Below is an article by Grand Master Raymond Lo discussing the Year of the Tiger, 2010. I personally thank him for allowing me to post this on my blog.
The Chinese calendar, commonly known as the Farmers’ Calendar, or the Hsia Calendar, is a fascinatingly accurate system, which not only records the passage of time, but is also a tool for fortune-telling. The famous traditional fortune-telling system – The Four Pillars of Destiny – is exactly referring to reading a person’s destiny from his birth data as presented in the Hsia calendar format. The unique feature of such calendar is that all information about time – year, month, day and hour are presented in terms of the five basic elements – metal, water, wood, fire and earth, which are believed to be the basic components of everything in the Universe. The relationship between the five elements accurately helps one predict what is to come by way of one’s fortunes and thus, one can by using this knowledge, multiply the good luck or minimize the bad luck in one’s life.
The Year of the Tiger, 2010, in the Hsia calendar, is symbolized by two elements – with metal sitting on top of wood. According to the cycle of birth and destruction, which governs the inter-relationship between the elements, metal is the destroyer of wood and so they are on the destructive cycle and have conflict relationship. .Unfortunately this means the year 2010 will not be peaceful with more international conflicts coming up. The yang metal element on top is weapon metal which symbolizes a sword. And this element always associate with the masculine military power. The Tiger underneath is actually matching with the fierce strength of the cold metal sword. The tiger is also a travelling star in Chinese metaphysics. As such, the best symbol for this year is a heavy armored fighting vehicle – a tank. I anticipate this elemental relationship will bring a year of conflict and disharmony in inter-national relationships and it is a year for more clashes and fighting. The yang metal is also symbol of leadership, loyalty to friends, and sense of justice. Yang metal people will come to support when their friends are under attack. As such, this may cause more danger of a global conflict with countries taking side and making military alliances. The yang metal is also a destructive element as it symbolizes weapon., so it could cause more harm and damage from careless mistakes. As such, it is necessary for all world leaders to exercise restraint and play calm in face of disagreement and conflicts. We have already learnt many lessons from past history and hope not to commit the same mistake again.
The Chinese calendar year goes on 60-year cycle. This means that we have experienced the same year of yang metal over Tiger in 1950. This was a year when the world is competing in making atomic bombs. President Harry S. Truman orders the development of the hydrogen bomb in Jan. 1950. And the Soviet Union claimed to possess atomic bomb in March. And in June, the Korean war broke out and US troops joined in defense of South Korea with North Korean troops captured Seoul. Chinese army marched into Korea in November and launched a massive counter attack against South Korean and US forces…All these are bitter lessons from the past associate with the destructive yang metal. The tendency of loyalty and sense of justice leading to big powers coming to aid of friends and blew up small conflicts into big scale destruction.
The Chinese character for “Yang Metal” represents a metal weapon, a sword, a gun or cannon. . It is associated with the quality of leadership, loyalty to friends, brotherhood, and Justice and destruction. Yang metal man has masculine charm and heroic outlook. Their strong sense of justice and helping the weak often bring them to politics, the military and legal career. As such, people born in a day of “Yang Metal” .often shows an image of strength. They appear to be masculine, heroic and powerful. Some examples of famous people born on a “Yang Metal ” day are Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Queen Elisabeth II, Pop Benedict VXI, Carlos Santana, Gianni Versace, Tiger Woods, Keith Richards, Rene Zellweger, Sheryl Crow, Margaret Thatcher, Hamid Krzai … . The Yang metal element is often found in high tech business as well as medical industries. Many high flyers in high-tech computer business also born on a day of yang metal, some typical examples are Jerry Yang of Yahoo, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Steve Case of AOL.
The Tiger belongs to wood element and it is representing early spring when trees and plants are getting prosperous. The Tiger contains the seed of fire and is the month February which is consider as the birth month of fire element. As such, inside the Tiger there are very powerful hidden fire energy. History has showed that the Tiger is associate with atomic or nuclear energy. In the last year of Metal Tiger in 1950, both USA and USSR are racing to develop hydrogen bombs and atomic bombs. It is also a year full of accidents related to such nuclear weapons. On 12th Feb. 1950, it is Tiger day, Tiger month in Tiger year, Albert Einstein warned that nuclear war could lead to mutual destruction. And on 13th Feb. The US Air force lost a bomber that carried an atomic bomb off the west coast of Canada. And again on 10th November, same year 1950, another US air force bomber jettisoned and detonated a nuclear bomb over Quebec, Canada. And on 8th March, the Soviet Union proclaimed that she had her first atomic bomb. Also the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in 1986 a year of Tiger on a day of Yang Metal. So in a Metal Tiger year there is strong possibility that nuclear safety is a major issue and may even trigger nuclear accidents. Other natural disasters involving fire such as forest fire and volcanic eruptions are also very possible in 2010. The yang metal being a destructive element could bring sizable damages and casualties. The danger of nuclear weapons coming under control of North Korea, the Taliban and Iran becomes a major issue threatening world peace. This could bring new development in international relationship with more military alliances which could even escalate the chance of nuclear war.
The Tiger is actually complicated wood element and it contains wood, fire and earth. . Firstly, it is not strong wood as the it is threatened by metal and exhausted by earth and fire. As wood element is symbol of trees and the environment, we can expect the metal attacking wood in 2010 will cause more accidents leading to more destruction of the environment. Natural disasters like forest fire will happen to cause damage to the atmosphere. Metal is ?also a symbol of breathing organ and lung. The conflict involving wood, fire and metal indicates worsening of air quality and more sickness related to breathing organ. The Tiger is also part of a serious configuration in animal astrology called “ Three Fire Penalty”. This configuration is formed when the 3 wood, fire, and metal animals Tiger, Snake and Monkey appear at the same time. Such penalty can cause serious misfortunes related to fire element. such as fire disaster, nuclear energy accidents, eruption of volcano, even inflammation, skin and breathing organ, intestine diseases.
In 2009, as I correctly predicted, was not a good year for airline business, besides many plane crashes and other incidents, there are also less travelling because of the fear of Swine flu. The idea is that airline business is in the category of fire element, so when fire element is absent in 2008 and 2009 it will also weaken the airline business hence causing accidents and problems. This will improve in 2010, as this year of Tiger is seed of fire element . Also the Tiger is part of 3 animals forming fire penalty, and is an active travelling star. As such, we will see more people travel and this should be beneficial to airline and tourism business.
The clash between the Tiger and Monkey is a serious clash between wood and metal elements. Both Tiger and Monkey are travelling stars, so the clash will often bring serious traffic accidents especially car crashes. Therefore people born in years of Monkey have to be particularly careful in 2010. As it is metal and wood clashes the danger could be associate with cars, machinery’s. So people having such clash must take extra care when driving cars and travelling. Therefore, for people born in the year of Monkey, it is recommended that they carry the pendant of a Pig which will help to attract away the Tiger, so as to minimize the negative influence of the clash. Anyhow, people who are born in the year of Monkey will experience a more turbulent year with more movements, traveling and changes. It is suitable to engage in such movements, such as moving house or moving offices. Traveling is also good but one should refrain from driving fast cars and avoid going straight towards the North east direction as it is the direction of the Grand Duke in 2010. For people born in the year of the Monkey, if possible, it is also good to minimize activities involving fast speed sports, such sports are skiing, car racing, etc.
The Tiger also forms a three penalty relationship with the Snake and the Monkey. Such penalty is hidden danger and may cause disharmony, worries and irritations, or hidden sickness. Therefore people born in the year of the Monkey or Snake is also recommended to carry the pendant of the Pig to minimize such penalty influence in the year of the Tiger.
The Five basic elements represent different parts of our body, Metal in general relates to skin, breathing organ, the lung. As such, the health problems related to Metal year could be breathing organ problem such as flu. Yang metal is also associate with intestines so it may increase chances of colon cancer , food poisoning, and diarrhea. The wood tiger involves both elements of wood and fire. Wood is symbol of the liver, and the Tiger, Monkey and Snake generates serious fire penalty which could cause burning, heart and blood diseases and inflammation. Typical examples of such fire penalty causing health problem or fire tragedy are Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, C Disorder of fire elements can mean problems of heart and blood and this bring inflammation and cancer … these kinds of health problems will also come in focus in the Tiger year in 2010. It is important to take more omega 3 oil and anti –oxidant as a preventive measure.
Continuing on the issue of health problems. As metal sitting on wood will indicate weakness of metal element, year 2010 is also not favorable for people who has weak immune system, . Metal is the element symbolizing lung and breathing organ and skin, with metal further weaken by fire penalty of Tiger, Monkey and Snake, breathing organ problems related to poor air quality, allergy of the nose, and flu will be more serious in 2010.
In recent years the most imminent issue threatening the survival of human race is Global warming. The polar ice caps have been melting down in an alarming speed and there are forecasts that many coastal populated cities will be submerged under the sea by the year 2050. The pair of elements in 2010, yang metal sitting on the tiger shows dryness with total absence of water. Also the flying star 8 goes in the centre in 2010 which is earth element attacking water. So it is anticipated that 2010 could be a more dry year with drought occurring in many parts of the world. Also the apparent weakness of metal element showing up on top of Tiger also reflect bad air quality damaging breathing organ, and that the metal element is destroyer of wood which is a symbol of the environment, these all indicates there may be deterioration in global warming, leading to more pollution and worsening of the atmosphere and more unusual climate changes could be experienced in 2010.. Global warming is an issue concerning the whole human race and every one of us has the duty to take up effective measure to preserve our environment and support the move to reduce CO2 emission.
In 2010, the feng shui flying star number 8, symbolize earth element and children, is in the centre. This centre number often reflects the focus of events prevailing in the year. Take for example, in 2005 we have Flying star 4 in the centre and the number 4 symbolizes the chicken. So this the year the threat of avian flu began. In 2006 the star 3 in the centre represents conflict and earthquakes, 2007 the number dominate the centre is 2 which is sickness and it has brought the alarm of avian flu in focus again. In 2008 the number 1 in the centre is water element. Hence in 2008 we experienced more cold weather and snowstorm and flooding. In 2009, the fire number 9 is in centre and we did experienced devastating fire in areas such as Australia. So we have to assume the earth element in the centre of 2010 will also bring some problems with earthquake and misfortune involving children.
Regarding flying star feng shui, the current twenty year period from 2004 to 2024 is called “Age of 8” and this number 8 represents the Trigram of Mountain and it also is symbol of young children. Therefore since stepping into Age of 8 in 2004, it seems there are more disasters and misfortune affecting children. The latest incidents included the big earthquake in China in 2008 killing a lot of school kids, also the disaster of contaminated baby milk powder caused serious kidney stone problem to children.. This number 8, representing children is always present in the centre of the flying star chart in this 20 years from 2004 to 2024. But in 2010 the same year star 8 also goes in the centre so the double number 8 could symbolize a year of more danger to children.
Regarding the economy, fire element is often the driving force behind the stock market. The five elements are also affecting peoples mood. In general fire is joy, water is fear, Earth is meditation, metal is sadness, and wood is anger. As such, fire year often generate optimism and drive up the stock market, such as 2006 and 2007. But in 2008 the water arrived and obviously people began to have fear about worsening of the USA sub-prime problem and recession. In the year 2009 there is pure earth on earth. . The earth element is not as fearful as water but is meditation. So it means people will be conservative and play safe. As such, it is a year of continue cooling down but gaining more stability. Fire is the symbol of the financial market and strong fire will stimulate optimism and speculative mentality. Without fire investors will play cool and conservative. In 2009, despite the absence of fire element in the year , the spring and summer months still showed strong wood and fire influences bringing upward surge in the stock and property market. But investors will be more cautious and practical and there will not be dramatic fluctuations such as in the magnitude of yin fire year in 2007. In general 2009 is a year of continual cooling down but showing signs of more stability and calmness with steady upward trend in the stock market. But in 2010. the Tiger carries the seed of fire element and so there is strong chance of a more substantial economic recovery with stronger optimism starting from the spring season.
The metal element of 2010 is expected to bring prosperity to to fire industries and productivity to earth industries, this is because fire conquers metal, so the metal element is a symbol of money to the fire industry, which includes finance, entertainment and energy. Earth element produces metal, so metal is the output and productivity of Earth industry. As such metal year will bring activities to Earth industry which includes property, hotel, mining, insurance. The second best industries could be metal and water, as metal sees the wood tiger as money element and water sees wood tiger as creative element. Metal industries are banking, machinery, high tech, cars. Water industries are shipping, transport, communications. So we can see some recovery in the banking and financial aspect in 2010. The industry which is not that favorable is wood element. This includes forestry, furniture, fashion, textile, paper, media, newspaper and magazines, and the recently coming up new industry of environmental protection is also falling into the category of wood. Wood industries is not so good in 2010 because there is no earth for it to conquer and no obvious fire for wood to produce.
The banking and financial tsunami that started in 2008 is mostly triggered by the absence of fire elements and the dominating water element which generated fear. Banking is Metal and it needs fire to melt it into useful tools. And finance and stock market are more related to fire which generates optimism. As such, the total absence of fire element in 2008 and 2009 is responsible for the slow down in economy and the banking crisis. However, the Tiger of 2010 is mother and seed of fire and it is also essential part of the fire penalty. Therefore it is anticipated that such wood will create a condition for a steady improvement in optimism and that will bring more healthy economic recovery and growth in 2010.
With respect to the hi-tech industries sector, as represented by the NASDAQ. I have postulated that this industry is mainly represented by the metal element. As such, the prosperity of hi-tech industry requires the strong appearance of water and wood, which are symbols of productivity and money of the metal industry. In 2010 the wood element, meaning money profitability to hi-tech industries is not weak but is hidden underneath the metal. Also there is absence of water to support the wood. As such, it is anticipated that the year is favorable for hi-tech or Internet types of business with some recovery and progress. But the absence of water and the suppress of wood under metal in this year could mean there are more activities without real substantial money gains.
In summary, the industries that will perform well in the year of the Tiger will be industries related to Fire and Earth elements. Fire industries are entertainment, finance, energy, The earth industry such as property, hotel, mining, insurance etc is active but not making obvious profit as their money element – water is absent. The metal industry such as banking, machinery, engineering, computer, and high tech industries will enter a year of investment with more stability than previous two years. And the sectors relating to water such as shipping, communication, drinks, spa will be moving ahead with conservatism. Wood industry may not be doing very well as their money element earth is absent.
In general, the Yang Metal Tiger year, with Metal on top and wood below, is symbol of power and conquer. It will bring more conflict and disharmony than 2009 so it may not be a peaceful year with international clashes and disagreements. The yang metal is a destructive weapon so it requires more patience and restraint to prevent skirmishes and wars. Especially the Tiger is hidden seed of fire and there could also be danger of nuclear weapon getting out of control. However, the positive side of yang metal is it is also an element of Justice, loyalty and hopefully such virtuous quality will help world leaders to make wise decisions to minimize any disagreement and conflicts. Yang metal is a hero image who is willing to sacrifice personal interest for the good of the public and who is willing to come to the aid of people who are in need of support. . So this good quality will bring more charitable actions, good sense of brotherhood in co-operation to solve global problems. The theme is brotherhood to heal and cure common problem that the whole world is facing, such as natural disasters, global warming, and the spreading of massive destructive weapons. We will also see economic recovery from the turbulent time of 2008 and begin to reconstruct our world and allow planet earth to heal.
The animal sign which is most unfavorable is the Monkey which is in direct clash against the Tiger. Such clashes will usually bring about turbulence, movements, accident or changes… So people born in the year of the Monkey will anticipate more traveling, or movements such as changing jobs or moving house. It is necessary to carry the pendant of a Pig as protection to attract the Tiger away. For the Monkey people, the clash against the Tiger could bring accidents related to travelling and traffic, injury during travelling or fast speed sports such as skiing, car racing, etc. For people who are under clash with the year, it is ok to travel more, making changes such as moving house, or change job. However, for people born in the year of the Monkey it is recommended not to travel directly towards the direction of the Grand Duke, which is the north-east direction. . The other animal’s signs facing unfavorable positions are the Snake and the Tiger. When Snake encounters Tiger year will be forming part of the Three Penalty.. . Such penalties will usually bring disharmony, irritation, worries and frustrations, as well as sickness, especially when the Monkey also come to join the Snake and the Tiger. . Also people born in year of the Tiger are offending the Grand Duke which is also not auspicious and it is necessary to carry Pig pendant to minimize the negative effect. The imbalance of earth and the absence of fire this year will bring serious problem of the breathing organ, skin, heart and blood circulation problem and colon and blood cancer. . As such, it is necessary to take heavy dosages of anti-oxidant, omega 3 oil which is good protection against cardiovascular diseases and prevent our cells attack by free radicals to cause inflammation and cancer.
The animals combining with the Tiger year are the Pig, the Horse, and the Dog. These animals are into a year of harmony. However, such animal astrology is not totally reliable as the system is not recognized as a formal type of fortune-telling. For more reliable assessment of ones fortune in the year of the Tiger, it is recommended that one checks the full Four Pillars of Destiny, which requires full birth data information of the Year, Month, Day and Hour of birth. As the animal signs can appear in all four pillars in a person’s birth data, the clash and penalty relationship with the Tiger will not only cause impact on people born in the year of Monkey and Snake and Tiger. Such clash and penalties can also impact any one who has such animals in the birth month, or day or hour.
Some examples of famous people born in the year of the Monkey and under clash in 2010 are Celine Dion, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas, Edison Chan, Mahmound Ahmadinejad, Owen Wilson, Halle Berry, Donald Tsang, Yao Ming, Diana Ross, Daniel Craig. There are people who are not born in the year of Monkey, but they are also under clash because they are born on the day of Monkey, so they will also face a challenging year. Some examples of these people are – David Beckham, Benjamin Netanyahu, Kate Winslet, Abhisit Vejjajiva, Li Ka Shing…… The clash against the Day Pillar will usually cause movement or conflict in the family or human relationship area, especially in the relationship with the spouse or opposite sex.
People born in year of the Tiger is said to be “offending the Grand Duke” and it is also recommended to carry pendant of the Pig. Examples of Tiger people are Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Eason Chan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jon Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, Richard Branson ……
For people who are born in the year of the Rabbit, the Tiger year will bring “Flower of Romance” so one can anticipate a more sociable year with more opportunity to develop friendship with the opposite sex… People born in the year of the Monkey, Rat and Dragon will be into year of “Travelling Horse” and the Tiger year will trigger more travelling and movement.
People born in yin metal day or yin metal year – years ending with 1, such as1951, 1961, 1981, 1971 will meet nobleman in the year of tiger, this means they will encounter supportive people who brings them benefits and help.
However, the most serious and dangerous aspect of the Tiger is it forms Three Fire Penalty with the Snake and Monkey and bring misfortune and worries, even serious sickness such as heart attack and inflammation . Examples of famous people who will have such three penalty configurations are, J.K. Rowling, Mel Gibson, Such penalty means hidden danger and could bring trouble and health problem. It is also good for people having such penalty with the Tiger to carry a pendant of the Pig to minimize its bad effects. There are numerous examples that such Three Fire Penalty caused complicated health problems and misfortunes and breaking up marriages and causing accidents . The tragic deaths of Christa Macauliffe who died in The Challenger explosion in 1986, Elivs Presley died in 1977 of complicated health issues, Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 by choking in his sleep, Tom Cruise divorced Nicole Kidman in 2001 and Nathasha Richardson died of head injury when skiing in 2009, all can be attributed to these three fire penalty of Tiger, Snake and Monkey which showed up on that day or year when the misfortune happened..
President Barak Obama is a strong earth person and he needs metal and water elements to exhaust his excessive earth energy. Wood is also favorable as it helps to suppress his excessive earth elements. The metal in 2010 is his favorable elements representing his skill and intelligence. As such, it is a year he has chance to show off his talent and gets recognition in his performance. The Tiger is not only his power element but is also his nobleman as he is born in 1961. As such, it will be a favorable year for Obama with achievements and successes.
Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Chief secretary is born in year of Monkey and day of Monkey. So in 2010 he will be under double clash which will bring him a turbulent year. This could mean he will be busy performing a fire fighting role owing to more international conflicts and disharmony.
Feng Shui energies also change from year to year. Therefore, it is necessary to watch for the re-allocation of good and bad energies at the beginning of each year, so that we can take necessary precautions if some bad energy happens to arrive at important locations of our residence or offices. In the year of the Tiger, the bad energy called “Five Yellow” – symbolizing obstacles and misfortune, arrives at the Southwest. If your Southwest of the house is an important area such as bedroom or entrances, it is recommended that one hangs a metal wind chime there to dissolve this bad energy. The worst months will be in May, August. Another bad star number 2, symbolizing sickness, will arrive in the Northeast in 2010. The traditional method to dissolve this 2 is to hang a string of six metal coins in the affected area in the Northeast of the house The Grand Duke this year is in the North-east, hence it is not favorable to “move earth” or make substantial construction work in this direction. It is also not recommended for one to sit with back against North as you will be sitting against the unfavorable energy called “Three Shars” or “Three Killings”. Southwest is the “Crash position” against the Grand Duke which is also not good to sit. The bad star 3 is a star of conflict and robbery. This is present in the South of the house. It is necessary to put a piece of red paper in the South to minimize such bad influence. Also the bad star 7, representing scandals is in the Southeast, the traditional solution for this bad star 7 is to place 3 piece of bamboo plant grown in clear glass vase of water in the Southeast location.