The Year of the Spine

2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake in the Chinese zodiac. I am seeing this as an invitation deeper into the Spine - that is the main feature of a snake, after all.

In Yoga they say you are as young as your spine, meaning that if your spine stays strong and flexible you will remain spry and youthful.

I learned last year that the Crucifixion on Golgotha actually means the cross on the skull, and refers to the arrival of the Christ oil in the center of the head, behind the third eye, after ascending the 33 vertebrae of the spine. Maybe Yeshua was 33 years old when that occurred, but we don’t really know for sure. I mean, there has been a LOT of misinterpretation and mistranslation of ancient texts. This Christ oil is what is called Amrita by the yogis, the fountain of Life.

As the energy of Life, or the “snake” of Kundalini Shakti, ascends the spine, it clears and activates along the way. Each energy center, or chakra, needs to be cleared, integrated, and stabilized on the way up, or chaos ensues. Having activated upper centers without stabilized lower centers causes all kinds of trouble from physical ailments to mental-emotional imbalances, and psychospiritual challenges. Go slowly and integrate each layer for best outcomes.

But do go deeper into the spine, please. We need this, as a collective. There is a call to be more deeply embodied, more present, to more fully occupy ourselves, lest we be available for foreign occupation, if you catch my meaning.

Core

This doesn’t refer to muscle strength specifically, though that can help. Core in this context refers to the capacity to occupy the center of the self, it provides a felt sense of solidity and presence. This is integrity embodied. This is alignment with the Spine.

THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR MEN AT THIS TIME.

(Please read The Dragon & The Phoenix for more on why.)

Women really need to feel the men in their lives embodying a deep sense of Core. This embodied alignment is the foundation for living a life of integrity that a woman can really lean into. Women need to be able to LEAN IN and receive the support of the embodied Masculine. This provides a solid foundation for opening into the type of relating that opens the pathway for the snake to rise, awakening the centers and cultivating the capacity to run more energy through the spine, for both partners.

This Core occupation is the foundation of a strong backbone, both physically, and figuratively. This is the source from which the strength to build a beautiful life in line with your vision arises. Spinelessness is no longer tenable in the current climate. We require strong backbones for what is emerging, only integrity will do.

Hara

The lower end of the spine terminates at the sacrum, the large, flat bone you can feel at the top of your booty, followed by the tailbone or coccyx, a few small, sensitive bones that extend down from the sacrum. Deep in the belly, in the back of the pelvic bowl, essentially at the front of the sacrum, at the back of the Womb for women, is the Hara. This is the Seat of Creation, and the first thing it creates is YOU. Nestled into the base of the spine, this power portal is available to everyone.

Path of Purpose

Living in alignment with your Core and Hara aligns you to your path of purpose. It is from this grounded embodiment of integrity that your purpose arises and directs the forward movement of your life path. Without this internal compass, you can be swayed by the wind, pulled this way and that by the tides of external forces. Cultural stories about what it means to be successful and current events capture your attention, and have you spinning in insecurity, attempting to meet external requirements for validation and safety, rather than proceeding along your path of purpose. Anchoring to your own center is key. Self-connected is self-directed.

Foreign Occupation

It is all too easy for external forces to move into unoccupied space. When we don’t fill ourselves up, other things come along and settle in. What things? Social and cultural programming, fear, entities etc. It is our responsibility to fully inhabit our sacred vessels with the essence of ourselves, and to prevent foreign occupation.

Misalignments

Physical misalignments in the spine, or what a chiropractor would call a subluxation, can be the result of an energetic misalignment. Getting the support of a practitioner usually helps, and chiropractic does tone the nervous system (especially Network Spinal Analysis!), but sometimes just your focused attention on inhabiting the spine can illuminate and resolve energetic blocks or imbalances.

Invitation Inward

In my ongoing embodied explorations of the spine, I have discovered that it is a microcosm of the macrocosmic self. There is infinite capacity within the energetic layers within the spine - as without so within. This capacity must be developed over time, to support the balanced opening of the energy centers. You can find and balance polarities within the spine as well, Masculine and Feminine, expansion and containment, Earth and Sky. Go ahead, dive in and check it out!

If this type of embodied exploration is exciting for you, join the next monthly ArborVitae Mystery School Embodied Awakening call, we gather on third Thursdays and you can enroll here.

Many Blessings,

~ Natalie Rose Martin