The Chinese calendar, commonly known as the Farmers calendar, or the Hsia calendar, is a fascinating 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 --- reads a person's destiny from his birth data, as presented in the Hsia calendar format. The unique feature of this 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 Year of the Horse, 2002, is symbolized by two elements: water and fire.- In the Hsia calender, this year is characterized by water sitting on top of fire. According to the cycle of birth and destruction, which governs the inter-relationship between elements, water destroys fire. Therefore, fire sitting underneath its destroyer, water, is a symbol of disharmony and conflict. This may be serious and will lead to war.
In my prediction last year, I also forecast a year of international conflict in 2001, a year of metal sitting on fire. This prediction was quite accurate. As soon as we got into the year of Snake, US President Bush took office, with a hawkish attitude in foreign relations. This followed with the bombing of Iraq; disharmony with China after the air crash in South China sea in April; the expulsion of a Russian diplomat for spy activities, and other incidents. Then came the horrible attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on 11th September, leading to the international war against terrorism and the American attack of Afghanistan.

If the conflict between metal and fire in 2001 had such serious consequences, I cannot be optimistic about 2002. The water/fire elements are a pair seriously in conflict. Water can set off to destroy fire, but the fire is not weak, as it is in the Earthly Branch,- symbolising the foundation. So the fire can resist and fight back.

This could be the sign of a larger scale war. I do not mean it will be World War III, but it may be similar in scale to the war at Kosovo in 1999, or the Gulf War in 1990. It could be the extension of the international war against terrorism, which seems will last very much into 2002.

It is not easy to pinpoint where the war, or trouble, will break out. But the feng shui of 2002 indicates that East is not a favourable position. So the trouble spot could involve the East --- the tension areas being China and Taiwan, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, or even the East coast of USA.

In the Chinese calendar system, the pair of elements representing a year follows a 60 year cycle. This means that we experienced the same year of metal on fire in 194, when America saw the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour. In 2001, exactly 60 years later, the same pair of elements metal on fire brought the World Trade Centre incident, which many called another Pearl Harbour. In 2002, with water standing on fire, we will experience the same as in 1942. That was when the world was at war in World War II. So 2002 could be a year of major war. But the comforting view is that 2002 will be unlike World War I & II, when major powers fought against each other. It could be the whole world united in a war against one common enemy --- international terrorism.

In the system of Four Pillars of Destiny system, the Year of the Horse, has the strongest fire element. According to our experience, fire is the driving force behind economic activities. This means there will be increasing activities in international trade. However, the Horse is an animal, which clashes with the Rat, which is a water element. The clash implies bleeding and casualty. So it is anticipated that natural disasters and accidents related to water and fire will be more frequent in 2002. As such, the Horse Year will see more serious flooding as well as drought, or accidents involving traveling, at sea as well as in the air. Strong fire horse will also bring explosions and fire disasters, especially involving energy -- such as oil refineries, nuclear power stations, etc. So it is a year when we have to tighten up fire prevention measures. The most dangerous months will be June, July, Aug.

The Horse, in the system of Four Pillars of Destiny, is a "Flower of Romance". So on the positive side, this year will see more social activities and inter-personal relationships. But the negative side is that the Horse Year will bring more sex crimes and sex scandal.

The five basic elements also represent different parts of our body. Water is the kidney, and fire is the heart and blood circulation. As fire is very strong this year, it will easily trigger diseases related to the heart and blood circulation. It will not be surprising to see celebrities or famous people suffer from heart attacks or strokes this year. AIDS is also a blood disease related to the fire element. So this sickness will capture public attention.

The strong fire element also attacks metal, which represents the breathing organs, the lungs and skin. So in the year of Horse, there will also be more diseases related to these areas. It will be a year when we find flu and breathing organ problems more serious. As our breathing organ is under attack, it will also be associated with bad air quality. Pollution problems will also grow more serious in 2002.

Regarding the economy, the year of the Horse brings strong fire element, which is the driving force behind the old economy. This is particularly important for Asia, as the economic powers in South East Asia are close to the equator --- an area of the fire element. The 1997 Asian currency crisis was actually brought to Asia by the demise of the fire element. The economic downturn starting in August 2001 was also bought about by a heavy metal element consuming the fire snake.

In 2002, the Horse brings stronger fire. So it is anticipated that we will see a more powerful return of prosperity to Asian countries, with a substantial increase in economic activities. This will benefit the old economic sector, as represented by the Dow Jones index in the US.

The fire element also supports earth, which is a symbol of the property market. As such, I am also optimistic about the property sector. It seems that there will be more activities in the property market, stimulated by the fire of the Horse.
With respect to the new hi-tech economy, as represented by NASDAQ, I have postulated that this industry is mainly represented by the metal element. So I accurately predicted that the NASDAQ would fall during metal months of 2000, a year of strong metal. I also predicted it would not do well in 2001, a year when metal showed up again. This was true in August 2001 when the metal month brought a drastic fall in the NASDAQ. In 2002, the fire element does not help the metal either. But the water on topis an element that the metal produces. This indicates that the hi-tech companies will have a more productive year. Although they still will not yet see great profit, it is a year of more activities and opportunities. The remaining hi-tech companies, after the elimination process of 2001, will be able to consolidate and become innovative for survival and profit-making.

This does not mean that the hi-tech industry will be profitable; the money element of this industry -- wood -- is still not there. But after the elimination process in 2001, and the innovation period in 2002, the NASDAQ will be more healthy and stable.
How about the oil industry? The energy industry is symbolized by the fire element. Fire conquers metal. Therefore, metal symbolizes the money gains of the oil industry. It is the strong metal appearing in the year of Dragon that raises oil prices, bringing substantial money gains to oil companies. However, no metal appears in 2002, and the strong fire element will mean more competition for energy industries. Hence, we can only expect oil prices to come down in the year of the Horse.

The industries that will perform well will be industries related to wood, earth and water elements. Wood industries include fashion, retail, textile, paper, publications, agriculture, and food. Earth industries include property, insurance, mining, and chemicals. Water industries -- such as shipping, transport, and restaurants -- will not do badly.

On the other hand, industries related to metal elements -- -such as engineering, heavy machinery, computer, and banking - will be less favorable in the year of the Snake. But small metal will be favourable, such as jewellery, skin care, dentist. We have also observed that the fire year is also favourable for gold prices, as metal needs fire to melt it and make it into useful tools. Fire industries -- such as energy, entertainment, electrical goods, and communications -- are not so favourable as the strong fire horse will bring more competition into the industry.

In general, the horse is a symbol of activity and energy. So it will be a year with prosperity in the economy, but conflict and disharmony in international relations. The animal signs which are not so favorable are the Rat and Horse, which is into a year of clash against the horse. Such clash usually bring about movements. So people born in the year of the Rat will anticipate more changes and moves this year, such as travelling, moving house, changing jobs, etc. It is necessary to carry a pendant of the Goat as protection against the Horse year. For the Rat people, it is also recommended not to travel so much directly to the South, especially in the month of June, as South is the position of the Grand Duke of the horse year.

The other animal signs under negative influences is the Horse, which is offending the year, and also having a penalty relationship with the year. Penalty is elated to hidden danger, hidden sickness. So people born in year of Horse should also be careful of their diet this year, avoiding too hot and chilly or too oily kinds of food.

The stronger animal signs in the year of the Horse are the Goat, the Tiger, and the Dog, as they are in combine well with the Horse, leading to a more harmonious year. There is some good news for people born in the year of the Snake, the Rooster, and the Ox. They will be into a year favorable for romance. However, such animal astrology is not totally reliable, as the system is not recognized as formal kind of fortune-telling. It requires more information than just the birth year to determine a person1s luck.

Feng Shui energies also change from year to year. Therefore, it is necessary to watch out 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 office. In the year of the Horse, the bad energy called "Five Yellow" - symbolizing obstacles and misfortune, arrives at the East. If your bedroom or entrance happen to be in the East of your house, it is recommended to hang a metal windchime there to dissolve this bad energy. The worst months will be in June and September. Another bad star number 2, symbolizing sickness, will arrive at the South in 2002. The traditional method to dissolve it is to hang a string of six metal coins in the affected area, in the South of the house. The Grand Duke this year is also in the South, hence it is not favorable to "Move earth" or do substantial construction work in the South location. It is also not suitable to sit with the back against exact North as you will be sitting against the unfavorable energy called "Three shars" or "Three Killings".