Dear friends,
What an eventful week it has been! I am very thankful for those of you who reached out to check on my family and me when you heard about the California wildfires affecting Los Angeles County. Your prayers and thoughtfulness are much appreciated as our home is only a few miles away from the Eaton Fire, which is at 35% of containment at the time of this letter. We have been very lucky that our home and my parents-in-law’s home are safe and undamaged from the wildfires. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Thursday, January 9, 2024
Ash is drifting outside my window. In my 28 years of living in Los Angeles, I’ve never had to think about evacuating from a wildfire. I’m trying to remember what rain feels like and imagine water quenching all the wildfires in Los Angeles. My son who spent the last 7 days recovering from the flu finally felt strong enough to take his girlfriend out to get Indian takeout and some baked goods. My older daughter who was also struck by the flu, and is now in the coughing stage of recovery, has been strongly suggesting that we leave our home as the air quality in our house has deteriorated even with the air purifier on.
We have the luxury of a bit more distance from the various wildfires, unlike our friends who live in Sierra Madre and Pasadena. In my heart, I know that my home and garden will be safe but we were prepared in case of mandatory evacuation orders. Sorting and organizing my closet, I took out all my favorite, sentimental and essential clothing items and managed to stuff them in a mid-sized suitcase. For my “Stay Calm” kit, I packed a box of essential oils, a new board game, color pencils for my BioSignatures coloring book, my BioGeometry tools, a handful of my Astrology reference books, a few of my favorite oracle and tarot card decks.
My husband and I went over to check on my parents-in-law’s house in South Pasadena as they’re in Hong Kong. We found the garden and pool strewn with debris, and the house had lost a piece of roof tile - easily fixable. I made a video inventory of the things in the rooms, in case the Eaton fire reaches South Pasadena.
Friday, January 10, 2024
I emptied out our safe deposit box at the bank this morning, packing our passports and other important items. My son had to go in person to work so he’s staying in our home together with his girlfriend who is going to leave for northern California tomorrow. My husband, daughter and I drove to San Diego for better air quality for the weekend, staying at a hotel in Torrey Hills.
Saturday through Sunday, January 11-12, 2024
My son didn’t have to work today and his girlfriend’s northern California trip was delayed for a week so they spent the day in Orange County with their friends. Meanwhile, my husband, my older daughter and I explored various places in San Diego County. We hiked Los Penasquitos Canyon which had an unexpectedly thrilling trail down a very steep hillside. I had to channel my inner mountain goat as I carefully descended the hill.
My daughter is getting married this year so when we passed a bridal store in North Park, she tried on a bunch of wedding gowns. Although she didn’t find one completely to her liking, it was fun to see how she looked in different dresses. When we passed a menswear store, she had her dad try on various outfits because her fiancé has a similar build.
One of my favorite places to visit in San Diego County is the serene and gorgeous Self Realization Fellowship Meditation Garden in Encinitas. I also love looking at the enchanting play of ocean and sky colors of La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores Beach. Balboa Park has a lot of interesting museums and the Japanese Garden. These are my top places to recommend to you if you visit San Diego.
Monday, January 13, 2024: Full Moon at 24 degrees of Cancer
My husband persuaded me to go to the gym with him today. I’m glad I did something healthy for my body. I cleaned my shoes and did some journaling. My son and his girlfriend bought a lot of ingredients for hotpot over the weekend so we had a yummy hot pot dinner.
Tuesday, January 14, 2024
The aroma of my husband’s freshly baked coffee buns is wafting through the house, bringing a sense of normalcy in our domestic lives. Earlier, I swept up the debris and ash that were on our driveway and paved backyard area. We can’t hang our clothes to dry outside yet as I don’t know what kind of invisible air pollutants from the wildfires are floating around.
My older daughter flies back to Seattle on Wednesday. Then my younger daughter comes home from Japan on Thursday then leaves for college next week. My son’s girlfriend leaves for work in northern California on Saturday. I’m going to miss hanging out with all these lovely young people, eating family meals together, watching silly TV shows together and learning K-Pop “APT” dance together.
I find myself flipping back and forth between savoring all the precious and fun family memories we’re making together, and feeling like perhaps I should not be joyful when there are people who are facing so much loss. Somehow this reminds me of my mom telling me to finish all the food on my plate even though I was full because I should think of the starving children in Africa.
Logically, my family and friends would want me to enjoy my life and be joyful but there’s a part of me that wonders if they would judge me for doing that while there is much devastation being suffered by others.
For me, 2025 feels like a pendulum swinging back and forth between beginnings and endings, between grand new adventures and what feels like home, between the disappearance of familiar people, places and things we thought would always be there and the emergence of innovative ideas and new resources that help us grow. It’s a liminal time, a bridge year where both the old and the new are entering and exiting the stage, sometimes simultaneously.
I’m guided to practice being centered and grounded to feel safe amidst the tremendous changes in planetary energies. It’s a year to really develop and sustain one’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. I’m really pleased that my husband pushed me to start going to the gym for strength training since the end of 2024 so that we can be more physically fit together. This is definitely a big change for me.
Astrologically, 2025 is another unprecedented year of change. It is rare to have more than one modern planet change sign in a year as they have long orbits around the sun. It takes Uranus around 84 years, Neptune around 165 years and Pluto around 254 years to complete one cycle of all the zodiac signs. Uranus spends 7 to 8 years in a zodiac sign, while Neptune spends 13 to 14 years and Pluto spends 11 to 32 years in a zodiac sign. In 2024, the big astrological transit was Pluto finally moving from Capricorn (Cardinal Earth) to Aquarius (Fixed Air) where it will stay until 2044.
In 2025, Neptune moves from Pisces (Mutable Water) to Aries (Cardinal Fire) on March 30 and Uranus moves from Taurus (Fixed Earth) to Gemini (Mutable Air) on July 7. Later, Neptune will move from the beginning of Aries back to the end of Pisces on August 31 before settling in Aries on February 5, 2026 for about 12 years. Similarly, Uranus moves back to Taurus on November 8 and then moves forward to Gemini on April 26, 2026 for about 6 years.
When the 3 modern planets change signs within a 2-year period, we’re in for a wild ride of global transformation. How has the beginning of 2025 unfolded for you? My talismanic words for 2025 are Family, Breakthrough, Gratitude, Health, Celebration, and Friendships. They are my guideposts for navigating 2025. I would love to hear if you have such guiding words too.