In honor of Liu Ming
my teacher
To support grace and ease / For the resolution of all beings
CHINESE ALMANAC ASTROLOGY
Commentary and compilations by Jamie Shulander
All notes from class notes/works by Liu Ming
Scroll down to find daily indicators...
(::: ::: ::: preceeds change)
INDICATORS - The pattern components that continuously rotate per year, month, daily, lunar or solar phase. The indicators below articulate the current alignment.
LUNAR YEAR: YANG EARTH DOG 4716 - Faithful Vigilance
“Charged: loyal, caring, protective, direct, helpful, intuitive, insightful, private, calm under
fire, just, expansive, congenial and quiet.
Deplete: stubborn, argumentative, spiteful, vain, rigid, frozen with anxiety, stingy and
excessively critical.
Image: The Dog talked about in Chinese Astrology is the Chow. This dog has been domesticated for more than 5000 years, both as an aggressive house guard and a battlefield companion. The battlefield Chow was ferocious at crippling the horses of the enemy chariots while never losing sight of its trainer (whose corpse it would protect even with its own life). The Dog epitomizes loyalty."
YANG EARTH DOG (1898, 1958, 2018, 2078) ‘Mountain Dog’
EARTH is the native element of the Dog Earthly Branch. Earth Dogs are modest, funny
and independent characters. They are light-hearted and generous, often quitting difficult
situations and avoiding confrontations. A short temper is hidden behind their joking. Strong
idealistic aspirations fill their youth and soften as the hardships of life close in. They do not
express their feelings or thoughts easily. They are prone to qi stagnation and poor circulation."
LUNAR MONTH: YANG WOOD RAT (1804, 1924, 1984, 2044) ‘Rat on the Roof’
Wood Rat is the first of 60 configurations of the Stem/Branch system. It is therefore very precarious. Wood Rats are particularly studious, industrious and naive characters. They are extraordinarily clever but also insecure. This may be the result of clinging to trauma (being orphaned or abandoned in childhood). Their rat-like resourcefulness is therefore held back by a lack of depth. Their cleverness and impatience often turns to frivolity, trendiness, deception and cunning. The fortune of wood rat is average and their wealth modest. Endless worrying weakens their constitution and they are prone to injury, skin problems, bowel disorders and arthritis.
QI NODE: 22 Winter Solstice
Yin Rules
“The Winter Solstice qi node has the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It is one of four annual pivots that rectify the annual qi. During this qi node qi is at its height at midnight! At the end of this qi node, the new calendar year begins. In the Chinese official calendar it is the mid-point of winter. The astrological year is still months away.
Yin peaks but in this same qi node it begins its inevitable decline - supreme yin gives birth to the flux of yang. Tigers mate. Christmas lights twinkle. Birth and death commingle, but life is cold and apparently dead now begins to move toward life.
Everywhere in Chinese cosmology black (dark) produces ‘yellow’ or light of the sun. ‘The darkest hour is just before dawn’.”
LM The Way of Three Treasures
LUNAR HEXAGRAM 27 Yi: Jaws
“Raw impulse is strong but dangerous. Excessive ambitions can bring about personal disaster. There will be setbacks in progress. Acting properly when the time is right goes well. In the acquisition of what you want (money or property) it is important to be strong but modest."
LM Changing: Zhouyi
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SATURDAY December 29, Yin Wood Goat 23
Hexagram 45 Cui: Assembly
Lunar Mansion: The Maiden / Bat
Solar Indicator: Danger
Lunar Mansion: The Maiden / Bat
Solar Indicator: Danger
Another day for a full retreat, with an open heart, self reflection and grace.
"When we sincerely open our hearts in this way we are naturally purged of our selfishness and wantonness. Through this exchange we may enter into the depths of human spirituality. There is no greater gesture than this ritual of rituals."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 45 Cui
“It is auspicious to stay home, enjoy the arts, self-reflect, do inner panning and practice austerity (meditation, fasting and rest). It is beneficial to guard your health and conserve your qi. It is favorable to support others. Building may be safe but not profitable.”
“It is not auspicious to take risks, medical treatments, bury the dead (cause epidemics, bowel disorders). To initiate industry (dig earth) and production on this day invites calamity.”
LM Notes: The Maiden
“To roust hypocrisy in his new alliances the leader must bait his hidden enemies (yin) by showing vulnerability. This day is a qi expression of true power but all the action is fraught with danger and risk. The games of political power are also the precursors of decline. The power plays show yin to be drawing life from the heart of yang. Success is limited now to a kind of survival. Manipulation and covert action succeed. Elegance becomes the mask of cleverness and intrigue. Doing only what needs to be done is best. Old habits or patterns of pressing forward will invite catastrophe. Beware grudges.”
LM Notes: Danger
SUNDAY December 30, Yang Fire Monkey 24
Hexagram 12 Pi: Obstruction
Lunar Mansion: The Void / Rat
Solar Indicator: Complete
Lunar Mansion: The Void / Rat
Solar Indicator: Complete
"Pi is not a time for going forward. You are blocked by your own pretense or by external circumstances. Be humble and patient, and cancel or postpone great plans. Adaptation and patience are the keys to positive change in the future." LM Changing: Zhouyi 12 Pi
“It is auspicious to
stay home, strengthen family ties and protect your children. Sleep and rest are
recommended (be cautioned by your dreams).”
“On this day it is not
auspicious to marry (your children will be delinquent or handicapped), bury the
dead or make offerings to ancestors (ghosts/dead will become demonic - causing
illnesses for 3 years!). Extra-marital affairs begun on this day will
eventually ruin your family, reputation and health. Medical treatments today
can cause injury and expose constitutional weakness.”
LM Notes: The Void
“It is a day for resting
on your laurels. Success is established and secured and the new state seems to
govern itself. Enemies are few. It is a time for inward reflection (yin) on the
bare face of reality (yang). Struggle (yang) is no longer possible or necessary
(yin). Decline is not feared and success not celebrated. Wisdom approaches and
withdrawing succeeds. Art is the demonstration of confidence, dignity and
wisdom - be artful. No more accumulating - decorate with modesty. The way of
perfecting power is austerity and restraint. Do less, have less, show less and
seek nothing. Enjoy what is already manifest.”
LM Notes: CompleteLUNAR HEXAGRAM: 39 Jian: Stumbling
“Events call for experts, but, even
if experts cannot be found, all goes well. Caution, patience, humility and
self-discipline pay off. If you are not anxious or selfish, you are given
success."
LM Changing: Zhouyi
MONDAY December 31, Yin Fire Rooster 25
Hexagram 15 Qian: Modesty
Lunar Mansion: The Roof / Swallow
Solar Indicator: Harvest
Lunar Mansion: The Roof / Swallow
Solar Indicator: Harvest
Today's character is skillful and restless, unapologetic and crafty. Otherwise, the day calls for modesty, caution and restraint. Be mindful, seek council, and eat nourishing meals slowly.
“With true modesty
anything can be accomplished. In modest steps a great journey can be
accomplished. Even when strong action needs to be taken, do not abandon
modesty.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 15 Qian
“The key to the auspices
has to do with how you act in a dangerous situation…It is auspicious to stay
home, repair walls (security), remodel, take tonics and comply with superiors.
It is favorable for medical treatments, exercise and eating well. It is
favorable to raise roof beams and rafters (begin new construction). It is
auspicious for family gatherings at home. Alliances and collaborations come to
fruit and good 'luck'. This day is inauspicious for travel because you will be
robbed (road) or drowned (sea). Strangers and strange (foreign) places offer
calamity.”
LM Notes: The Roof
“Be like the beloved
monarch and not an ambitious merchant. Let new resources and assistants come
forward by standing back.”
LM Notes: Harvest
TUESDAY January 1, Yang Earth Dog 26
Hexagram 52 Gen: Still
Lunar Mansion: The House / Pig
Solar Indicator: Open
Lunar Mansion: The House / Pig
Solar Indicator: Open
Modest, funny and generous, today's character suits the day where an open heart and healthy calibration bring success.
"You are advised to
keep still (resist the urge to move) and enter the unseen (meditation) - two
actions, which are non-actions. Good fortune comes from keeping still. Let
things arise of themselves. Do not struggle.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 52 Gen
“It is auspicious to
build, remodel and make fengshui adjustments (especially to enhance
career office/shop). It is auspicious to initiate business, negotiate and sign
contracts and get married (all of which have long-term benefit). Expect to be
generously compensated for work done today.
“Public welfare projects
succeed. Temple buildings brings benefits for many generations.
Conversely it is
auspicious to enter retreat if there is great sincerity (renunciation) and
strong resolve (compassion for others). The benefits you receive on this day
should be shared with others (living and dead). Burials on this day are
celebrated by both the living and dead ancestors (bring great wealth).
“It is not auspicious to
wait, procrastinate or be confrontational.”
LM Notes: The House
“An open heart gives the
option to acquire great wisdom.”
LM Notes: Open
In resolution and adventure...
Warmly,
Jamie Shulander
Instagram @jamieshulander
jshulander@gmail.com
415-450-7884
