Gone With the Wind
2023 Soft Wood Wrap Up
In November of 2014, I wrote a short blog post entitled, Soft Wood is “All About that Bass”, highlighting the focus of music and pop culture trends that year on having a large derrière, leading to an increase in the demand for Brazilian butt lifts, padded undergarments and workouts that build the gluteus muscles.
Soft Wood is associate with the thighs and buttocks. This year, the scrunch butt lifting leggings that women were wearing at the gym made headlines. The ruching in the back seam accentuates that part of the body, whether you have buns of steel or not. So, the women who like to draw attention to their backsides by making it look bigger and more shapely, got a wedgie while being ogled. Then, there’s the sheer leggings that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. And let’s not forget the no pants trend. What will they think of next?
In 2023, Soft Wood elements were in the news again, this time for other aspects of this element’s personal energy. Their Machiavellian tendencies to intentionally create drama they know will receive negative attention. Their juvenile response to adding insult to injury. Their billion dollar success. Their completion number. Their forever young experience of life. And their schoolgirl crush approach to romance.
The Eras Tour
I could write several blogs about Time’s 2023 Person of the Year, Taylor Swift. The Soft Wood element who grew up in a family of four on a Christmas tree farm. The last name that sounds like a fast moving “persistent wind”. The permanent adolescence of her fanatical “Swifties for life”. The pop star’s lucky number 13. Her girl squad. The “tis the damn season” lyric, among others. And the decades of serial dating, teenage girl drama and immature behaviors of a woman who is now entering her mid-thirties.
But I don’t write about mega celebrities anymore. They lie to the public about both their sex and date of birth, the two vital data points for determining personal elements. I still quietly observe, but until there is truth and transparency, I keep my thoughts to myself.
And honestly, I can’t be bothered to listen to her albums for a full critique. I have zero interest in what she writes about - a “long list of ex-lovers”, being “on some new shit” or having some guy “call me babe for the weekend”. And, as a classically trained soprano, I can’t voluntarily subject myself to bad vocals for more than half a song. There’s a lot of talking and yelling, and not a lot of actual singing. Reminds me of recitatives, the musical declamations of narratives and dialogue between operatic arias that are sung in the rhythm of ordinary speech but with many of the words recited on the same note. And like many country and pop artists, especially the ones with a very narrow range, the majority of her songs sound the same.
What I will share are my thoughts on The Eras Tour and the pervasive “in my era” trend, especially among Zillennials (Millennials & Zoomers). An homage to her ten albums, the world tour that is scheduled to extend over a two year period in cities across five continents is promoted as a “journey through the musical eras” of her 17-year career. With a set list of 44 songs, the nearly four hour stadium concert is designed as a tribute to her discography, her life’s work to date.
The term “era” has become a way to describe a current interest, brief phase or passing obsession. Like when students take classes for a semester and then change their major mid-year to study something else. Or, a whirlwind of a summer romance, only to find that it’s over by the time the leaves are changing their colors.
According to the dictionary definition, an era is “a long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic; a system of chronology dating from a particularly noteworthy event.” In geology, an era is “a major division of time that is a subdivision of an eon and is itself subdivided into periods”. Unlike an eon, which is a very long but indefinite period of time, an era has a definite time period with a well-defined starting date, usually marked by a developmental, religious or political event. Eras tend to feature a beginning, middle and end like the Early, High and Late Middle Ages. And they may be divided by a three-age system, each with their own epochs, like the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.
Many generations live and die during an era. The Chinese call their eras, dynasties, each lasting hundreds of years. Examples in Western civilizations are the Roman, Elizabethan, Napoleonic, Georgian and Victorian eras. Other eras in music and art are the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist and Modernist.
Thinking in terms of eras is a very Soft Wood approach. Soft Wood, represented by the evergreen, is associated with the eternal fountain of youth, everlasting life, longevity and leaving a legacy for future generations. But unlike the forever young energy of the immortal Soft Wood element, even eras don’t last forever. They begin, have their moment and end just like everything else in life.
The TikTok “in my (fill in the blank) era” trend has become the primary way the under 30’s are rebranding themselves in an attempt to stay relevant and attract the attention required to continue monetizing their life from their phone. It’s the newest cosplay iteration of being the main character of your life by trying to romanticize or bring more meaning, fulfillment and enjoyment into their day. The “eras”, these arrested developed generations talk about are simply very short chapters in their life. Few are more than a haiku, three lines of light verse. Sometimes, only a couple of short weeks, barely a month goes by before they’re announcing being in their next novelty “era”.
In an effort to keep their content fresh, this social media phenomena allows influencers and creators to reinvent themselves frequently. Seemingly the opposite of the other overused “having a moment”, eras don’t last much longer. And it’s a popular alternative to astrological events and the cyclical changing of the seasons in nature used in spiritual circles.
But apparently, all the girlies are in their “flop era”, “lazy girl era”, “quiet era”, “soft girl era”, “lucky girl era”, “hot girl era” or “villain era”. And their aesthetic reflects that they’re in their “cottagecore”, “neutrals and blush”, “ribbons and bows” or “coastal granddaughter” era.
I’ve written a series of blogs about 2023 being the end of an era. My use of the word is related to the 20-year cycle of Mountain Earth energy that officially ended in February of 2024. You can read The End of Neutrality, The End of Hustle Culture, The End of Greed, and The End of Tribalism here on the Feng Shui Yourself blog, with more to come.
Dictionary.com has announced that “eras” is the 2023 Vibe of the Year. It’s defined as "periods of time in a person's life characterized by something distinctive and noticeable, such as a particular emotional state, relationship, achievement, or interest".
To use another Millennial term, the use of the word eras is also giving “new year, new me” resolution vibes. And we all know how long New Year’s resolutions last. About three weeks, if that.
Girl
Another interesting trend that emerged this year was all the references to the girlies and all the girlie things. Of course, girl boss has been around for at least a decade. But in 2023, people were talking about girl math and girl dinner, lucky girls and lazy girls, hot girls and soft girls. And with the Barbie movie coming out, the “pink era” finally made a come back after feminism rejected the very girlie gender-specific color, Barbie pink.
As a single woman and recent empty nester, I love a good “girl dinner”. A quick and easy plate with a variety of healthy snacks or charcuterie board of yummy things that require almost no prep time or effort. But “girl math”? Sounds like a very dumb blonde moment, trying to convince themselves or their husbands that spending money is actually saving money or even earning “free” money.
Soft Wood is not only represented in the family by the eldest daughter, but it’s stuck in permanent adolescence with an age of 13-18 and the “coming of age” stage of development. They think of the four years of high school as their golden era and have fond memories of engaging in team sports, studying for academic achievement and dating their high school sweetheart. So, it’s natural for Soft Wood elements to resonate with being a girl in her teens and falling in and out of love with schoolgirl crushes and whirlwind romances that end as quickly as they start. And the teen spirit of being “forever young” that is not just a desire but something Soft Wood elements highly value and intend to embody until the day they die.
Forever Chemicals
PFAS were also in the news in 2023. PFAS is the umbrella term for about 12,000 chemicals that are literally indestructible. They have persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic properties. These forever chemicals are used in consumer products, including workout leggings, yoga pants, period underwear, waterproof clothing, firefighting foam, furniture, non-stick cookware, electronics and food packaging. The persistently toxic chemicals can be found in our air, water, soil, rain and our bloodstream.
Accumulating PFAS in our bodies can lead to high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer and pregnancy-induced hypertension. They can also depress the immune response leading to a compromised immune system. Low birthweight, birth defects, delayed development and newborn deaths have also ben linked to these chemicals.
In the 1940’s, DuPont introduced PFAS to the world with their non-stick Teflon pans. The company released perfluorooctanoic acid from its US plant in southwest Parkersburg into the air and Ohio River for over fifty years, contaminating residential drinking water. The movie, Dark Waters, tells the story of the lawsuit, which led to DuPont settling 3,500 personal injury cases for $670 million.
Soft Wood, represented by evergreens, resonates with the motto “live long and prosper”. The immortality of living forever or at least leaving a legacy that will live on for generations after they’re gone is one of their highest values. However, not all things, especially plastics that take 20-500 years to decompose but never fully disappear and toxic chemicals that persist and accumulate should be around forever.
Mug Club
Those who follow conservative politics and the personalities on the right who host shows or podcasts, were shocked by a publicity stunt pulled by Steven Crowder of Mug Club. He released a YouTube video sharing the details of an offer he’d received from the Daily Wire, revealing their business model, heavily dependent on marketing with and ad revenue from Big Tech. Instead of having a private conversation with the owners of the conservative media company, he took the multi-million dollar offer as a personal insult and shared his issues with the standard contract that penalizes creators for being demonetized and banned on YouTube and other platforms to publicly defame the DW+ and call into question the character of its co-founders.
Soft Wood elements, like Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift are known for their business savvy, viral content, clever PR campaigns and marketing strategies. Scandals and controversies are often created or aggressively promoted for increased attention before a product launch or album release date. Kim filmed a sex tape that was released. Taylor’s debut single was titled with the name of well-known and beloved country music star, Tim McGraw.
In Crowder’s case, the slanderous video went viral after his contract with The Blaze expired and just before announcing the launch of his own network and relaunch of Mug Club and his show Louder with Crowder on Rumble. It worked. All eyes were on him and increased the anticipation for his follow up comments after response videos were made by nearly every member of the Daily Wire.
The Soft Wood element is represented by the archetype of The Entrepreneur. They like being a business owner and building wealth. And they’re not above creating drama they know will get the negative attention they can use like free advertising.
Fourth Wing
In Spring of 2023, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, a dark academia story, set at a war college with quadrants, took the bookish world by storm. The Harry Potter meets Divergent with dragons new adult “romantasy” went viral on BookTok soon after. Everyone was reading and talking about the book that became a #1 New York Times bestseller, was optioned for TV by Amazon Studios, named Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4, Apple Best Books of the Year 2023, Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023, NPR “Books We Love” 2023, Audible Best Books of 2023, Hudson Book of the Year, Google Play Best Books of 2023, Indigo Best Books of 2023, Waterstones Book of the Year finalist, semifinalist in the Goodreads Choice Award, Newsweek Staffers’ Favorite Books of 2023 and Paste Magazine's Best Books of 2023.
Soft Wood is represented by the number four. So, it’s no surprise that the IT book of a Soft Wood year had that number in its title. Tracy Wolff called the fantasy “brutally addictive” which also resonates with the energy of the Soft Wood element, the most addictive personality of The 8 Elements. And the main character’s name, Violet, reflects the element’s happy color, lavender. The fast-paced page turner was followed six months later by the second book in the Empyrean series, Iron Flame, just months before the shift into a new Fire element 20-year cycle.
EGOT
The number of online searches for the four-letter acronym EGOT spiked in February of 2023, just as the energy shifted from Yellow Earth to Soft Wood. That’s when Viola Davis won a Grammy for her reading of the audiobook of her memoir, Finding Me. Together with the Emmy, Oscar, and Tony awards she had already received, the Grammy win made her part of an exclusive club of talented entertainers. First used in 1984, EGOT was added to the dictionary in 2019 and is used to describe someone who has won all four awards, an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Rizz
Four letter word, “rizz” was named word of the year by the Oxford University Press. The Zoomer term for the “romantic appeal” of boys and young men, means to seduce with charm and charisma. Gen Z uses the word as a noun, as in “the boy has rizz”, as well as a verb, as in “rizz up that cutie”. Commonly considered a play on the word, charisma, in September, the word was officially added to the dictionary.
I find this word quite appropriate for a Soft Wood year. Soft Wood elements are represented by “Peach Blossom” energy, which activates and enhances new love and romance leading to serial dating and love affairs that don’t last. This element is in love with being in love. They’re obsessed with having a schoolgirl crush, being twitterpated and infatuated and falling in love and out of love, again and again.
That’s a wrap on the Soft Wood year. It’s gone with the wind for another nine years.
Next up: Hard Wood
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Dara Eden is The 8 Elements Master and the creator of The 8 Elements: Feng Shui for YOU! series of guides, blogs, classes and forthcoming books. It’s her application of feng shui principles to the personal energy of people, based on their personal feng shui element. With 25 years of experience in classical feng shui and private coaching, she offers her expert and unique perspective on how YOU can honor your personal energy and feng shui yourself!
