In honor of my Teacher, Liu Ming,
CHINESE ALMANAC ASTROLOGY
CHINESE ALMANAC ASTROLOGY
To support grace and ease / For the resolution of all beings
Commentary and compilations by Jamie Shulander
All notes from class notes/works by Liu Ming
INDICATORS Listed: Yearly, Monthly, Lunar then Daily
::: ::: ::: = Change
::: ::: :::
LUNAR YEAR: YEAR of the RAT
"Charged: Charming, diligent, perseverant, methodical, social, cooperative, discrete, frugal and observant. Rats are capable and fun loving.
Depleted: Complaining, nervous, nit picking, annoyingly analytical, stingy, scheming, cowardly, overly concentrated (mono-maniacal) and selfish.
Image: The Rat talked about in Chinese Astrology is well known to all Chinese farmers throughout history. If there is grain, rats appear, so rats are linked to prosperity. A rat year is expected to be profitable. Rats always appear in groups and, though not individually strong, they can undermine an enormous barn by gnawing and nibbling away the foundation piece by piece. Rats often view their social life as central to their existence. Sociability is required to survive. Their acute social observation makes them good mimics or actors. When they are being someone else (acting) they love center stage. Though not a sensual materialist, like the Pig, rats are hoarders and often live in clutter. They are likely to become more capable as they age..."
YANG METAL RAT (1840, 1900, 1960, 2020, 2080) ‘Rafter Rat’
Metal Rats are sensitive, meticulous and resourceful. They easily win the attention and support of others and love to compete and win. Their ambition is modified by a strong personal sense of moral and spiritual values. They enjoy independence and are ruthlessly calculating in matters of the heart and finance. Though not without enemies, they experience relatively even fortunes. Jovial in appearance they internally brood and worry over the slightest things. They are susceptible to contagious and common illnesses but live long because of treatments from expert physicians and meticulous personal habits."
LUNAR MONTH: YIN EARTH RABBIT (1879, 1939, 1999, 2059) ‘Emerging Rabbit’
Earth Rabbits are persuasive, resourceful and distrustful characters. Their own uneven fortune often makes them dishonest with and wary of even their friends/family. They obsess about security but do not find it. Their strong sexual appetite does not respect boundaries and they often divorce and/or seduce other people’s partners. An uneven marriage may last a long time. They enjoy the company of unconventional characters and those less fortunate than themselves. In midlife, they can establish material security, and stop obsessing and metamorphose. In old age they have a real potential to study (knowledge) and gain wisdom. They are prone to lung and skin ailments.
QI NODE: 3 Insect Stirs
Yang Rises
"Insect Stirs is a time of 'awakened movement'. The cold ground softens. Insects awaken from their hibernation. The heat rises up from below and cool wind descends from Heaven. Wind has the subtle freshness of spring but no great or abiding force. The hibernation of dragons ends. In winter dragons (the symbol of spring) are locked in frozen alpine lakes. Their stirring cracks the ice and causes thunder and lightning. The world is startled. Rivers and creeks swell.
Below the surface of Earth the insects stir - wake from their hibernation. In this qi node the insects do not reproduce, develop or burst out of the ground - they only stir. The union of Heaven and Earth is an occasional temperate wind - invisible and inconsistent.
During this qi node qi is best in the hours around dawn. One should practice neigong facing the rising sun. Do not exert yourself, but let the neiqi wiggle and play - this renews us and gives us longevity. Be creative, follow your instincts in neigong.
There is a slightly mischievous quality to the qi of insect stirs. When the baby reaches for the stove, one has to admire curiosity, but curtail enthusiasm."
LM The Way of Three Treasures
LUNAR HEXAGRAM: 40 Jie: Release
“...Nowhere to go means you have no
particular goal or purpose because the freedom to choose is new. You can let
things come and go, that is just let them open up by themselves. After every
period of restraint there is a release (southwest). Inhibition naturally thaws
like ice in the spring.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 40 Jie
::: ::: :::
MONDAY March 9, Yin Metal Pig 16
Hexagram 38 Kui: Incompatible
Lunar Mansion: The Bow / Deer
Solar Indicator: Complete
,
Today's character, gentle,
kind and determined, should bode well with today's auspices. Relax and go
with what's already in motion...
“Unfavorable for
planning or forward progress. Expect to be frustrated but make small gains. It
is a good time to seek counsel from those with expertise and wisdom...Try a
little self-reflection and humility."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 38 Kui
“Auspicious activity: It
is auspicious to build and buy new property. It is an especially good day to
get married. It is favorable for divination, signing contracts,
romance/courtship and all forms of partnership. Good auspice is especially
related to festive group events, banqueting, family gatherings and/or community
celebrations. It is an excellent day to take office (begin a new job).
Contraindicated
Activity: It is not auspicious for funerals/burials (become unsettled: ghosts).
Seclusion or isolation is unfavorable (miss opportunity).”
LM Notes: The Bow
“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: Complete
TUESDAY March 10, Yang Water Rat 17
Hexagram 54 Guimei: A Girl is Married
Lunar Mansion: The Wings / Serpent
Solar Indicator: Harvest
Another day to go with the flow,
though with a bit more caution and humility. The day's character is cunning,
changeable and slightly paranoid, when in doubt, try and relax.
"Things are auspicious
for the underdog, but early success collapses. The situation is touch and go.
Things can end up okay if some sacrifices are made."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 54 Guimei
“It is auspicious to
continue routine work and to uphold and support your superiors. It is
auspicious for religious rituals (not ancestral), divination (and compliance),
family gatherings and celebrations. It is favorable for sponsoring and/or
attending public and cultural events.
“It is very unfavorable
for marriage (cause chronic illness and premature death for both partners),
funerals and burials. It is inauspicious for traveling far from home. Buildings
begun today become money pits (need constant repair) and the construction will
cause injuries and/or accidental deaths.”
LM Notes: The Wings
“What makes this day
smooth is a sense of fearlessness. It is not so much how it goes (yang) as what
it shows (yin). Rise and fall are no longer the point - the wide view can be
taken. Ease is possible - effortless continuity on all sides. The qi seems to
float us forward quite naturally - ebbing and flowing are both acceptable. The
lessons of earthly life are found in both maturing and declining. Everything
succeeds. Cleverness and survival give way to courage and directness. Be like
the beloved monarch and not an ambitious merchant. Let new resources and
assistants come forward by standing back.”
LM Notes: Harvest
WEDNESDAY March 11, Yin Water Ox 18
Hexagram Consult the Oracle
Lunar Mansion: The Chariot /
Earthworm
Solar Indicator: Open
Though the character of today is tough,
ornery and solitary, the auspices should support forward progress with an
open heart...
“Auspicious Activity:
Great success comes to anyone who initiates and continues industry. Business
booms, all prosper. Building and remodeling go well (bring prestige). Marriages
will inspire both partners to be their best and they will produce brilliant
offspring. Funerals, memorials and burials will allow the dead true peace (and
produce scholar offspring). Contraindicated activity: It is very unfavorable to
procrastinate and/or postpone.”
LM Notes: The Chariot
“The choice here is
whether to call fate something to fight or something to embrace. It is a day
with an easy qi. It is a day to appreciate how things really operate beyond the
desire that creates images and appearances. Accepting should be a boundless
(yin) act beyond goals - the goal has always been return to our beginningless
origin (Dao). There is no protagonist (yang) that should relax - there is only
relaxation itself (yin). Look around for a successor (new plan, idea, task) and
resume the heart/mind of a novice. The son of a rebel leader may become the
second emperor of a new dynasty. An open heart gives the option to acquire
great wisdom.”
LM Notes: Open
THURSDAY March 12, Yang Wood Tiger 19
Hexagram 61 Zhongfu: Holding the
Center
Lunar Mansion: The Horn / Crocodile
Solar Indicator: Shut
A good day for initiations,
especially with a light handed touch...vigorous, ferocious and scrappy
is the day's character, try and keep it light and rest whenever possible.
"The action that
arises from stillness is able to ‘work wonders.’ A Zen archer lets the arrow
find the target without meddling."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 61 Zhongfu:
Holding the Center
“It is auspicious to
begin or initiate any activity (marriage) or series of activities. It is a good
day to buy property, plant a garden, apply for and/or begin a new job. It is
ideal to apply to or enter school, begin a construction or remodeling project.
It is auspicious for marriage proposals and making your case as asking
permission is favorably received. All activities related to children and/or
young people are auspicious. Its first appearance each year (or any Spring
season) is particularly auspicious. A child born on this day will be
intelligent and fortunate.
“Contraindicated
activity: Funerals, memorials, constructing tombs and burials will bring about
disaster to a family. It is not time for exerted effort or overcoming
obstacles. The qi is fresh and unformed and therefore should not be pressed
into fixation (slavery).”
LM Notes: The Horn
“A Shut day is a day of
rest, whether you like it or not. Qi resources are spent and the notion of a
spender (yang) is long gone. Dispersion has ended in exhaustion (big yin) and
no memory exists to create joy or negativity. Struggling to act on such a day
borrows qi from fantasy and sets up a ghostly pattern of bad qi credit. What’s
it like to float down the river with no boat, no river and no protagonist? It
is ideal day for retreat, mediation and severing ties with everything - don’t
worry, it is not the end of anything! Let go anyway - feel the freedom and
inaction, disconnectedness, because it offers limitless insight. Focus on your
golf swing and forget about how the kids are squandering their inheritance on
cocaine. It’s that kind of day! The river has reached the sea and even the
water is confused.”
LM Notes: Shut
::: ::: :::
In resolution and adventure...
Warmly,
Jamie Shulander
Instagram @jamieshulander
jshulander@gmail.com
415-450-7884
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