Year of the Dragon

The Chinese Year of the Green Wood Dragon begins February 10, 2024, and ends January 28, 2025. The Chinese dragon is unique because it is the only mythical creature of all the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac and is very different from the European dragon. For example, the European dragons breath fire, while the Chinese dragon typically breathes clouds. He generally represents good luck strength, and health. In China, more teachers are hired in dragon years because there are more children. Many Parents plan their  pregnancy astrologically and also consult Feng Shui masters on the best location in the house to conceive a baby dragon! They want a wise, healthy, powerful, lucky child.

The dragon is a composite of deer antlers, a camel head, ghostly eyes, a snake body, a crab belly, carp scales, hawk claws, tiger palms and cow ears. Its power lies in a large, luminous pearl concealed under its chin, with 81 of its scales  infused with benevolent essence (yang) whilst 36 contain a malignant essence (yin). He can assume any dimension.

Ancient Chinese people didn’t blame dragons for natural catastrophes and other disasters. Instead, they saw them as benevolent, wise, and powerful. They believed the dragon’s breath became clouds from which rain poured down and lightning flashed. You frequently see the dragon portrayed with their undulating form weaving in and out of eddies of water and swirls of clouds embodying the coveted Feng Shui concept of “Flow.” Ancient Chinese people also didn’t blame dragons for natural catastrophes and other disasters.

Each of a 12 yearly cycles is ruled by a different celestial animal and one of the five elements – water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. 2024 is ruled by a yang wood sitting on top of the Yang Green Wood Dragon. who is primarily yang earth. There two elements are in a destructive mode as wood suppresses and takes the nutrients out of the earth. This means the year will have more conflict and less harmony. Yang wood is like the oak tree, strong and unbending with a dislike for change, It is sometimes referred to as the element of chaos and crisis. Yang wood represents the head and can indicate a powerful, stubborn leader who will fight for his beliefs and not compromise. On the positive side, he is a person who sticks to his principles and is very loyal. He can be firm but honest, reliable, friendly and kind.

The dragon is an earth animal, but he has water and wood within, so the water can drain some of the yang wood’s rigidness. The combination of yang wood and the dragon brings to mind some of the current conflicts between Israel  and Gaza, Ukraine and Russia, and possibly the U,S. and China. Both Blinken and Netanyahu are born on yang wood days.

Going back 60 years to 1964 when we last experienced the turmoil of a yang wood dragon year, the Vietnam War was at its height, protests against the war and student demonstrations were everywhere, Martin Luther King received the Nobel prize for leading non violent resistance against racism, Nelson Mandela made his speech “I am prepared to die,” and Americans had just experienced the assassination of their president at the end of 2023.

Writing about China and a possible conflict with the US, reminds me of something I put in my newsletter last year about the Black Water Rabbit (2023) and the Green Wood Dragon (2024.) It is very timely this year!

“A year or so ago, I became aware of a famous Chinese prophecy book written in 660 CE., Tu bei tu. It was written by an historian and astrologer and is considered one of the most renowned works of Chinese mysticism, and is frequently being compared to “The Prophecies of Nostradamus.”  The book, believed to be based on the I ching (The Book of Changes), contains 60 drawings with poems that make predictions about China’s future.

Because of the politically sensitive nature of the book that seemingly could forecast the birth and demise of dynasties, Chinese rulers tried hard to ban it, But like forbidden fruit, the book kept circulating underground for hundreds of years and is now freely available on numerous websites.

What is interesting is the poem #43 that is considered to be about the relationship between Taiwan and China. The intriguing part of the prophecy is “The black rabbit escapes into the green dragon’s cave.” 2023 is the Black Rabbit and 2024 is the Green Dragon. The accompanying picture is of a big man walking next to a small man (presumably China and Taiwan walking together.) Like the prophesies of Nostradamus, there are endless speculations online, but many see the Black Rabbit as the United States and are predicting there will be big changes with China during these two years. Even the library of Congress has a copy of the book!”

Wishing you a prosperous and Happy New Year!!
Love and Light, Carol

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Four Afflictions for 2024 Water Placement for the New 20 Year Fire Cycle

We are fast approaching the New Lunar Year of the Yang Wood Green Dragon which begins February 10th, 2024. The first day of the Chinese astrological/Feng Shui year, however, is different from this popular Chinese New Year Day, which is calculated from the Chinese lunar calendar.  Chinese astrological/Feng Shui are calculated from the solar calendar and begins February 4th this year, which is known as the first day of spring.

We have crossed over the threshold of the Winter Solstice on our annual journey from darkness into Light. From now until the Chinese Solar New Year that begins on February 4th, 2024, we are in a period of flux as one cycle winds down and another is birthed. During this transition, major shifts in our Planet’s Light and Energy occur as matter rearranges itself.

This is why the week of February 4th is so important as it marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In the west, we celebrate February 2nd as Ground Hog’s Day (will he look back to the Solstice and so we have six more weeks of cold weather or will he look forward to the Spring Equinox.) Throughout history, February 2nd was known as “the Festival of Lights” in many countries or Candle mass by the Christians.

With the direction/location of the annual Feng Shui Flying Stars changing the 4th of February every new year, the annual 3 afflictions and the location of the evil star 5 also change in every home, office, building, city and country in the world. They are really important and need to be addressed.

Annual 3 afflictions and the location of the evil star #5

Tau Sui  – (Grand Duke of Jupiter) location is in the Southeast -122.5-127.5 degrees

San Sha  – Three killings location is in the South – 142.5- 217.5 degrees

Sui Po  – (Wrath of the Grand Duke) location is in the Northwest – 292.5 – 307.5 degrees

Tai Sui – Grand Duke of Jupiter
The Grand Duke of Jupiter resides in the Southeast this year. Do not dig, cut, hammer or renovate in this sector, as it can bring bad luck, loss, illness or misfortune. Try to avoid having your office, meeting or conference room in this sector. Do not sit facing this direction, as the Grand Duke does not like to be confronted! Make sure you sit with your back to the Southeast. If you sit facing northwest, he will support you.

Sui Po– Year Breaker
Sui Po is also known as the “Wrath of the Grand Duke” as it opposes him.  Do not renovate, dig or activate this area with noise or harsh light.  Disrupting this sector could lead to serious consequences. Do not sit with your back to the northwest, but face it. This works with the Tai Shi energy in the Southeast that you don’t want to confront. So, sit facing northwest this year!!

Sans Sha – the Three Killings
San Sha also known as the Three Killings resides ion the South this year. These degrees are often associated with negative consequences. They can create obstacles, misfortunes such as theft or loss of wealth, as well as recurring health problems and professional setbacks. Do not disturb the Three Killings by doing renovations or soil digging. You will run the risk of attracting serious financial losses, damaged reputation and possible health complications. Do  not sit with your back to this direction. Again, face Northwest.

The constant opening and closing of a front door can create a disturbance within the home or office. If your front door is regularly used and faces either the Southeast or Northwest this year, extra care should be taken to avoid any negative consequences mentioned above. So please be sure to oil the hinges and avoid slamming the door! One Chinese method of protection is to place a pair of Fu Dogs (Temple Lions) by your door.

The above conflicted sectors can also affect you for example if you:
Play loud music or hammer
Have TV or many other electrical features here
Have a water purifier here
Do renovation
Have construction work in your neighborhood in these directions

Once disturbed, they can bring accidents, illness, money loss or robbery.  It is therefore wise to respect them if you can.

Wu Wang – The “Evil Yellow number 5 Star” (五黄)

is known as the most ominous star in the Flying Star Chart. This inauspicious Earth star brings about personal tragedies such as illnesses, accidents, financial losses and relationship conflicts.

In 2024, the Five Yellow star moves to the West. Any renovations or groundbreaking work should be avoided in the westerly direction.  Avoid stirring up the area with excessive noise, bright lights, and excessive activity. Problems will also arise if the Five Yellow Star is situated at the main door, the stove, or the bed as that constitutes a negative flying star combination each month.

We have also moved out of the past twenty year cycle which was ruled by yang earth into a new 20 year cycle which is ruled by #9 fire. This means the water placement directions have changed for both indoors and outdoors. For the last 20 years the primary water direction/location for wealth was the SW and the secondary direction/location was the East.  Now, for the next 20 years the primary direction is North and the secondary direction is SE. But, there is a problem as Tai Sui, the Grand Duke of Jupiter occupies the SE for both 2024 and 2025 – and you don’t want running water here as it will aggravate him!! So hold off until 2026 for water placement in the new directions.

 

 

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Ceiling Height Affects the Way We Think

Researchers find ceiling height affects the way we think. This research which was done in 2007 by the University of Minnesota is still published and  discussed in many places on the web. Scientific America has even picked it up!

In Feng Shui, it has been known for thousands of years that architecture has a profound effect on human behavior and capabilities. Ceiling height is acknowledged to affect people physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. At this point in time however, such knowledge is usually only accepted as valid if it can be scientifically verified. In this vein, I was excited to find scientific research on how the height of ceilings affects our mental processing!

In 2007, Joan Meyer’s-Levy, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota, conducted different experiments testing how the height of a room’s ceiling affects how people think. The tests ranged from anagram puzzles to product evaluation. She wanted to investigate the effects on individual’s notions of freedom versus confinement and how such effects further influenced information processing. She hypothesized that higher ceilings would bring more relational processing with the subjects focusing on multiple pieces of data to discern their commonalities. On the other hand, the subjects under the lower ceilings would be more focused on the precise attributes of each item.

She randomly assigned 100 people to two rooms that were identical in all features except the height of the ceiling. One room had an eight foot ceiling and the other room had a ten foot ceiling. As expected, the subjects beneath the higher ceilings analyzed information in a more abstract and integrated way than those under the lower ceilings, who were more likely to notice specific details. Amazingly, those in the room with higher ceilings created anagrams that were “freedom” related while those in the room with lower ceilings created anagrams that were more about “confinement and security.” This research shows that under the higher ceilings people feel less constrained, think more freely and make more abstract connections.  The sense of confinement prompted by the low ceilings, on the other hand, inspires a more detailed, statistical outlook.

Both ceilings have their place, depending on the thinking processes that are required. Higher ceilings produce more creative, bold initiatives, while lower ceilings are more productive for endeavors such as accounting and technical work. When thinking about our schools, offices, home offices, art studios, and other related spaces, we usually focus on the space that we are actually using and don’t realize the importance of that “empty space” above our heads! Research has also found that it is important not to have a light source (fixture or bulb) directly above your head. It weakens your energy field and creates lack of focus.

I think it’s time to take a moment and “Look Up” and see how our ceilings are affecting our thought processes!

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Noise Pollution and Cycles

Our society seems to becoming louder, noisier and more discordant every year. I think it is more evident now as the pandemic is over and more and more people, cars, airplanes, helicopters, buses etc. are filling our streets and skies again. Noise pollution is everywhere with quiet places going extinct.

All of this chaotic noise affects all of nature. According to Nature Magazine, birds are are needing to change the tune of their chirping to be heard above the din of traffic and machinery. Male grasshoppers are changing their pitch so they can be heard by females. Frogs also have altered their calls. This change of tune and pitch is not just happening on land, but in the seas as well, as sea creatures rely mainly on sound to find food, detect predators and  communicate with each other. Animals are needing to modify their behavior just to survive manmade noise and we are needing to adapt to this new normal, with our adrenal glands pumping stress hormones, our blood pressure and heart rate rising, and our digestion slowing down.

Our ongoing descent into deeper and deeper noisy materialism was for seen by many of our our ancestors. The Hindus formulated four large cosmic cycles to measure universal ages. They called these cycles yugas. They see us presently in the the lowest cycle called the Kali Yuga, or the iron age. It is described as an age of darkness in which spirituality is eclipsed by selfishness and dogmatic materialism and deception and hypocrisy in both religion and politics is the status quo. They see this cycle ending around 2025 and then moving into a transitional cycle.

Classical Feng Shui operates on a major 180 year cycle which is divided into three lesser cycles that are 60-years long each, and then these three cycles are divided into nine sub cycles of 20 years each. The reason why each minor period lasts 20 years is due to the movement of Saturn and Jupiter, in that they take 20 years to align with each other, and it is believed that each time Saturn and Jupiter align, major changes will occur. We will be entering the the bottom of the third cycle in 2024, meaning will be at the lowest point of the 180 year cycle. This twenty year cycle is ruled by fire which is associated with explosions, fires, the internet, Information technology, and Artificial intelligence(AI). Health-wise, it can represent the heart, eyes and blood so you may start seeing health trends related to these. It is also symbolic of middle-aged women and a matriarchy in general. Women will tend to occupy the senior posts in the government and banking sectors. Men will be more involved in sales and research work.

Our ancestors knew that we need harmonic sound, not noise, to survive. The ancient Chinese Emperors consciously employed music, which is patterned sound, to restore or maintain order in the empire. Like state power, music was centralized in the imperial court and was seen as the unifying force embodying all regions of the empire. By regulating and controlling the vibrations people were exposed to, the Emperor was able to maintain order. But when that delicate balance he wielded over the harmonious sound of his empire began to shift, he knew his reign was coming to an end. Interestingly, we have no concept of this!!

2024 will be ruled by a Dragon and will feature a complete solar eclipse which is being referred to as “The Great North American Solar Eclipse.” I think during this fire cycle we will be entering an alchemical transmutation, or initiation, and then emerging into a whole new cycle of noiseless wisdom to be baptized in the water cycle of 2044. That year will also see us entering into a new 180 year cycle.

 

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Importance of Staying Grounded

This is is a diagram of the Bagua which is used as the energy template for Feng Shui. The Lo Shu picture of the turtle coming out of the sea above, carries the same information – both have the number 5 at the center. The 5, being in the center, has no direction or charge like all of the other numbers do. This why the 5 is so troublesome and called the “evil yellow number five star”. It is from another another dimension and does not support humans.

The Chinese use this Bagua template every year to determine the incoming energies (numbers change annually.). It is directionally placed on every form, animate or inanimate. – country, city, house, apartment or business to foretell the future. We need to realize the template is not only in two dimensions, but in more dimensions like the three dimensions of the rubrics Rubic’s Cube pictured below – and more. This means the “evil yellow #5” star is occupying the center of every form worldwide!

This all means that with the constant swirling of doom, gloom, misinformation, and fear that is trying to engulf us, it is important to stay balanced, clear, and grounded. One of the easiest and currently most popular ways to get grounded is simply to walk around outside barefoot – old wisdom back again for another turn of the spiral!! Grass, dirt, sand, and concrete are all conductive surfaces from which the body can draw in grounding energies from the Earth. It’s a great way to get rid of jet lag, stress, inflammation, pain and to get centered.

Our current choice of rubber, plastic and synthetic soled shoes, however, keeps us insulated from these forces. So, even though we are walking or running outdoors, we are moving around unaware that we are totally disconnected from the vital healing energies of the Earth. Our ancestors knew how important it was to be in direct contact with the Earth, and consequently they either went barefoot, wore moccasins, sandals or shoes with leather soles.

Inside of our homes and businesses, wood, vinyl, rubber, glass and plastic surfaces are insulators, so to be grounded one has to go either to a tiled space which sits directly on a concrete slab, a stone area or down into the basement to be grounded!! Our current 60 watt energy is an alternating current and is  not like the direct current we absorb directly from the Earth.

Consequently, we are being bombarded by this artificial alternating energy within our homes and businesses. not to mention the 5G nightmare. Outside, asphalt is also an insulator. Think of all the school grounds covered in asphalt and the kids running around in sneakers (and masks!)

It is interesting to go into Churches, Synagogues, and other sacred sites around the world and see so many people visiting and worshipping in shoes that are keeping them ungrounded. It highlights the difference between being a pilgrim or a tourist – being connected to the sacred energies of the spot or merely observing them. Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and most Buddhists takes off their shoes when entering their sacred buildings.

They say it is because their shoes are unclean and they are entering a sacred location, but I think they have lost the knowledge about how important it is to be barefoot and grounded to a sacred geomatic spot. Just something to think about in this Triple Tiger year with ungrounded energy pouring into our homes.

Remember shungite is great at helping us stay grounded – just carry a stone in your pocket, purse or wear a pendant. And find a labyrinth – it is perfect to  ground and center yourself!

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