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LUNAR YEAR: YEAR of the RABBIT (Native Yin Wood) Discreet
“Charged: Gentle, quiet, peace loving, intuitive, intelligent, aesthetic, domestic, social, diverse, dependent, supportive, loving and authoritative.
Deplete: Gossipy, snobby, superficial, paranoid, greedy, scattered, vain, promiscuous, opportunistic, deceptive, conservative, stubborn and lazy.
Image: The Rabbit talked about in Chinese Astrology is well known to all Chinese peasants as the animal that ‘lives in the moon’. The lunar image represents the Rabbit’s strong need to escape the bright light of day - they hate confrontations of all types. Rabbits take charge of situations from the position of subordinate. Once safety and security are established in their lives they show themselves to be capable and successful managers and advisors. They function best at home. Inveterate collectors, they are likely to ‘feather the nest’ with a great many material possessions. Rabbits actually derive energy from objects and often consider them truly precious.
YIN WATER RABBIT (1843, 1903, 1963, 2023, 2083) ‘Forest Rabbit’
“Water Rabbits are skittish, intuitive and untrusting. They sleep very deeply (troubles appear and resolve in the night). They have a paranoid attitude toward others that is not the product of bad experience in this lifetime. They therefore cannot dedicate themselves to any particular relationship to society and drift through various career choices without success. Though they are good at business and frugal with their finances their fortunes wobble. They may have strong ideas regarding the maintenance of their health, but are uneven in applying them. A strong protector in the form of a partner of mentor, whom they trust, can reverse their wishy-washy fortunes. Most illness are caused by spirit possession.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
LUNAR MONTH: YANG EARTH HORSE (1858, 1918, 1978, 2038, 1098) “Corralled Horse”
“Earth Horses are daring, impulsive and strong characters. They often find themselves working against the odds. All their projects are obstructed from time to time. They are likely to meet with disaster and/or injury in their youth. Complications from these early injuries will haunt their health for life. They may experience dramatic catharsis in life - more than once. Their fortune is dark and their struggle only leads to exhaustion. They are prone to excess damp.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
QI NODE: 12 Great Heat
Malignant Yang
"Great Heat refers to the extreme heat in the yang twilight of the year. Oppressive heat draws up the dampness of the Earth. At this time declining Yang partners with the inter-seasonal Earth and creates Damp Heat. Damp Heat has an oppressive quality (mold, rot) in this qi node and it fosters unprecedented growth and a legion of illnesses. Though much continues to grow and flourish we must avoid the pernicious quality of the season. The great mantle of Yang must be handed down to Yin. The wise prepare for transference not defeat.
During this qi node the environmental qi (Heaven/Earth) is best at 2pm. Practice neigong several times a day facing due south. Dress lightly, wash your hair often and stroll about to avoid the damp. Chew well. During the day eat two meals, rest (nap) after lunch, snacks of fruit (melon, grapes) are good on hot days. Drink green and flower tea (jasmine, honeysuckle, lily) and in the evening enjoy a light savory soup.
It is a good time for initiating new and practical disciplines of conservation (that anticipate autumn). Activity should slowly turn from forward to reverse - begin to edit what has been accomplished. Cut back on obligations. Pace yourself. It is not a time for laziness and indolence but it is auspicious to edit what is 'unrighteous' - do not store what will mold or close down too soon.
Upon waking and before bed bucket bathe (with a final cold salt rinse), watch the sunset and go to sleep not long after dark. Rest, relax, travel (vacation by the sea), exercise and do not be exposed to coastal winds.
Guard the heart (shen) by modestly expressing your feelings - it is natural to feel emotionally lethargic or distant. Expect less from those around you to avoid emotional congestion. Be real! Honestly clear away emotional heaviness - denial. Damp heat inspires denial. Neurosis can easily go psychotic."
LM The Way of the Three Treasures
LUNAR HEXAGRAM: 10 Lu: Treading
"The process contains danger because you do not have the power to create success with certainty. Everything depends on exactly how you conduct yourself. Humility, caution, fear-management, and contemplation bring success.” LM Changing: Zhouyi 10 Lu
Hexagram 36 Mingyi: Pheasant Call
“Metal Tigers are demanding, candid and vigorous characters. They are contentious, aggressive, sensual and yet forgiving. They are generous to temples and to their friends. To avoid anxiety they do not hide their feelings or thoughts, but regret it later. When young they are wasteful and their fortune is limited and obstructed but as they age it consistently improves without reversal. They are physically strong and more likely to be injured than ill. They are susceptible to pernicious wind when depressed.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
“When integrity demands action, be cautious and prepared to fail. The situation is unfavorable because the clear warnings of doom are being ignored by the powerful."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 36 Mingyi
“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
“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
TUESDAY August 1, Yin Metal Rabbit 15
“Metal Rabbits are intelligent, quiet and humble characters. They are social, quick-witted and generous to those in need. They thrive in intimacy with a select inner-circle, but are otherwise aloof. Though their own fortune is modest, they enjoy the company of social and religious leaders. They enjoy spiritual practices and study, but struggle with their application. They do not have strong constitutions and are susceptible to cold illness with pain symptoms. They die from accidental injuries.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
“Relax plans, open up and let go of goals. When Wu Wang is divined, good fortune is based on being free of fear and expectation but ready to act if an easy opportunity arises. Do not over focus on goals and gains and you can avoid disaster. Just let things happen naturally."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 25 Wu Wang“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
“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
Lunar Mansion: The Basket / Leopard
Solar Indicator: Harvest
“Water Dragons are hard working, restless and taciturn characters. Despite their efforts, they do not find a home, friends or family easily. Their patience and humor protect them from disaster. They are distinguished but not haughty. Their idealism, turned on themselves, will inhibit them and makes their fortune uneven. They will, however, spend their twilight years in comfort. Despite a strong constitution they are prone to nervous disorders and suffer a constant stream of minor chronic ailments.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
“In Sui goals (hunt) are reached but it is important not to make pursuit (killing) itself the goal. An important aspect of successful leadership is knowing when to subordinate and who or what to follow.
“In this hexagram, the source of clarity and the strength that bring true success is subordination to fate - the act of following. When your efforts are rewarded it is stopping that brings success. Getting caught up in pursuit for its own sake will make you mad and diminish your resources."
LM Changing: Zhouyi: 17 Sui
"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
“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 early life are found in both maturing and declining. Everything succeeds. Cleverness and survival give way to courage and directness. Be like a beloved monarch not an ambitious merchant. Let new resources and assistance come forward by standing back.”
LM Notes: Harvest
THURSDAY August 3, Yin Water Snake 17
Lunar Mansion: The Ladle / Griffon
Solar Indicator: Open
“Water Snakes are cunning, gifted and restless characters. Their seductive qi brings them assistance from people of knowledge and power. Their good fortunes rely upon others (previous causes). Their inner life is secret and they do not reveal their real thoughts or feelings to anyone. They dislike personal commitment and are unlikely to parent children. Natural renunciates, who enjoy the wilderness, their potential for the practice of wisdom traditions is great. They are prone to contagious disease and cold illnesses (pain). They are not easily ‘read’.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
"A Zhou leader was both a warrior and a sage, not a brute. Good leaders know that it is their own miscalculations and poor management that lead to the need for a strong use of force (war). When we resort to harsh punishments we must do so cautiously - even humbly."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 21 Shihe"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
“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
Lunar Mansion: The Oxboy / Ox
Solar Indicator: Shut
“Wood Horses are impulsive, reclusive and focused characters. Intermittent concentration causes them to miss opportunities and make their fortune uneven. Beneath a shy exterior they are self-assured and supportive but they do not make new friends easily. They are very clever with their hands and will be known for this capacity. They dislike surprises and prefer the simple cause and effect concept. They do not express their feelings at all. Though strong, they suffer from wind disorders and liver qi stagnation (conditions hard to diagnose and treat).”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
"Zhen indicates a time for a dramatic breakthrough from lethargy. Good fortune here has everything to do with staying calm. Zhen denotes a situation where, though things are in turmoil at first, they sort out and become beneficial in the long run. Whether you are the rebel leader or the deposed ruler there is good reason to proceed with standard protocol, good manners, and determination.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 51 Zhen
“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
“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
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LUNAR HEXAGRAM: 59 Huan: Overflowing
"Huan is generally favorable and associated with getting rid of the old and bringing in the new. It is the refreshment that comes from deep and honest spiritual revelation."
LM Changing: Zhouyi 59 Huan
::: ::: :::
Lunar Mansion: The Maiden / Bat
Solar Indicator: Design
“Wood Goats are industrious, sincere and disciplined characters. They mature quickly, attract helpers and work diligently towards great success. They have great good fortune due to previous causes. Many friends and their children will support them. Their artistic and aesthetic sense is strong, but they rarely produce art due to excessive idealism and naivete. They are strongly affected by their environment. Their strong constitution often chooses self-abuse but will ultimately give them long life.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
“It is auspicious to stay home, enjoy the arts, self-reflect, do inner planning 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
“It is an excellent day to recover wisdom by stepping back, planning, recalling alliances and reassessing our position.”
LM Notes: Design
SUNDAY August 6, Yang Fire Monkey 20
Lunar Mansion: The Void / Rat
Solar Indicator: Divide
“Fire Monkey’s are organized, industrious and frank characters. They have strong sexual energy and work on their appearance. They are late to settle down. Their fortunes are good (though their motivation may be inspired by escaping hardship) and they are successful in business. They are particularly capable of avoiding negativity, but they will unfortunately need this skill. Though vigorous they are susceptible to wind disorders and may have coronary problems.”
LM Notes: 60 Characters
“Yi is about the natural progress of things when it is enhanced by the best of conditions. Sun and water and good soil help the tree grow strong; yet a tree is also subordinate to the warmth, the rain and the soil. The tree also naturally "knows” what to take and leave. Yi is the “knowledge” of nature.”
LM Changing: Zhouyi 42 Yi“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
"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
Jamie Shulander
