May we work together to create solutions and connect...
In honor of my Teacher, Liu Ming,
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
INDICATORS - The pattern components that continuously rotate per year, month, daily, lunar or solar phase. The indicators below articulate the current alignment.
AND SO WE BEGIN...
::: ::: :::
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: YANG EARTH RAT (1828, 1888, 1948, 2008, 2068) ‘Storehouse Rat’
Earth Rats are clever and thrifty characters. Their good fortunes come from their persevering labor and conventionality. They are frugal in their use of money and energy. Fear takes the shape of self-consciousness. They are more likely to be injured (scarred by tools or weapons) than ill, and prone to liver and wind disorders. They marry well and must be attentive parents to their young children, as illness and conduct problems will occur. They leave legacies.
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QI NODE: 21 Great Snow
Yin Matures
“The Great Snow qi node is a time of visions and magic. Our inner yang sees images in the Great Yin. Things are not as they appear. Yin extends its influence into our dreams. During this qi node qi is best at 11pm (when you are asleep). Practice neigong in the morning and evening. Remembered or forgotten dreams appear in this qi node that portend the coming year. The darkening of the light means shorter days, no rainbows and abundant snow. Stillness may lead to stagnation. All activity slows down, many things seem to stop or die. Every being/thing must rest. A trip south (winter vacation) is recommended for those with insufficient yang.”
LM The Way of Three Treasures
LUNAR HEXAGRAM: 24 Fu: Return
“Short-term plans succeed in the context of a broad view. Things are turning for the better. Routine work comes to fruition. It is favorable to have a clear goal before setting out."
LM Changing: ZhouyiSATURDAY December 19, Yan Fire Monkey 5
Hexagram 12 Pit: Obstruction
Lunar Mansion: The Root / Badger
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 go to school, make offerings to ancestors, consult oracles and/or physicians. Avoid abandoned buildings and the wilderness (as spirits that cause illness are active). Comply with superiors and taboos (follow conventions/traditions).
"Contraindicated activity: Marriages and weddings bring accidental death. Contracts signed today invite betrayal and embezzlement. Travel by sea invites shipwrecks."
LM Notes: The Root
“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
SUNDAY December 20, Yin Fire Rooster 6
Hexagram 15 Qian: Modesty
Lunar Mansion: The Room / Hare
Solar Indicator: Harvest
Today's Fire Rooster character is skillful, sensual and restless, though the auspices call for modesty and calm observation...be keen and vigorously generous.
“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
"It is auspicious to make (sincere) offerings to ancestors, consult oracles, practice ritual and meditation, move home, begin construction and add rooms (remodel) to homes and shops. It is a good day for fengshui adjustments, acquiring luxuries, medical treatments (esp food/herb cures) and making investments. Success will visit anyone who studies and/or takes exams today. Funerals on this day benefit both the living and the dead. Straight-forwardness and sincerity bring success."
"Contraindicated activity: Finalizing divorce, excessive ambition and ingratitude. Exaggeration and hypocrisy bring disaster. Not a good day for taking leadership or management responsibilities."
LM Notes: The Room
“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
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
64 Weiji: Not Yet Across
"Expect to be unfulfilled at first and then later satisfied. The old has not quite turned into the new...Good for waiting and preparation, education and growth. Bad for pressing forward, conflict, lawsuits, examinations, and travel."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 64 Weiji
MONDAY December 21, Yang Earth Dog 7
Hexagram 52 Gen: Still
Lunar Mansion: The Heart / Fox
Solar Indicator: Open
Today's character, modest, funny and independent characters, may suit the auspices nicely. Go with a gentle nature and an open heart...
"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 comply with superiors, make offerings to the ancestors, move home and/or immigrate. Only routine work may avoid negativity. Contraindicated activity: If you start a lawsuit (making your case) you will lose everything (imprisonment). If you construct a building, get married or bury the dead, disaster follows. Everything sold today will be at a loss to the seller. Pushing forward (forcing progress) on this day will have three times the negative result of other days.”
LM Notes: The Heart
“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
TUESDAY December 22, Yin Earth Pig 8
Hexagram 39 Jian: Stumbling
Lunar Mansion: The Tail / Tiger
Solar Indicator: Shut
The auspices are mixed today, tapping into the Earth Pig's sensual, lethargic and aimless nature may lead to opportunity or even missing opportunity. Invest where possible and patiently step back when there are road blocks.
“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 39 Jian
“It is auspicious to start a building (brings prosperity), get married (brings fertility), bury the dead (resolves karma) and educate the young (secure longevity) on this day. It is a good time to move house (into a city). These actions today cause a person or family and all their projects to flourish. On this day investments increase in value. It is ideal to give or receive (spend) inheritances. Enjoying the arts is appropriate. Lost treasures can be found on this day. It is ideal for self-cultivation, meditation and enjoyment. It is a time of recognizing and acknowledging achievement with rewards. Evening is less auspicious.”
LM Notes: The Tail
“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
WEDNESDAY December 23, Yang Metal Rat 9
Hexagram 53 Jian: Gliding
Lunar Mansion: The Basket / Leopard
Solar Indicator: Design
Today lends itself to realignments. The sensitive, meticulous and resourceful nature of today's character suits the auspices of gentle progress for the day...
"Jian is the omen read from the gliding, settling, gliding and settling of migrating birds. It is about gradual and instinctive progress. Jian also represents the growth of plants, a traditional courtship, the gracious acceptance of fate, and our natural continuity with the ancestors. It is the story of a long and predestined journey, the power of perseverance, and the predisposition (character, nature and fate) inherent in our birth.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 53 Jian
"It is auspicious to marry, work hard, purchase, build and remodel (new door = new resources) on this day. It is auspicious to continue your routine work, review and reinvest. Acquiring wealth (work, invest and collecting debts) is highlighted. Good for burials, memorials and funerals (rain of blessings from the ancestors). Contraindicated activity: Laziness, gossip and slander."
LM Notes: The Basket
“It is an excellent day to recover wisdom by stepping back, planning, recalling alliances and reassessing our position.”
LM Notes: Design
THURSDAY December 24, Yin Metal Ox 10
Hexagram Consult the Oracle
Lunar Mansion: The Ladle / Griffon
Solar Indicator: Divide
When in doubt lean on tradition today, something the Metal Ox accommodating, strong and reliable naturally does...
"It is a most auspicious day for Daoist religious rites, initiations and transmission of (esoteric) teachings. It is an auspicious day to start up a business and build a new building (home, temple). It is a safe day to dig foundations (wells, trenches) and get married. New opportunities (news) abound - taking exams and routine work bring great success/reward on this day. It is an auspicious day to bury the dead - they will rest peacefully and benefit the surviving relatives.”
"Contraindicated activity: Hypocrisy, irreverence, breaking taboos and sloth."
LM Notes: The Ladle
"Holding back on this day is related to deeper self-reflection, education of all sorts and consulting with experts and elders - rather than forward action. It is not about immature reluctance or cowardice but about shedding inessentials."
LM Notes: Divide
FRIDAY December 25, Yang Water Tiger 11
Hexagram 62 Xiao Guo: Small Succeeds
Lunar Mansion: The Oxboy / Ox
Solar Indicator: Full
The proud, stubborn and strong Water Tiger character today may have too much energy for today's auspices. Keep things focused and local...
"Success in small matters. The judicious and timely use of small force succeeds. Being an assistant is favorable. Things go well if you avoid pretense."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 62 Xiao Guo
“It is auspicious to stay home, guard resources, meditate and focus. It is auspicious to initiate austerity, enter retreat, recover and economize.”
LM Notes: The Oxboy
“This is an optimum day for education, preparation, polishing, gathering resources and firming up plans. Confidence grows as the right time and necessary resources are now part of the vision. The qi is forming patterns and remaining in the channels. Practice and disciplined cultivation bring confidence. The prince (yang) is gaining support. Discipline in small matters succeeds. True confidence requires no aggression. Though nothing needs to be done, the natural maturation of strength occurs.”
LM Notes: Full
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In resolution and adventure...
Warmly,
Jamie Shulander
Instagram@jamieshulander
jshulander@gmail.com
