It is with great joy that I wish you all: Him, She, They, Them, Theirs, but,  after all, "Us", a beautiful year 2025. May your dearest wishes, your wildest dreams come true, but above all may this be a year of understanding and renewal for all of us. Let us remember that Ish and Isha (Adam and Eve) listened not to a sheep, but to the snake who by his words completes the creative work by pushing humans to acquire a morality and a true free will. This year the snake is made of wood, so it is interesting to know that the serpent in genesis wrapped itself around the wooden tree, bearing the fruit of sin. This tree was surely carrying grapes and not an apple, because the grape, which naturally turns into wine buy the act of God, causes drunkenness, and thus for them (Adam and Eve) the discovery of inhibition, modesty, and the revelation that they were finally "like the Lord". So, for you, how will you live this year, As a Sheep, or as a Wood Snake?

The Snake:

But the serpent was cunning, more than any of the land animals that the Eternal God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it true that God said, ‘You shall eat nothing of all the trees in the garden?’” The woman answered the serpent, "The fruit of the trees in the garden we may eat; but as for the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, you shall not touch it, lest you die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “No, you will not die; but God knows that from the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman judged that the tree was good for food, that it was attractive to the eye, and precious to the intellect; she gathered of its fruit and ate of it; and then gave it to her husband, and he ate. Their eyes both opened, and they knew that they were naked; they sewed together vine leaves and made loincloths out of them. 

Genesis 3:4-5 (Ancient Hebrew translation)

In Eastern culture, the snake of the Lunar Zodiac represents mystery and secrecy, it seeks above all to preserve its intimacy. A fine psychologist, it is a good negotiator and those around it appreciate its listening skills, even if at first glance it seems reserved, even cold. The snake has the ability to regenerate itself through its mutation, with the creation of a new skin, and the abandon the old one in an uninterrupted movement.

The Wood:

In Genesis, the tree of knowledge, from which man cannot eat, symbolizes the limit. “It reminds humans that they are not God and that they cannot do everything. To live, humans need to remember that they do not have power over people and things. The tree reminds him that he must live while respecting his environment.”

The element Wood is, in Chinese astrology, a symbol of youth and growth: it symbolizes the tree that never stops growing. Since a tree has many branches, the Wood element also represents creativity, inventiveness and the most artistic fields. Wood is also associated with the spirit of competition and the desire to constantly improve. Wood also represents the management of our emotions.

Snake and wood as interpreted?

We can therefore wonder about this figure of the Snake. Is he really a vile tempter? Isn't he rather an emancipatory figure? Shouldn't we consider him a mysterious figure, but in the end not so negative as all that? After all, it pushes Isha (Eve) to prefer understanding to obedience. And this is, at bottom, an authentically philosophical, and above all profoundly human act.

As for wood, does it not represent to faith, life, growth, continuity, strength, rigidity and malleability, life, and transformation. Wood is a unifying element, it can become fire, warm, destroy or nourish. When it burns it becomes ashes, and the ashes become earth. This earth that allows us to stay with both feet firmly planted to allow us to choose the rational judgment of our choices in complete freedom.

2+0+2+5= # 9
The symbolism of the number 9 in gematria (kabbalistic numerology), represents accomplishment. It corresponds to the numerical value of the Hebrew letter Teth (the serpent, the vital energy to be channeled). Its graphics evoke an opening upwards (it is one of the few Hebrew letters to present this type of shape), which introduces the possibility of ascent and elevation. In Chinese culture, 9 symbolizes yang, the fullness of power. This is a number that is often found in architecture, it is also the number of dragons (the dragon is a snake) and their attributes. In Christianity the number 9 refers to the death of Jesus on the cross at the ninth hour, to the nine months of the pregnancy at the end of which a new man is born, it is the number of the initiated. But also, to the 9 angelic choirs of the celestial hierarchy and the Novenas.

But what does the 9 correspond to spiritually?

The number 9 is particularly rich on a symbolic level. Directly related to the number 3, 9 is celestial rather than terrestrial in nature. It is the "triple-ternary".

It also mentions the triple triad, Spirit, Body and Soul, and Consciousness. Matter and Life (spiritual plane). Moreover, the 9 is the image of the return of the multiple to unity, which is how it evokes the egg of the world that contains everything, or the Ouroboros, the snake that bites its tail and is the image of self-fertilization and life. 9 is also 81 (9X9) equal to 8+1=9 and 9+9=18 so 1+8=9, or 9X9X9=729 so, 7+2+9= 18, =9. Like the snake, the Nine always curls up on itself.

Bonde, The wood snake, and the number #9

This year, therefore, I promise you a year in the company of Bonde filled with all these truths. More than ever, I promise you a year without gimmicks, without tricks, and without BS. I would spend more time giving you (very positively and objectively) the truth of the wine world, I would also continue to fight fake news and false media manipulations, social or not. I also promise you that throughout the year there will be meetings in Bonde with great winemakers, great chefs and great sommeliers. An increasingly specialized selection of Authors' Wines, exceptional wines from states and regions that are still unknown. Special events in Bonde and in the street. But above all, to continue to serve you with the same humor, sarcasm, and kindness that has inhabited me for the past four years. I would therefore be your Snake, localized at 54 (9) Church Street in Harvard Square. You will only have to push open the wooden door, and I will be there to welcome you with open arms, and my heart on my sleeve; with no gimmicks, no tricks, and no BS. The true and only the true of wine.