ABSTRACT

The Chinese calendar, commonly known as the Farmers’ Calendar, or the Hsia Calendar, is 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 MONKEY

The Year of the Monkey, 2016, in the Hsia calendar, is symbolized by two elements – with Yang fire sitting on top of metal. According to the cycle of birth and destruction, which governs the inter relationship between the elements, Fire conquers metal and so they are on the destructive cycle and have fighting relationship. Normally such conflicting elements means disharmony. In particular Yang Fire symbolizes a straight-forward and quick temper person more ready to explode. So there will be international conflicts and clashes. However, it seems such conflicts may not be very violent and yang fire sitting on Monkey is also symbol of the “Setting Sun” as Monkey is metal representing the west. So the yang fire is comparatively mild. Also yang fire people is known to lose temper quickly but is honest and open at heart. So conflicts can be more easily resolved with compromise and concessions when the heat is cooling down after sun set. With such character of yang fire, I can expect 2016 will be comparatively less violent than 2014 and 2015 when the yang wood is a stubborn tree standing by its principles and refuses to bend. Also yang fire being the sun always brings optimism and warmth. As such, it will be easier to reach agreements and treaties to resolve conflicts and struggles.

The Monkey is strong metal element and hidden inside is yang metal, yang water and yang earth. Yang metal is a destructive element representing a sword or a killer weapon.Yang water is powerful ocean water with aggressive energy. As such, it also indicates clashes related to the ocean or conflicts at sea. So it will not be surprising the tension about disputed territories in South China sea may escalate.The Monkey in Four Pillars system is the birth place of water, and yang fire – the sun setting in the west is weakening fire. Hence there will be chance of shipping and airline accidents and air and sea disasters.

The Chinese calendar of Heavenly stems and Earthly Branches goes on 60 years cycle. This means that we had experienced the same yang fire Monkey year 60 years ago in 1956 as well as 120 years ago in 1896. The year 1956 saw the outbreak of crisis in Suez Canal with Egypt nationalized the Canal July, this eventually led to Bombing of Egypt by U.K. and France and Israel invasion of Sinai Peninsula in Oct, 1956. There are also revolutions against Soviet Union control in Hungry and in Poland, both were brutally suppressed by Soviet forces. In Hong Kong there is riot of the Nationalist on 10th Oct. So it was also a year of conflict and war. However, as yang fire symbolizes the Sun, it also generate sentiment of optimism and happiness, so it is a favorable year for entertainment and glamorous industries. 1956 is a very successful year for big stars such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Doris Day. Elvis Presley conquered the world with “Heartbreak Hotel” in February 1956, Marilyn Monroe changed her name from Norma Jean to Marilyn Monroe, and Doris Day recorded her most famous song “Que Sera Sera”…. All these happened in 1956.

In Chinese Metaphysics, yang fire represents the sun and energy – heart and blood circulation. Yang fire also refers to the shoulder. Hence a fire year is easy to bring sickness of heart, blood, inflammation problem and shoulder pain. Metal in the human body is related to lung and breathing organ. With fire attacking metal, there is chance of flu and other breathing organ or skin problems. Also the flying star 2, representing sickness occupies centre in 2016. As such, it will be a year with more chance of flu pandemic. Indeed in 1956, there was actually Asian flu pandemic originated from China. As Yang fire is often compared to the Sun. Hence yang Fire people are more warm hearted, open minded and straight-forward, they are easy to make friends and is popular in social circle. The most representative yang fire persons are Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs, without their open-mindedness and hot enthusiasm, we may not be able to enjoy the products of their innovative ideas. However, yang fire people are quick tempered and sometimes impulsive and outspoken without careful thinking and this may get them into trouble sometimes. A typical example is Russell Crowe who is a yang fire man and had a reputation for having quick temper. In 2005 he was arrested and charged with assault in a New York hotel after he threw a telephone at the hotel manager when he failed to connect a call from his room. Mr. Steve Jobs is also known for hot temper. However, inside a yang fire person there is also a kind and soft heart. Many famous yang fire people are, scientists, writers and artists and entertainer, besides Steve Jobs, Einstein and Russell Crowe, other famous yang fire people include J. K. Rowling, Sandra Bullock, Paris Hilton, Alfred Hitchcock…… However some yang fire people can be dramatic and eccentric due to their explosive temperament, such as Adolf Hitler and Kim Jong Un……

The fire element basically symbolize happiness in the Five Quality of people, and they are honest, warm hearted, open minded and easy to make friends. Yang fire is optimistic. They are reliable people and trusted friends. As such, yang fire year often boost peoples confidence about the economy bringing good performance to the stock market. On 12th March 1956, the Dow Jones industrial Average Index surpassed 500 points for the first time in history. Also 1956 was a year of entertainment – besides Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Doris Day, it is also first year The Broadway musical “My Fair Lady” opened in New York, and the First Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast from Switzerland. The film “The King and I” was also released in this year of yang fire monkey.

The Monkey is strong metal element, in Chinese metaphysics it is a “Travelling Horse” and it clashes against the Tiger. Hence in a Monkey year there are more people travelling, in particular for people born in year and day of Tiger, Horse, Dog, and also people born in year or day of Pig, Rabbit, and Goat. As so many people have chance to travel, it will also trigger traffic accidents. In general Monkey and Tiger are land animals, hence the accidents are often involve car crashes. However, as it is year of yang fire which is related to airplanes, and the Monkey is also mother of water, we need to beware of air and sea traffic disaster as well in 2016. Back in 1956, the last yang fire monkey year 60 years ago, it was also a year of air and sea disasters. On 30/6/1956, A TWA airplane and an United Airlines DC-7 airplane collided in mid air over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, killing 128 passengers. On 25/7/1956 a Italian Ocean liner sank after colliding with Swedish ship SS Stockholm in heavy fog, killing 51 people. On 9/12 Trans-Canada air line crashed into a mountain in British Columbia killing 62 passengers. On 31/1/1957, still in the year of yang fire monkey, another mid-air collision happened between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a fighter jet near L.A.

As yang fire is the powerful energy of the Sun, certainly the very powerful fire energy will also bring explosion and fire disasters. On 8/8/1956, 262 miners died in a fire in a coal mine in Belgium, On 28/6/1896, also another yang fire monkey year 120 years ago, another coal mine in Pennsylvania exploded killing 58 miners. Yang fire is gigantic energy such as nuclear, the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant is opened in England in October,

1956. Also the Fukushima nuclear power plant was destroyed by the 311 earthquake and tsunami on a yang fire tiger day on 12/3/2011. Hence we also have to beware of nuclear issues and possible nuclear accidents in 2016.

As fire is hot air, so this element is often related to birds, airplane and flying objects, the year 2016 can be regarded as flying monkey, which is the drones flying in the air. It is expected the application of drones and robots will be getting more active and popular in 2016.

In Chinese medicine, fire element is heart and blood circulation, it is also related to the shoulder and the small intestines. Metal is breathing organ, lung, skin and and the Monkey will create “fire penalty” when it meets with Tiger and Snake, such fire penalty will trigger fire disasters and explosions. In the human body, fire penalty will cause inflammation, heart disease and high blood pressure problems. As this year is fire burning metal, so we have to beware of inflammation of intestines and breathing organ problem, and the sick star 2 dominates the center. So flu pandemic may be more serious in 2016. The suitable supplements to improve our immune system and minimize the chance of inflammation is anti-oxidant, vitamin C and omega 3 oil.

Take for example, Elvis Presley died in 16/8/1977 and he died of inflammation of his internal organs resulted from Monkey Tiger Snake fire penalty. The more serious month for such penalty will be February and May as these are months of Tiger and Snake.

The Monkey is the animal in clash against the Tiger. As both are travelling stars and they are land animals, such clash is related to traffic accidents. Also both Monkey and Tiger belongs to the Fire penalty of Tiger, Monkey, Snake. So it will also cause air disasters, explosion and fire hazards.

People who are born in the year of Monkey are offending the year, if they have also a Tiger somewhere in their four pillars or in their luck, they will suffer from clash or fire penalty and is more susceptible to traffic trouble or fire hazards, inflammation in 2016 if fire is their unfavorable element. This will create health problems and misfortune related to blood pressure, heart, breathing organ or skin. People born in year of Tiger is in clash against the year. They usually have more movements and travelling in 2016, it is ok to take such chance to make necessary changes such as moving house, moving office, or changing job or taking trips. However they should take extra care and refrain from risky sports such as driving fast cars, driving airplane, skin diving, parachuting etc. It is recommended that they carry the pendant of a Snake which will help to attract away the Monkey, so as to minimize the negative influence of the clash. For people born in year of the Tiger, it is good to minimize travelling direct towards the Southwest direction as it is the direction of the Grand Duke in 2016.

In the last 3 years from 2013 to 2015, we have experienced fire and earth years, fire is blood circulation, carbohydrate, energy and sugar, earth is stomach and muscles, as such, these years will make people gain weight more easily. However 2016 the arrival of metal element is a good chance to exhaust the excessive amount of earth we gained in the last few year. So it is a good year to do more exercise, watch diet and lose weight, one will find these two years of Monkey 2016 and Rooster 2017 will be more effective to trim down excessive fat.

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 South Korean ferry boat disaster in 2014 killing a lot of school kids, this is another examples of young people problem which is most prominent in “Age of 8”. This number 8, representing children will always present in the centre of the flying star chart in this 20 years from 2004 to 2024. So it is always important to pay attentions to children safety and well being in this period of 8.

Regarding the economy, fire element is often the driving force behind the stock market. The five elements are also affecting people’s mood. In general fire is joy, water is fear, Earth is meditation, metal is sadness, and wood is anger. As such, fire year often generates 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. So the financial tsunami occurred in autumn of 2008 leading to a few years of instability in the world economy. The years subsequent to 2008 were missing the fire element, so the crisis and instability particularly in USA and Europe prevailed until 2013, when the US economy showed strong recovery with the fire Snake year. In 2014 horse year the fire element continued to fuel the economy and it is obvious that USA and Europe are out of the bearish years. In 2015, the momentum of fire driven optimism will continue so this could be a year that the economic activities and stock market will continue to be very active particularly in spring and summer. The yang fire in 2016 is still positive for the economy and the optimism continue to bring confidence to buy. This positive fire energy will continue into first half of 2017 which is also fire showing up in the Heavenly stems.

The fire and metal element of 2016 is expected to bring prosperity to fire industries and water industries; this is because fire conquers metal, so the metal element is a symbol of money to the fire industry, which includes energy, entertainment, stock market, finance. The second best industries could be water, as water conquers fire, so fire is money to water industry. Water industries are transport, communication, shipping. Earth industry is also positive as Earth produces metal, so it will be an active year for earth elements such as property, construction, high tech, mining… The not so good industry is metal. Metal industries are banking, engineering, computer, …, in a strong metal year, this industry will be very active, but competition is also very strong and the Monkey year brings many competitors in the scene. Wood industry, such as textile, paper, environment… is active because wood produces fire, but the money to wood industry – earth is absent.

In summary, the industries that will perform well in the year of the Monkey will be industries related to Fire and Water elements. Fire industries are energy, stock market, finance, entertainment. Water element is referring to transport, shipping, communication. Earth industry will be active and productive but money element to earth is water which is not obvious. In general, the Yang Fire Monkey year, with fire on top and metal below, is symbol of optimism and flexibility and progress. There is still conflict and disharmony in international relationship and may not be a peaceful year but people are optimistic, open-minded, confident and innovative to bring solution to obstacles. Also there are natural disasters such as fire, explosion, nuclear issues tornado and hurricane and some environmental disasters and disease and epidemic still prevail.

The animal sign which is most unfavorable is the Tiger which is in direct clash against the Monkey. Such clashes will usually bring about turbulence, movements, accident or changes...As it is travelling stars clash, it will stimulate misfortunes related to traffic, air and sea disaster, explosion and fire disaster. The Monkey creates fire penalty with Tiger and Snake and these excessive fire will bring health problems related to inflammation and breathing organ. People born in the year of the Tiger will anticipate more traveling, or movements such as changing jobs or moving house. It is necessary to carry the pendant of a Snake as protection to attract the Monkey away. For the Tiger people, the clash against the Monkey could bring accidents related to traffic on the road and in the air.. 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 Tiger, it is recommended not to travel directly towards the direction of the Grand Duke, which is the southwest direction.

The other animal’s signs facing unfavorable positions is the Monkey. When Monkey encounters Monkey year will be offending the Grand Duke as well as potential penalty with Tiger and Snake. . Such penalties will usually bring disharmony, irritation, worries and frustrations, as well as sickness, it is necessary to carry Snake pendant to minimize the negative effect.

The animals combining with the Monkey year is the Snake, the Dragon and Rat. 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 one’s fortune in the year of the Monkey, 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 Monkey will not only cause impact on people born in the year of Tiger and Monkey. Such clash and penalties can also impact anyone who has such animals in the birth month, or day or hour.

Some examples of famous people born in the year of the Tiger and in clash against the Monkey in 2016 are Tom Cruise, Terry Gou, the Queen, Rob Pattison, Lady Gaga, Jodie Foster…... There are people not born in the year of Tiger, but they are also under clash because they are born on the day of Tiger, so they will also face a challenging year. Some examples of these people are Hilary Clinton, Park Geun Hye, Paris Hilton, Joan Jett, Kiefer Sutherland, Britney Spears … 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. Take for example, both Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are both on the day of Tiger and so both are under clash in the year of Monkey. Hence their marriage is breaking up.

People born in year of the Monkey is said to be “offending the Grand Duke” and it is also recommended to carry pendant of the Snake... Examples of people born in Monkey year are

Hugh Jackman, Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, Celine Dion, Joey Yung, Yao Ming, Daniel Craig…

The more serious configuration is the Three Fire Penalty formed by the presence of Monkey, Tiger and Snake. Penalty is hidden danger and will cause irritation, worries and serious misfortune related to fire element. These will include misfortunes, relationship problems and health issues. Some examples of such people coming up with fire penalty in 2016 are Hilary Clinton, Paris Hilton, Pricilla Chan, Justin Beiber, Jennifer Aniston, Ron Pattinson, Oscar Postorius….. So many celebrities seems to be affected in 2016. These penalties are serious and dangerous, and the minimum protection is to carry pendant of Snake to attract away the incoming Monkey year.The Rooster is “Flower of Romance” in the year of the Monkey. For people who are born in years of Rooster or day of Rooster can anticipate a more sociable year with more opportunity to develop friendship with the opposite sex... People born in the year of the Tiger or day of Tiger will be into year of “Travelling Horse” and the Monkey year will also trigger more travelling and movement for people born in year of Pig, Rabbit and Goat.

The Monkey is a “Nobleman” for people born in years or days of Yin wood, Yin earth Heavenly stems. This means any birth year ending with the number 5, or 9 such as 1955, 1959, 1965, 1969, 1975, 1979, 1985, 1989, and 1995, 99…..ect. “Nobleman” is our protective angels who will come to help us and make everything smooth and positive. The Monkey is also the “Academic star” for people born in a Yang fire year. So 2016 is also a good year for baby birth as all baby born this year will automatically have “Academic star” which means intellectual quality and strong desire to learn.

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 Monkey, the bad energy called “Five Yellow” – symbolizing obstacles and misfortune, arrives at the NE. It is recommended that one hangs a metal wind chime in the NE of the house to dissolve this bad energy. The worst months will be in February, May, November, 2016. Another bad star number 2, symbolizing sickness, will arrive in the centre in 2016. The traditional method to dissolve this 2 is to hang a string of six metal coins in the affected area in the centre of the house. The Grand Duke this year is in the Southwest, 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 South as you will be sitting against the unfavorable energy called “Three Shars” or “Three Killings”. The Northeast 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 NW.. It is necessary to put a piece of red paper in this position to minimize such bad influence. Also the bad star 7, representing scandals is in the North, 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 North location.

The annual star 2 located in the centre is the Trigram Earth and it is also a star of sick spell. As such, it is anticipated that more sickness or flu pandemic can be anticipated in 2016 and the affected area could be Central and NE area and. This will often affect Middle East and countries and regions with name “Central”, this may include China as well as the name of China is Central Country.