An update on 2014 - the Year of the Yang Wood Horse

For those of you wondering what on earth is going on this year, and why suddenly, the world in so many disparate places, seems on the brink of all out war and contemplating just where it will all end, I thought it time for an update on my Annual projections. At my Annual Talk in February, I explained that this year would likely see the world come to open hostilities; possibly even war. Let's review again just why this is.
Yang Wood
The Horse

2014, the Year of Yang Wood sitting on the fire of the Horse holds the key as to why there is both so much intractability in politics this year, and why it is so easy in the political realm especially, for these dynamics to burst into open aggression. First of all let's look at the two symbols used in the Chinese calendar to express the energies of the year. The first of these is that of Yang Wood. This is a symbol of complex, primordial energies; energies that can be associated with the inexorable growth of spring, in which nature seems to violently erupt out from winter's long slumber into the explosion of a new year's growth. Another analogy might be that of a young teen-aged male, filled with testosterone, desperate to prove his burgeoning manhood and unwilling to back down in the face of any challenge. Another symbol often used to depict these energies is very large, unbending trees; like ancient oaks. Such large trees don't give-way in high winds, rather they stubbornly split and fracture in a storm. Such intractability is well and truly on display this year in the political arena as can be seen in Gaza, in the Ukraine, In Iraq between Isis, President Maliki who stubbornly clings to power and the moderates there who have called for him to step aside. Less aggressively so far at least, in the Indonesian Presidential elections. It all suggests our own national elections are likely to be highly contentious and filled with aggressive dirty tricks later this year.

By contrast, the Horse, although often deemed charismatic and sexy, is in fact just as often fiery and explosive. The Horse is a symbol of yin fire, which in five element theory is weak fire, flickering, overly emotional, volatile; often associated with rapid gun fire or the sudden explosions of bombs. This explains why things have a tendency to suddenly escalate and get out of hand this year. On July 12th the New Zealand Herald ran the following two headlines: Skirmishing heats into all-out war and No listening to reason1, both captions referring to the situation in Gaza and Israel's on-going conflict with Hamas. But the same lines might just as easily have been used for the volatile situation in the Sudan where tensions remain high between North and South, or in the Ukraine, or in Nigeria where Islamist extremists continue their vicious rampages, or indeed half a dozen other locations around the world where ingrained tensions sit boiling, just under the surface. Locations like, Xinjiang in the far northwest of China, the Korean Peninsula or in Mali West Africa or in the Congo.

Actually, when looking at the influences for the year, several further layers can be added to our understanding of what is going on by considering the impact feng shui has on the year. What surprises many people who think of feng shui as being more related to interior design and New Age spirituality is the time/space factor so inherent in classical Chinese feng shui. No real assessment of the year can be made without taking this into consideration. The first is that for the 20 year feng shui Period, the second is for the individual year, the third is for each specific month and finally those for the day and the hour. However, outside of looking at specific events, we normally consider those of the year and the month only to be the primary influences over the year.

Looking at the Annual for 2014, the first of these is what number in the Flying Stars school (Time/Space school) takes precedence for the year. Each number represents several things including an element, either in its yin or yang form, and a family member; in this case, the eldest daughter. This usually indicates that particular family member will probably experience more trouble than usual during the year their number takes centre stage. For 2014 it is the Number 4 which is related to yin wood and the eldest daughter. Therefore, we can expect trouble during the year for girls between the ages of approx 12 to approximately 30/35. Two such examples who immediately leap to mind are the young Nigerian school girls kidnapped from their dormitories by extremists Boko haram, and the young women in India who are to be found raped, murdered and left hanging in trees in so-called honour killings. Neither has New Zealand been exempt and although not as brutal we nevertheless should avoid complacency with regard the sexual harassment of women here and remember the plight of the young Kiwi woman Tania Billingsley, caught up in the current diplomatic immunity fiasco. Miss Billingsley is just 21.

As well as considering the primary number for the year, there is one other annual feng shui influence, known as the 5 Yellows (or Annual Star 5), which in particular, needs to be taken into consideration. Primarily thought of as an influence that causes mostly sickness, it must however, be recognised for its association with significant misfortune beyond just illness. Once triggered it augers trouble with a Capital T. For 2014 the 5 Yellows are in the Northwest. So far during this year there has been a marked rise in tensions between the Uigar people of Xinjiang Province in Northwest China and their Chinese overlords. South Korea has also suffered from several serious train accidents as well as a tragic ferry accident; while Japan has just been through one of the biggest ever typhoons. China earlier suffered from significant flooding which affected over 5 million people and saw close to half a million lose their homes. All three countries are in the Northwest of the Pacific Rim. One wonders what else will happen here this year?

We must then also consider the monthly influences. June, a month of Horse with its fire, saw the fire of the year of the Horse doubled. With the monthly star being 4, this also saw the Annual Star 4 doubled. 2 (Daily /Hourly influences will only be proved to have been significant after a major event.)

Beyond these Annual, monthly, daily and hourly energies the other dynamic that must be factored in when considering what influence feng shui just might be having over world events, is those for the longer feng shui Period of 8. These indicate that between 2004 and 2024, locations with water to their Northeast will see the people there suffer. The Saffron Revolution that triggered much of the present unrest across the Moslem world started in Tunisia in December 2010 before spreading to Egypt, Libya and Syria. Looking at the geography of these countries, one will see that in each case, these locations all have water directly to their northeast. Tunisia has water to its northeast, not just Tunis the capital. Likewise Libya and Tripoli. In Egypt the vast majority of the population live in the Northeast which is also defined by the mighty Nile Delta and the Suez Canal. (We must discount much of the Sinai as it is mainly uninhabited.) In Syria, the north-eastern boundary of the country is formed by the Tigris River. In Ukraine, the Capital Kiev has the Dnieper River running directly across its east but starting in the northeast. Thus water to the northeast signifies considerable 'trouble' for such populations; trouble all too sadly likely to last to the end of the period (2024).

No listening to reason indeed seems to be order of the day!
Another country with the same configuration of water defining its north-eastern border is Thailand with the Mekong River forming its border to its entire northeast. It must be pointed out however, that although these varying feng shui time/space dynamics can be used to gain a deeper understanding of international events, they cannot be taken as a substitute for the moral, ethical, social and political responsibility we all have, to work for the betterment of the planet as a whole.

One last aspect of the character for Yang Wood as Heavenly Stem and still to show itself this year, is a rather curious one. The Chinese character for Yang Wood is almost identical to that for a rice field, but with the large central stroke extending right through it. It is thought one meaning of this extended brush stroke is meteors; the extra length symbolising the dramatic tail of the meteor as it arrives out of the skies. I have not yet heard of any meteor strikes thus far in 2014, but it will be interesting to see if this aspect of Yang Wood does show itself this year; there being another six months to the year.

Rice Field Yang Wood
With the thought of our own national elections coming up in September in New Zealand, I'd like to finish with a provocative and uncompromising quote of my own from Bertolt Brect.

"The worst illiterate is the political illiterate. He hears nothing, sees nothing; takes no part in political life. He doesn't seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines, all depend on political decisions. He even prides himself on his political ignorance, sticks out his chest and says he hates politics. He doesn't know, the imbecile, that from his political non-participation comes the prostitute, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt official, the lackeys of exploitative multi-national corporations.