals for the year on red paper (symbolizing luck) and place it beneath a central object on the altar. Return regularly to reflect and recalibrate with the moon’s cycles.
Journal Prompts:
Releasing Limiting Beliefs
What fears or doubts are constricting me like an old skin?
What outdated story about myself or my life am I ready to let go of?
Shedding Skins
What habits or patterns feel heavy, like layers I am ready to shed?
Which aspects of my identity or life no longer reflect my truth?
How can I honor what I’m leaving behind as a teacher of my journey?
Rising into Power
What untapped potential or gifts am I ready to embrace and embody?
Where can I stretch, expand, or take risks to align with my higher self?