Get ready! The sheep are coming soon.

• Author: Wacker, Eileen
• Position: Psychology - Chinese New Year 2015

This is the year of the sheep, the artists of the zodiac. The sheep is kind, sweet, and generous. One of the most popular signs of the zodiac, they like support of the group. They like peace. They are sensitive. Since the zodiac has 12 signs, a person is a sheep if he or she is born this year or turning any multiple of 12. So, if someone you know Is turning 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, flatter them. They love to be complimented. Sheep may love deeply but they like to hear it first. Tell your sheep you love them--loyalty and passion will be your reward.

Chinese New Year, also called Chinese Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, has been celebrated for more than 4,000 years. This year, it is celebrated from Feb. 19-25, with Feb. 19 as the key day. It is the grandest and the most important traditional festival for Chinese people. Whole families get together, similar to Christmas Day for Westerners. Originating during the Shang Dynasty (sometime around the 17th to 11th century B.C.), Chinese or Lunar New Year celebrates family and represents the advent of spring.

Nearly half of the globe's population believes in and will celebrate this phenomenon, so how can the average person try to win the attention and empathy of the Green Wooden Sheep? Redecorate your house and clean out your closet. Straighten your kitchen. Have some bamboo (for strength) and flowers. Paint an accent wall. This sheep likes color. Some ideas are red or purple for your living room, the heart of the home. It is good to have some fire here. For the dining room, maybe a soft gold or terra cotta. This is the earth room--no red as digestion is important. Bedrooms are the lungs of the house, so make them soft and serene. Whites, creams, and pastels are good. Avoid big prints. Breathe deeply and sleep well.

The sheep is an herbivore. Like it or not, we have a green sheep to please. So all things green are good. Drink green tea; have a green juice smoothie. We are coming out of the year of the swift horse, who was active and impatient. Next year is the tricky fire monkey. We have to embrace the serenity of the sheep, the gentleness, reasonableness, and beauty. Although the sheep is a land animal and many associate sheep with the farm, the sheep likes things tidy, not dirty. The sheep is fashionable and elegant.

There are ways to embrace the energy of the sheep, always a good idea because the sheep is such a pleaser. Declutter your home, or a part of your home, like your office. You need to...