November 2014 BaZi and Feng Shui Forecast

“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.”

The wintertime, in my opinion, seems to trigger a sense of completion. Maybe I’m just in a sentimental and melancholy mood. But the upcoming holiday season, the swift change in the weather, the time for more family gathering, and the fast approaching of the New Year, tend to entice and coax our mind, body, and spirit that all that has happened (thus far) will also come to an end. And soon, it will be a time to evaluate and renew again. The saying goes, “If winter is here, then spring must be around the corner.”

One thing I have recently observed is that time seems to be flying by so quickly. We get so consumed by our to-do lists, the constant demands of going here and running there, taking care of others, and the frantic desires of checking off the checklists of dreams and goals. We haven’t a moment to pause. Quite frankly, we don’t do a very good job at pausing until something forces us to stop, like a death in the family, an accident, or unexpected sickness. So for crying out loud, let’s not wait for these moments to shake us! Be proactive. Stop. Appreciate. Celebrate. And give gratitude.

As I sit here writing and reflecting on November, I have a lot to say about the Water season. Personally, Water is an important Element for me. And I have a strong affinity to it. On the grand scheme of things, not only does Earth contain over 70% water, but it also resides in our physical body – the brain and heart are composed of 73%water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are 31% water.

The literal and figurative presence of water is everywhere!

For instance, in Chinese Metaphysics, the Water element is often associated with the emotion of fear. It doesn’t sound scary, really. It just means Water reminds us that our life’s work requires us to transform fear into wisdom. Sometimes the biggest blessings in life come from the hardest lessons. I know this isn’t always an easy thing to accept or swallow. Overcoming fear takes immense strength and faith, and I believe that is in all of us. That’s why Water also represents spiritual transformation, flexibility, and courage.

In fact, since ancient times, humans have assigned healing and transformational properties to water. For example, in early Rome, baths were an important part of cultural life, a place where citizens went to find relaxation and to connect with others in a calming setting. In Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medicinal wisdom, and traditional Chinese medicine, the Water Element is crucial to balancing the body and creating physical, mental, and emotional harmony. It also signifies stillness, taking time to rest and rejuvenate.

It is in the Water Element that all great innovations and creative ideas are birthed.

Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist, writes in his book Blue Mind, “We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken.”

Of course, your affinity to water depends on what your BaZi chart needs, too. For those who don’t find it as welcoming may become moody, anxious, depressed, indecisive, and agitated. It’s all a matter of balance. Too much or too little of anything creates imbalance. So follow the essence of Water: Just go with the flow.

With that said, this reminds me of an old article I wrote for MindBodyGreen, 10 Truths That Will Help You Through Any Challenge. It’s a short piece inspired by being close to water. If you’re interested, you can click http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12716/10-truths-that-will-help-you-through-any-challenge.html to read the full article.

Note: Please remember in Classical Feng Shui, Water is black, not blue. This is one very commonly misunderstood idea, and a sure fine way of distinguishing your learning foundation from the western kind to the traditional classic texts.

The principles of the Chinese Five Elements, similar to the 8 Trigrams, offer a myriad of representation that symbolizes many complex things in life. It’s true, they have a literal meaning to the physical manifestations you see in nature, like actual bodies of water formations, but it is so much more than that. For example, did you know Water also represents industries such as shipping, transportation, spas, bars, and cafes? It is also related to the planet Mercury, the direction of North, the time of Scorpio (Nov. 7-21) and Sagittarius (Nov.22-Dec. 7) in Western astrology, and Flying Star number 1. Water also corresponds with the three Earthly Branches of Winter: Pig 亥, Rat 子, and Ox 丑.

This month, Yin Wood 乙 sits on top of Pig 亥 in a productive cycle. Generally speaking, the nature of Yin Wood 乙 is gentler than its Yang Wood 甲 counterpart. People born on Yin Wood 乙 day are often compared to a flower. They are mellow, easy going, adaptable, and non-confrontational. Because their natural tendency is to please others, they exhibit more tolerance around people who may not necessarily deserve their unlimited understanding. They should be careful not to let others take advantage of their kindness, generosity, and compassion. As a result, most Yin Wood 乙 people find they lose their vocal power, such as standing up for themselves and openly speaking their truth. So, be mindful of that. (PS: I have many Yin Wood 乙 friends. They are all so sweet and lovely. Just like a bundle of flowers, they exhibit beauty and grace.)

Note: Famous Yin Wood 乙 people include Jessica Biel, Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, Princess Diana, Prince William, Julia Roberts, Bill Clinton, Queen Noor of Jordan, Yoko Ono, Hugh Jackman, Yves Saint Laurent, Malala Yousafzai, and Coco Channel.

While the quality Yin Wood 乙 is typically more moderate, we cannot completely say November will be a peaceful time. Why? Yang Wood 甲 in the year has support from the current season (Water), giving it more life force. Unlike the other Elements, Yin Wood 乙 tends to attach to Yang Wood 甲, transforming the quality of Yin Wood 乙 to Yang Wood 甲. In other words, the nature of Yang Wood will be more obvious.

That means in November, we can interpret this by saying that people’s tendency to want to fight and argue will start up again. Although this has pretty much been the theme of 2014, the new season will bring renewed energy to start fighting again. Above all, we have to be careful not to misinterpret the last couple of months as a “cooling off” period. Why? That’s because Wood is still in the year, and now Wood is alive again with the support of Water. Unfortunately, I’m sad to report, we won’t have a totally peaceful end to the year because December is a clash and Flying Stars are not so good. But we’ll get to the latter part a little later.

Of course, the fight against ISIL/ISIS continues along with the turmoil in Hong Kong and Ukraine. Just recently, new protests erupted in Budapest demanding a halt to a proposed Internet tax, claiming the legislation is “anti-democratic” with reports of old computer parts being hurled at the gates of the ruling Fidesz party. Mass protests over Italy job reforms, protestor scuffles at the North Korean border, and suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapping about 30 children in northern Nigeria, are just a few new reports of conflicts from around the world. While these reports may not be at the center of the media’s global attention (compared to the widespread news of Ebola, for instance), simply being aware that these are persistently happening confirms the influence of the Elements (and theme) of this year.

Let’s switch gear for a moment and talk about global finance. Historically, the stock market takes a dip when Water shows up. For instance, the stock market crash of 2007 丁亥, 2008 戊子, and 2009 己丑 were during the Water Elements. Elementally speaking, because Water is associated with fear, it influences the mood of investors and they are not as enthusiastic and bold as in the spring and summertime when these seasons represent growth, expansion, activity, and optimism. You can easily see this in the stock market trends.

Normally, we see the stock market fluctuation take place around August and October because the season swiftly changes in August (from Fire to Metal or from Yang to the beginning of Yin) and Fire goes to the grave in October with the Dog 戌.

That’s why, we can expect the stock market performance to be somewhat leveled in November with not so drastic changes. Additionally this year, the Water season supports Wood in the year, which in turn supports Fire. With that said, I anticipate the stock market to end on a somewhat positive note this year, especially since Fire will show up again in December, which will be a nice way to end 2014 despite a lack of significant resolution to this year’s major crises.

The one industry we do have to watch closely, though, is the banking industry. Just recently, the European Banking Authority reported that 24 European banks have failed stress tests of their finances. No doubt, since banking is a Metal Element, and Metal is now quite weak; therefore, businesses related to the Metal industries (i.e., military, machinery, beauty, jewelry, high-tech) will be heavily affected by the strong influence of the Water season. These industries need the support of Fire — Fire melting Metal into something useful. Hopefully they’ll bounce back in December, but the Fire energy will be weak until it comes back in 2016.

Okay, next up…

For those born in the Year or Day of Snake 巳, Rooster 酉, and Ox 丑, this is your Traveling Horse month! The Universe is throwing you a freebie to make positive changes around the home life and it’s all about improving and enhancing the quality of your life. Take stock of where you’re at and get moving! The Traveling Horse Star means it’s a great time to seize the opportunity to travel, change jobs, and make positive changes around relationship matters, including your health and money aspects. It will be a dynamic month for you so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

The Pig 亥 will also form a strong Wood string when it combines with the Rabbit 卯 and Goat 未. So if you have these Elements in your Four Pillars, the Wood energy will be particularly strong this month, especially with the support of the Water season. Of course, what the Wood Element means personally to you and how you will react to it will depend on your Four Pillars of Destiny (or BaZi 八字). A general forecast like this is not going to be able to address specifics, and anyone who tries to generalize it is most likely not analyzing it correctly  🙂

The Pig 亥 is also a Nobleman to those born in the Year or Day of Yang Fire 丙 and Yin Fire 丁. November can be a smooth and straightforward month with plenty of help to go around. Just be careful you don’t rely on your Nobleman to be careless or reckless in life. In my experience, I find that our Nobleman shows up when life gets a little messy. Imagine going through a challenging period without any help. M. Scott Peck’s very famous first line in his book A Road Less Traveled, pretty much summed it up with: “Life is difficult.” Therefore, if you feel you’re coming up against some hardship this month, just have faith and trust that you will get through it with the help of your Nobleman month.

So what can we expect in the Pig 亥 month? Five years ago, also a Yin Wood Pig 乙亥 month, China, India, and the US were dealing with the Swine Flu epidemic. Sound familiar? During this time, China was heavily criticized for having taken strict quarantine and medical detention measures to control the spread of the virus. Well, we are now at a time again when the international community is dealing with Ebola. The virus seems to be making its way to the West with the US also receiving criticism for its lack of or lax in standardized quarantine procedures. With Ebola surpassing 10,000 cases, people are demanding tougher and more urgent resolution to address this growing global crisis. More on Ebola a little later…

As for Mama Nature, powerful storm brings 3 years worth of rain in 4 hours to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, sparking terrible floods known as the 2009 Jeddah Floods, which killed over 150 people and swept thousands of cars away right in the middle of Hajj in the second largest city of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah.

My prediction for November is that: (1) we will see more water- and fire-related disasters, (2) our international community will not be able to contain the spread of Ebola to the East (and to the West in 2015), and (3) there will be more new and steady rise in mass protests around the world. I am also not ruling out sea-air accidents (Water/Fire clash) or earthquakes and other earth-related disturbances (i.e., volcanoes and landslides) that could also “shake” the energy of the ocean. (Check out the Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island as lava inches towards homes and businesses in Pahoa!) It’s a bit dire, isn’t it? But that is the theme of 2014. It’s natural to have ups and downs in life, and 2014 just happens to be, as predicted, a more turbulent year.

Fret not!  A great poet once said, “Nothing lasts forever. Not even the cold November rain.” 🙂

In the matters of health, I want to pay extra attention to the heart this month. Why? Water is strong and it is closely connected to Fire, affecting the heart, blood pressure/circulation, and even the eyes.

In Chinese Medicine, the kidneys (Water) and the heart (Fire) help regulate each other’s health. The heart (Yang) and kidneys (Yin) must be in balance as they represent the two fundamental polarities of Yin and Yang. Heart Yang descends to warm Kidney Yin, while Kidney Yin ascends to nourish Heart Yang. That’s why this constant interchange is called the “mutual assistance of support of Water and Fire” and is the most fundamental principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Also, if this functional relationship is abnormal, that is to say, if the dynamic equilibrium(balance) is disrupted between the body’s Yin and Yang or Water and Fire properties, that is when sickness appears.

It is important to emphasize that we are now moving into the Yin season; therefore, it becomes even more essential to bring back some heat into the body. Pick foods that are clean (unprocessed) and warming. The effects of warming foods will raise the Yang energy, improving circulation and dispelling common colds and flues. Some examples include dates, guava, lychee, mango, peach, nectarine, leek, onion, squash, health grains and peanuts such as pine nuts and brown rice, brown sugar, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, ginseng, nutmeg, vinegar, and if you’re a meat eater, chicken, eel, ham, lamb, mussel, and shrimp.

With that said, Fire won’t be as critical this month because it will have the support of Wood. The main problem area this month will be related to our breathing organs – the Metal Element. Let me explain.

In the Five Elements cycle, the winter season means the Metal energy is weak; furthermore, Wood is strong with the support of Water now, further depleting the strength of Metal. Not to mention, Sickness Star this month is attached to Flying Star numbers 6 and 7, both a Metal Element.

Tell-tell signs of Metal Element imbalances include fatigue, poor skin and teeth quality, bone and joint problems, asthma and other breathing organ-related ailments. This affects our ability to tackle our day-to-day functions with clarity, good judgment, and decisiveness.

Okay, Flying Stars…

Flying Stars this month is a bit messy! Hence, the moderate nature of Yin Wood 乙 will not apply this time. For instance, 5,9 in the Northwest invites fire-related disasters; 1,5 in the Southwest is water-related disasters; 8,3 and 4,8 in the South and Center, respectively, will affect and harm young children; finally,2,6 and 2,7 in the East and Northeast, respectively, is sickness affecting the lungs. Like I said, messy. So let’s break it down piece-by-piece.

The recent school shootings in Washington brings yet another sad and devastating misfortune to our young people. It is no wonder because we are in Age of 8, which is related to the Mountain Trigram also associated with young children. This means all of the fortune as well as misfortune will target young children during this time (2004-2023).

Look at the fortune of young children, for instance. Malala Yousafzal is a Pakistani activist and also the youngest-ever Nobel Prize recipient at the age of 17. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was the youngest-ever billionaire at the age of 28. Kaniela Ing, 25, is the youngest-ever elected state senator (Hawaii). Pierre-Luc Dusseault, was only 19 (now 23) when the Canadian was elected as the MP for Quebec and now serves as the chair of the Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics Committee. Wyatt Roy was a mere 20 years old when he was the youngest person ever to be elected to parliament in Australia. And the list goes on… and these “youngest-ever” records were all achieved during Age of 8.

Conversely, disasters and tragedies seem to hit our younglings the hardest as well. For example, we’ve seen an unusual rise in school shootings in recent memory. Others include the South Korean ferryboat that killed more than 300, senseless kidnappings of young children in Sudan and Nigeria, elementary school stabbings in China, a young baby girl and targeted teenage boys killed in the Hamas/Palestinian conflict, are all but a small number of examples in along list of misfortunes related to young children just in this year alone.

So why do I say we will see more harm this month? Well, both Stars 3 and 4 are Wood Elements, attacking 8, an Earth Element; therefore, in Flying Star Feng Shui, we interpret this as harm to children this month.

Stars 1,5 brings water-related disasters in the Southwest sector, because 1 Water combines with 5 Misfortune. Similarly, Stars 5,9 will bring fire disasters, because 9 Fire combines with 5 Misfortune. While 9 alone is considered a “coming prosperity” Star, when it is attached to 5, 9 (Fire) only activates and makes the 5 (Earth) stronger, so the combine of these two numbers is not very good.

Stars 2,6 and 7,2 in the East and Northeast bring sickness to the breathing organs because numbers 6 and 7 are Metal Elements. Because Metal also represents our lungs and breathing organs, I won’t be surprise to see Ebola continue to spread. So far, the new cases in the US are getting caught in time (although, that is up for a separate debate), but who knows if it will be enough to contain it in time for a cure. The most recent October 23 case occurred in New York City (East). I am not so optimistic, though. I believe it will get worst before it gets better, especially in December when Misfortune Star 5 flies to the East and combines with Sickness 2. Yikes.

With that said, I hope the US and our global partners will soon find a strategic way to control the spread, but that is still remain to be seen. Should I ask I Ching? Maybe I’ll post it in a separate article 🙂

Well, at least the West sector is okay with 1,6. This is good for academic studies with Future Prosperity 1 coming for a monthly visit. Activate and enhance this area with Metal and Earth Elements or keep this space open and active.

Hang in there! Okay, I’d like to end my November forecast with a little love…

November 9th would have been my dad’s 85th birthday. Happy birthday, Papa! May you rest in heavenly peace, singing and playing the piano, and watching over those you have temporarily left behind.

Remember, the Wintertime is a time of rest, hibernation, and rejuvenation. Give yourself a break. Evaluate what you have achieved so far, and be so proud and grateful. Next year is around the corner and it will bring a new set of Elements. While it’s totally fine to start dreaming and planning for next year, it’s important we remain present and take special care of yourself and those you love this coming month. Humans are anatomically sensitive to the cold (at least this depends on where you’re located), so take this time to bring more love to the heart and increase the Fire. xoxo

Fun facts: Did you know pigs are smart and curious animals? Since I have a personal affinity to pigs, I do not eat them because I find them cute and funny.

To check out my previous forecasts, you can visit my website under “Articles” or in the “Notes” section on Facebook.

PS: Congratulations to my students who have completed the 5-Day Feng Shui training in Scottsdale last month. Registration for the next class will open on November 1! Class will take place again in Scottsdale March 27-31,2015. Clickfengshuibyjen.com/events_upComingEvents.html for a list of my 2015 class schedule.

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