By Jen Rinaldi

What a time to be alive. 

With the world so quickly changing and prophesies coming to pass I can’t help but speak of the convergence of a few stunning events that will take place in this year, the year of the dragon, specifically, the wood dragon in Chinese mythology. Wood being a dynamic life force, it is associated with deep roots, and rebirth, something we all need now more than ever.

This year collided with my dreams at nearly the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. My dear mother took her last breath as year of the dragon dawned, even saying to me in my sleep before she died that she wanted to go home. “Home?” Where is that now without you? I asked her. Ashamed of my selfishness, I assured her that she should go, knowing in my soul that this was going to be a doozy of a year without her, but that her three children would flourish.

Knowing in my soul that this was going to be a doozy of a year without her, my heart was light knowing that she will be able to witness the world from her new vantage point. The experience of her death and it being the year of the wood Dragon brings to mind a not so Chinese curse;

 “May you live in interesting times.”

Even though the phrase is thought to be of Chinese origin, it has been attributed to an English expression first brought to light by English statesman Joseph Chamberlain’s son, Austen, regardless it is still a relevant and poignant set of words. 

Interesting is far too feeble a description to herald what is coming to pass. On April 8th we had a total solar eclipse. In layman’s terms it means the moon totally covers the sun, those in the path of the eclipse will be able to see the sun’s full corona, a sight that will not be visible again until August 24, 2044. 

Scientists should have be able to see much more of the corona than they were able to in 2017 during the last event of this kind. And it’s a two for one. A rare Devil Comet might also be visible from Texas to Maine during the darkness. They call the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, a.k.a. the “Mother of Dragons” or “Devil comet,” and it is coming relatively close to the sun. 

While these rare astrological phenomena are occurring, NASA will be launching a rocket to study the eclipse.

What I find so interesting about this rocket, is its name. APEP. Which stands for The Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path, will glide into our ionosphere to study the corona. Ra’s halo will be seen by his enemy APEP.

APEP is the name of the serpent lord of chaos in Egyptian mythology. APEP was the sun god RA’s nemesis, also called the evil dragon. Hmmm… an evil sun killing dragon in the year of the dragon being shot up to study RA. Ironic that a rocket with that name would be launched to discover the secrets of the sun’s corona at the same time as a devil comet whizzes by. Wow!

The next stunning event is that of the cicadas “Brood X” hatching. Just as temps in the Eastern US hit 60 degrees. An estimated 100 trillion of them will emerge! The last time two generations of cicadas all hatched together was in 1803. One group hatches every 13 years while the other hatches every 17 years both prime numbers. They only match up every 121 years. I remember collecting them as a kid and marveling at their colors but yikes! I didn’t recall there being so many.

Other interesting events are Earthquakes in Taiwan, and New York. Of course, connections can be made that earthquakes and eclipses foretelling the end of days, but I will keep my head, and just add them to the long list of strange dragon year happenings. 

We have this bizarre and extraordinary year to experience and perhaps learn from, and as we watch in deep awareness all the wonders and horrors circling us, let’s make a concerted effort to practice kindness, get involved in our community. 

The closest translation to Chinese of the phrase “May you live in interesting times is,”

 “Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos.” 

So hug your dog and don’t stare at the sun!

“May you live in interesting times” is an English expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse. The expression is ironic: “interesting” times are usually times of trouble.



Despite being so common in English as to be known as the “Chinese curse”, the saying is apocryphal, and no actual Chinese source has ever been produced. The most likely connection to Chinese culture may be deduced from analysis of the late-19th-century speeches of Joseph Chamberlain, probably erroneously transmitted and revised through his son Austen Chamberlain.[1] — Wikipedia