Winning in 2024: Year of the Wood Dragon

February 10 marks the Chinese lunar new year and the beginning of 2024 – the year of the Wood Dragon.

We’ve already seen our way through a Water Dragon year. It came with promises of good fortune that failed to materialise. Hopefully the Wood Dragon year doesn’t disappoint also.

The thing with dragon years is that they come with great expectations irrespective of which of the five elements (fire, earth, metal, water, wood) are added on. The Dragon is considered the most powerful of all the signs of the Chinese zodiac, associated with luck, wisdom, prosperity and strength. The element attached only brings nuance to this positive theme.

So esteemed is the Dragon that birth rates in China spike in dragon years with parents eager to improve the future prospects of their child. Similar patterns are observed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia with all those countries gearing up for a dragon-child baby boom in 2024.

All across Asia dragon years are when most babies are born. Which means Rabbit years are when most babies are made. A nod to correct ordering of the zodiacal signs.

Will the Wood Dragon bring fortune?

The 2024 Wood Dragon is supposed to blend the power of the dragon with the creativity of wood to create an irresistible force of positive change. For most of us at least. Those born in Dragon years (1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012…) are under the Ben Ming Nian cloud (your namesake year is never good – even for Dragons).

For the rest of us 2024 should be a better than average year. As always, the experts aren’t afraid to get specific on where or who most of the benefits will be bestowed.

According to the Thechinesezodiac.org, the Wood Dragon will smile on innovators, especially in the technology area. Projects related to AI, blockchain, fintech, solar energy and cybersecurity especially will get a boost. Having a view on machine learning certainly is an amazing foresight for a zodiacal system whose origins date back more than 2,000 years to the Qin dynasty.

If you are a believer and plan on loading up on tech stocks this year just a word of caution. The Nasdaq’s largest ever crash in proportional terms happened during the 2000 dragon year after the dot com bubble burst in March of that year.

There is consensus that Rats, Monkeys and Roosters are all compatible signs with the Dragon. As a result, those of you born in Rat (1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008…), Monkey (1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004…) or Rooster (1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005…) years will be especially fortunate in 2024. Time to big on crypto!

On the flip side if you’re an Ox (1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009…) Goat (1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003……) or Dog (1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006…) you may be overlooked a little on the good fortune side of things.

If you are an incompatible sign don’t worry, Redasiainsurance.com has you covered with advice on the best policies to mitigate risks in 2024. Professional indemnity (PI) and director & officer (D&O) top the list. They also suggest dragons should beef up on their health insurance this year and avoid extreme sports.

Here’s hoping your hóngbāo are fat with cash, and Gong xi fa cai!