Zbigniew Piekarski on the Year of the Monkey
Last January I referred to Y.C. Sun, an exponent of Chinese Astrology based in San Francisco, who predicted gains of as much as 22 percent for the three major indexes, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average going as high as 9,780, (10,453) the Nasdaq Composite rising as high as 1,700 (2,003) and the S&P 500 Index hitting a peak of 1,050 (1,111.92) by the end of 2003. As his predictions were far more accurate than mine, this year we call upon Mr. Raymond Lo also known as 'Fung Shui Lo', a professional Feng Shui researcher and practitioner from Hong Kong (who actually appeared on Polish television in 1996) to predict the possible events which will shape our lives in the Year of the Yang Wood on Metal Monkey.
The unique feature of the Chinese calendar is that all information about time - year, month, day and hour are presented in terms of the five basic elements - metal, water, wood, fire and earth - which are believed to be the basic components of everything in the Universe.
The present version of the Year of the Monkey is symbolized by two elements, wood sitting on top of metal. According to the cycle of birth and destruction, which governs the inter-relationship between elements, metal will destroy wood. Therefore, wood sitting on its destroyer, metal, is a symbol of conflict and disharmony in international relations and social and economic forces.
The Chinese lunar calendar (which goes back some 4,700 years) is also affected by time cycles and in particular the 60-year cycle. This means that there will be a certain similarity with the last time the year of the Yang Wood on Metal Monkey occurred. Then the world was deep at war with the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Sixty years later, the same pair of elements, wood on metal, may bring such fierce fighting again and we should see it as a year of decisive battles in most spheres of life.
In accordance with the Feng Shui flying stars, the bad star 5 Yellow will be present in the center in 2004. Therefore, areas located with 'Central' or 'Middle' sections of land masses will encounter conflict or natural disasters. Such areas include the Middle East, Central America, Central Europe and Central Africa.
2004 is also the beginning of a new 20 year cycle in Feng Shui called the "Age of 8" when there is a big shift of energy inspiring revolutionary change. The "Age of 8" represents a young son and therefore we will see younger people come up in power as the old order is destroyed. However, the year will also bring negative influences on younger people, thus increasing their social problems.
The elements that appear in each year of the Chinese calendar are also a pointer to areas that we should pay more attention to during that year. The appearance of wood being destroyed by metal is a warning that there could be problems in the wood area, with trees and the environment. There could be serious damage to forests and the environment and we can predict that troubles will also emerge in the area of agriculture.
The most unfavorable areas of industry this year will be businesses related to the wood element. These include textiles, fashion, clothing, paper, magazines, furniture, plants, flowers and other consumer products related to wood. The industries that will perform well are those related to earth and fire elements such as property, insurance, mining and chemicals. Fire industries are energy, electricity and entertainment.
Of the remaining elements, water (transport, travel, shipping, communication, bars and drinks) may see an improvement this year whereas metal (heavy industry, engineering, high-tech and cars) will be neutral to weak.
People born in the year of the Rat and the Dragon combine with the Monkey and they will have a more harmonious year than most. However the stubborn and dogmatic Ox (Kwiatkowski and Hausner); and the self-obsessed Horse (Kwaśniewski and Lepper) will find things rather difficult, as will individuals born in the year of the Dog who will find it increasingly difficult to trust others (Miller).
The birth sign that will dominate this year is the Rooster (Rywin). In fact, the whole of the Chicken Family is about to make a global impact as Avian Flu spreads from the Far East and mutates to affect human beings. The old political slogan of a "chicken in every pot" may have an alternate meaning as the days pass.
On the WSE: Economic freedom and limited government under the rule of law are crucial for peace and prosperity. Interfering with free trade, dictating massive government-to-government aid programs, imposing burdensome environmental standards, fixing wage rates, and penalizing successful entrepreneurs are not in the long-term interests of any economy.
Yet the members of the Flower Power generation are determined to impose their interpretation of bureaucratic reality in order to try and circumvent market forces. One such solution concerned the Health Service whose financial requirements were relegated to the more politically expedient bribing of coal miners and now railway workers. Polfa Tarchomin, the largest domestic producer of antibiotics, has suspended sales of its products as it is not getting paid. The next proposed solution to the problems of a declining birth rate and increased costs of education is even more creative.
Since countries with the highest female literacy rates also have the lowest birth rates (Over 45 per 1,000 in Africa and the Middle East as opposed to fewer than 15 per 1,000 in the countries of Europe and 11 per 1,000 in Poland), from next year, all females will receive only an elementary education, which will be provided by Church run schools and funded by donations from the faithful. Thus the budget will be balanced and the birth rate will soar.
The unique feature of the Chinese calendar is that all information about time - year, month, day and hour are presented in terms of the five basic elements - metal, water, wood, fire and earth - which are believed to be the basic components of everything in the Universe.
The present version of the Year of the Monkey is symbolized by two elements, wood sitting on top of metal. According to the cycle of birth and destruction, which governs the inter-relationship between elements, metal will destroy wood. Therefore, wood sitting on its destroyer, metal, is a symbol of conflict and disharmony in international relations and social and economic forces.
The Chinese lunar calendar (which goes back some 4,700 years) is also affected by time cycles and in particular the 60-year cycle. This means that there will be a certain similarity with the last time the year of the Yang Wood on Metal Monkey occurred. Then the world was deep at war with the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Sixty years later, the same pair of elements, wood on metal, may bring such fierce fighting again and we should see it as a year of decisive battles in most spheres of life.
In accordance with the Feng Shui flying stars, the bad star 5 Yellow will be present in the center in 2004. Therefore, areas located with 'Central' or 'Middle' sections of land masses will encounter conflict or natural disasters. Such areas include the Middle East, Central America, Central Europe and Central Africa.
2004 is also the beginning of a new 20 year cycle in Feng Shui called the "Age of 8" when there is a big shift of energy inspiring revolutionary change. The "Age of 8" represents a young son and therefore we will see younger people come up in power as the old order is destroyed. However, the year will also bring negative influences on younger people, thus increasing their social problems.
The elements that appear in each year of the Chinese calendar are also a pointer to areas that we should pay more attention to during that year. The appearance of wood being destroyed by metal is a warning that there could be problems in the wood area, with trees and the environment. There could be serious damage to forests and the environment and we can predict that troubles will also emerge in the area of agriculture.
The most unfavorable areas of industry this year will be businesses related to the wood element. These include textiles, fashion, clothing, paper, magazines, furniture, plants, flowers and other consumer products related to wood. The industries that will perform well are those related to earth and fire elements such as property, insurance, mining and chemicals. Fire industries are energy, electricity and entertainment.
Of the remaining elements, water (transport, travel, shipping, communication, bars and drinks) may see an improvement this year whereas metal (heavy industry, engineering, high-tech and cars) will be neutral to weak.
People born in the year of the Rat and the Dragon combine with the Monkey and they will have a more harmonious year than most. However the stubborn and dogmatic Ox (Kwiatkowski and Hausner); and the self-obsessed Horse (Kwaśniewski and Lepper) will find things rather difficult, as will individuals born in the year of the Dog who will find it increasingly difficult to trust others (Miller).
The birth sign that will dominate this year is the Rooster (Rywin). In fact, the whole of the Chicken Family is about to make a global impact as Avian Flu spreads from the Far East and mutates to affect human beings. The old political slogan of a "chicken in every pot" may have an alternate meaning as the days pass.
On the WSE: Economic freedom and limited government under the rule of law are crucial for peace and prosperity. Interfering with free trade, dictating massive government-to-government aid programs, imposing burdensome environmental standards, fixing wage rates, and penalizing successful entrepreneurs are not in the long-term interests of any economy.
Yet the members of the Flower Power generation are determined to impose their interpretation of bureaucratic reality in order to try and circumvent market forces. One such solution concerned the Health Service whose financial requirements were relegated to the more politically expedient bribing of coal miners and now railway workers. Polfa Tarchomin, the largest domestic producer of antibiotics, has suspended sales of its products as it is not getting paid. The next proposed solution to the problems of a declining birth rate and increased costs of education is even more creative.
Since countries with the highest female literacy rates also have the lowest birth rates (Over 45 per 1,000 in Africa and the Middle East as opposed to fewer than 15 per 1,000 in the countries of Europe and 11 per 1,000 in Poland), from next year, all females will receive only an elementary education, which will be provided by Church run schools and funded by donations from the faithful. Thus the budget will be balanced and the birth rate will soar.
