If you think nothing has changed, then it’s time to slide out of the log you have been living under and be like the Lunar Year Wood Snake, which Sino cultures welcome wholeheartedly today.

This is not the world where someone with a pompadour and a pout can rule the planet with ideas so outrageous and unheard of that one can only gasp in disbelief.

This is not the world where wars are fought with a roar and a run, weapons out and blood spilling on grounds soon littered with the mortally wounded and the dead.

Today, death comes from poisoned air that coats your throat with viruses. Death arrives in the night with rocket missiles exploding in towns.

Wars still rage, the reasons for hate and violence spanning centuries; but beyond these or at the core is that unflinching desire for power and control. In that, mankind has not changed — not through countless lunar cycles, the moon waxing and waning, the oceans expanding and the earth slowly dying.

The year of the Wood Snake is a nine, they say. In numerology, the nine symbolizes a culmination, an end, a finish. But it’s nothing to be sad about — with every ending comes a beginning, as sure as today, though tomorrow may never come.

The South China Morning Post reports: “We are entering into a year of death and rebirth, a year to make responsible decisions to evolve spiritually, moving away from old ways and habits that no longer serve us well. Among all living creatures, the Snake is the best equipped due to its magnetic resonance to hear the heartbeat of Mother Earth. It is a dynamic year to learn from the past, moving forward with wisdom, awareness, transformation and compassion.”

People in our country, whether of Chinese roots or not, have come to embrace this ancient tradition, just like those of others in our multicultural nation.

What many appreciate about the Lunar New Year, though, is the guidance it offers in how people may begin anew, or look forward to a fresh start, via their animal signs and what these symbolize.

It also gives advice on how to fix or arrange one’s environment or space to invite good fortune — nothing wrong with that, of course. It is not about faith or religion, but the art or science of geomancy.

An article released by the University of Sydney is quite positive about it: “Lunar New Year a special time that’s more than just a celebration — the festival respects cultural heritage and unites families and communities in a spirit of renewal, optimism and hope for the future.”

In times like ours, when it sometimes feels like the world has gone bonkers, such a tradition proves more essential than those charms and trinkets selling like hotcakes in Binondo. Maybe we need more luck these days, yes, but maybe we need to just change.