As I look out of my window I can see that Spring is most defintely on its way now, the season is defintely emerging all around us. People out gardening, or trimming their gardens in preparation for the spring. Spring, and the wood phase, are busy, full of vitality, new possibilities and new ideas. Both the Chinese element of Wood and the celtic festival of Ostara celebrate Spring in different and complementary ways.
Ostara Festival and the Wood phase is the time of year for planting seeds and preparing for the future, for planning and setting in place all that we are going to achieve during the high energy fire time of Summer. It is the time for breathing fresh air into your projects, for blowing away the cobwebs of winter. Spring can propel us actively forward on our journeys of self-discovery and creativity.
During this blog I wanted to share how I use this time of year both personally and professionally when working with my clients and authors. We will also touch on how this time of year impacts the BE, DO, HAVE paradigm, and Goddess work.
Wood Phase Blog, Spring 2026
According to the Chinese 5 Elements the element of Wood is associated with Spring. It comes after the Water Element phase which falls between Yule through to Imbolc. For more on these check out my Imbolc blog. The Wood Element part of the year lasts from 21st March which is also the date of Ostara on the celtic wheel of the year and lasts until the end of April. The Wood phase is then followed by the Fire Element which begins on the 1st May which is the same time as a festival of Beltaine. I use this time to think back to the resolutions I spoke about making at Imbolc while I am incubating ideas below the ground. The Wood phase and Ostara is all about what do we need in order to begin to move these intentions moving forward. What would bring these resolutions and intentions towards manifestation?
What Does the Wood Element Symbolise in Chinese 5 Element Theory?
According to “Healing your Emotions” by Angela Hicks, each element has a different emotional capacity that is responsible for, the Wood element is in service of the ‘Hun’ or ‘Ethereal’ Soul. Our ‘Hun’ is responsible for our life plan, our sense of purpose and our sense of direction. This can be both with shorter term goals and with our direction for our soul mission.
If the Wood phase is about beginning to act on the intentions we set in February at Imbolc personally I take the intention of completing my book and lean into the energy of Wood using this time to plan my writing for the year. I ask myself is there anything I can be doing, that will move me closer to my life purpose between now and May? What can I put in motion now that will manifest by the end of the year. Breaking this down to a daily check in with my manuscript and working out how to maintain my writing habit for the rest of the year.
As I move through the year I lean into the energy of each 5 element phase to manifest my intentions. I might not actually start much writing for hours a day at this point that will being at Fire time of the year. Planning my writing is absolutely possible during the Wood phase both plotting the chapters and working out how to make space for writing throughtout the year will all mean I can trust that by the end of the year I have my books out in the world.
I am also considering what actions can I take between now and May that will have a longer return time. In my case I am working out what actions can I take that will build Tecassia as a whole. What actions are a leap of faith that I need to commit to now that will change my life for the next 5 years and will potentially impact other peoples lives too.
How does balanced Wood energy feel?
When you reflect on what you are choosing for yourself during the Wood phase this year I want you to feel into the level of possibility for your future choose the option that makes you feels like a YES to your future. Choose what feels expansive and creates room to breathe and allows you to embrace the new. While doing this initally don’t let fears about “how?” or “how can I afford it?” talk you out of it.
Simply feel into how big your vision needs to feel for you to grow this year. Allow yourself to declare it and investigate HOW of it in the next few weeks once the intention is set.
Wood Element Associations
Each of the Chinese elements have metaphorical emotional spiritual and physical associations. I use them to help me to balance my wood element and get the most out of this phase. The Element is wood, the colour is green.
The associated emotion is anger & resentment although that also includes all the similar shades like suppressed, frustration, rage, wrath. The positive emotions that we can experience when our wood element is in balance are emotions like choice, transformation, forward motion, freedom, growth, and expansion. Where are these present emotions present as I try and reach my goal.
The associated season or time of Year is Spring, the climate is Windy. The associated sound is shouting while the associated musical note is #E. The taste connected to wood is sour like lemons, while the odour is rancid.
The associated organs are Liver (yin) and Gallbladder (yang). Metaphorically the liver is said to be the ‘General’ who makes plans while the Gall Bladder is the ‘Decision maker.’ This means that our ability to organize, plan and make decisions are related to the well-being of the Liver and Gall Bladder. The body part that wood strengthens is our ligaments & tendons.
On an spiritual level each element a personal emotional power a gift of maturation, Wood gives us access to Birth which might be literal or the birthing of the new ideas and projects. While the spiritual power or world view that can be applied both personally and at a more global or collective level the Wood offers us is access to the magical, the intuitive the creative and projective.
The Wood element enables us to have boundaries in our lives. Did we set them up? Are we always letting the boundaries slide and are we rubbish at maintaining them or are they being imposed upon us. For me this shows up in how easily can I say no or yes to things, in how I structure my work life being self employed which enables me to grow and develop both personally and professionally. Have I carved out the time to work on my manuscript daily and do I protect it?
Wood is also responsible for our ability to be appropriately assertive, whether that is to stand up for ourselves or whether we have been too controlling of ourselves, others and our environment. Are we defending something just to be right or are we attacking others because we are afraid or grieving.
The invitation of Wood energy is to explore where we need to choose differently and be in flow expansion and movement. This might mean relaxing and going with the flow more. Suddenly all the energy and time I previously spent being angry or being overly controlling about something is now freed up to be used for my new projects and intentions and creations for the year.
The Be Do Have Paradigm
Within the Be, Do, Have paradigm this period is BE. This means Wood and Spring time is the perfect time to choose and, if necessary, change or adapt who you are BEing in the world. It is a time of being called to check in with our higher selves to ensure that who we are choosing to BE is in line with our highest purpose, our desired subconscious self-image and therefore the narratives that shape our lives. This is how we co-create our reality with the universe. In transforming our narratives and deciding who we are BEing we create our chosen reality.
How does this work? I hear you ask. When we declare who we want to BEcome and set goals the next thing that occurs is the subconscious resistance we have to the goal will make its way to the surface. How many of us have declared in January “I am going to get fit and go to the gym” and 6 weeks later if not sooner we have stopped going to the gym before we really established the habit. The reason this occurs is because our current subconscious self image and our new habit don’t match and it creates cognitive dissonance.
What is Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is what psychologists call the tension created by the gap between what we belief at a subconscious level and the reality in front of us. It is created when there is a gap that causes us stress and our brains want to close this gap and relieve this tension.
To overcome this cognitive dissonance we can choose to give up the habit, or at best delay the steps that will get us to manifest our intentions. Alternatively we can transform our subconscious self image to bring it into line with the goal we want to achieve, and the actions that will get us there. Who do I need to BE in order to DO the actions and habits with ease in order to HAVE the life I want. The DO belongs to the Fire Element and HAVE belongs to the Earth Element (more on those in my other blogs.)
Beliefs, Habits, Attitudes, and Expectations
I use the Wood energy of Spring and Ostara to transform who I want to BE. I allow myself this time as the energy rises to start the habits and explore what beliefs, habits, attitudes and expectations I currently have that are standing in the way of my goal.
For me this year my goal includes writing and plotting my book series and check in with my manuscript daily. However on those days when I can’t quite get going or I sit in front of my notepad or laptop and the words and ideas aren’t flowing I don’t panic I use the uncomfortable feeling the cognitive dissonance creates to explore what beliefs and attitudes I am subsconsciously holding on to and I use the wood associations to help me transform them.
Some beliefs that have come up for me recently when I journal are; who am I to be a writer? Society says writers don’t make enough money to live on. My English A level was stressful and I don’t know if I will be any good at writing fiction. Other options you might include, did a relative or teacher or friend make a throw away comment that made you question your ability?
I also examined the habits that might be getting in the way of me being on my path. This could be as simple as am I watching too much TV so I can’t possibly make time for writing I have 20 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy to get through. Maybe I am eating of drinking something that means I am not at focused enough to write or go to exercise as I need to. Adjusting these habits are another way to begin to change who you BE in the world.
How to transform who I BE
Once I have identified the beliefs, attitudes, habits and expectations that I need to transform, I use my tools and knowledge of the 5 elements to transform them. I explore the associations, am I angry, resentful or stuck? Do I need to shout about something or am I shouting too much? In order to give birth to my books do I need to allow myself more time to dream and be creative? I have shared some of those metaphor questions at the end of this blog to get you started.
Exploring these associations and then using subconscious tools to complete the transformation takes a little time for it is robust and we don’t slide backwards into old habits. The important thing is to get help when you need it from a practitioner and you keep using the tools while the transfomation is undergoing. Don’t give up.
In my opinion EFT Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping is definately the easiest to learn and the most mobile to use. Once you have been shown how to use EFT you can easily use it to support you between sessions with any practitioners. Other tools I have used in the past include, Kinesiology, epigentics, hypnotherapy, and homeopathy can all transform our subconscious self image resolve the cognitive dissonance, enabling my authentic self who writes with ease on a daily basis to gently emerge.
This year is my fears that I am transforming include am I creative enough? How can I access this creativity easily? Fears that I can’t earn a good enough living as a writer. Fear of being alone or doing things alone as opposed to relying on others. I am supporting and transforming these beliefs, working with my homeopath and taking remedies for anxiety and creativity on a daily basis that bring those beliefs to the surface and support me when I feel anxious or afraid or wobbly on the inside. This week I also completed a couple of 5 element metaphor balances too. I know these are all working because my anxiety is lifting and I am able to write.
How can I use the Wood phase to create the life I want?
I invite you to take the opportunity that the Wood phase presents, a time of exciting possibilities, of fertility, of new growth and beginnings to change any aspects of yourself that you might be subconsciously choosing that no longer serve you.
If you are telling yourself you are something you will BE it. These are some common negative stories we tell ourselves:
- I am bad with money.
- I am overweight.
- I will never find love.
- I can’t be creative
- Work is not supposed to be enjoyable, it just pays the bills.
However, once we flip the script and create a new subconscious self-image, we BEcome what we want easily and effortlessly.
- I am abundant.
- I am healthy.
- I am loved.
- I am a creative
- I attract a job I love
Once we are BEing in our subconscious who are meant to BE, then we quickly find that we easily begin to DO what we want to do and then as a natural consequence we HAVE all that we want.
How Does The Goddess Lilith Work With Us in Wood Phase?
Lilith is the Goddess archetype of the fully creatively and sexually empowered, independent woman. Lilith wants you to grow into your full authentic and sexual power and creative potential. Invite her into meditations or when you start to journal and reflect on Wood energy and Ostara. Invite her to guide you and show you what is holding you back from being all that you desire. Lilith is an incredible guide for transformation.
Lilith and Our Righteous Anger
Lilith supports us during this wood phase of the year because she helps us with the emotion of anger and the sound of shouting which makes it a good time for releasing the pent up anger that women have been forced to repress for centuries.
Lilith teaches us that we do not need permission to transform our rage. She guides us to make powerful choices so we create the transformation rather than simply become stagnant and stuck which is what creates the anger in the first place. Lilith teaches us how to release the belief that we aren’t allowed to shout or speak up for ourselves.
With Lilith we learn to transform that anger into creative energy, to find out voice and tell our stories. We are released and we rekindle our fierce unbounded creativity as our anger is transformed into newly accessible energy
Wood Metaphor Questions to Ask Ourselves
As a final thought and tool for you to use I have selected some Chinese 5 Element Metaphor questions that I use with clients and for myself when balancing their wood element or working with them at this time of year. Feel free to use them as journal prompts and see what comes up for you. Allow yourself to ask the question for the insight and where I need it I ask is there a practical action I can take that will support the insight.
Do you have enough roots to sustain your growth, and enough fuel to sustain your passions?
Do you have enough structure in your growth so that you can achieve your purposes, or do you need to allow yourself more freedom in your growth to be fulfilled?
Is there enough new growth in your life? Are you giving birth to more new ideas, projects, etc than can be sustained?
What in your life needs to be revived, renewed or reborn?
What seeds do you need to plant now so that you will have a bountiful harvest in the future?
Do you need a breath of fresh air, a spring clean, or are you being blown away by uncertainty and change?
How can you get things moving smoothly?
Has something that was good gone bad? (sour)
Are you angry with yourself or someone else? Does your anger seem to be directed at the appropriate person or thing?
Do you need to awaken your outrage or passions in general in order to grow and reach your goals?
What do you need to shout about or whom do you need to shout at to reach your goals? Are you able to express yourself and give full voice to your feelings and ideas?
Are you habitually running or reserves or secondary systems risking a total breakdown?
What does birth symbolise in your life?
Do you need to use your intuition, creative vision & dream imagery to find new meanings?
I can’t wait to hear how you have embraced the Wood energy and Ostara this year and what transformation it created for you. I will keep you posted what transformed for me and how I get on with creating a writing habit in 2026.
Love, Emily