Reflection January 2017

Set your mind to 2017

Signs for the Year of the Fire Rooster

Have you ever felt that some years are better than others? Many probably would emphatically say, “Yes”. Like vintage of red wine, each year has a specific character, and 2017 will bring stable and steady growth energy, so it promises to be a good year.

Since ancient times, human beings have wished to live happily, so I would like to share some important and useful findings from ancient star readings for the Year of the Fire Rooster.

Power of growth
According to the lunar calendar, 28 January is the first new moon day of the year and the lunar new year or Chinese New Year, is considered the beginning of 2017. The energy surrounding us begins to shift on that day.

Meanwhile, according to the solar calendar, 4 February is another day of the year marking a beginning, in this case spring.

The natural elements for 2017.

Spring brings us a great amount of active energy, allowing us to grow. With spring, we have the energy to handle business more easily, while without it we are barely able to grow our business. We have not had spring in either of the past two years, since in 2015 and 2016 the lunar new year fell on 19 and 8 February, respectively. But this year, spring comes after the start of the lunar new year. It is one of the main pieces of good news for 2017, as it means we can grow and expand our business more easily than in the past two years.

Steady and stable
This is one of the feng shui charts for 2017. It shows that nature’s energies are balanced and stable. All five natural elements—water, wood, fire, earth and metal—are present. This gives our lives stability, and makes such an event as the Lehman Shock unlikely to occur. Even were we to have a bad experience, it would be unlikely to become any worse.

A proper shift
Everybody in the world is talking about Donald Trump. Every time I turn on the TV, commentators are discussing whether to support him. They caution that he could have a big effect on our lives—he could make it worse or better—and they make it sound like an emergency.

A feng shui nine-grid chart

But I can tell you—from reading another feng shui chart—that it is not an emergency; it is just what in feng shui is called a “proper shift”.

This nine-grid chart gives a lot of information. Each number has a symbolic meaning, and the central grid represents the general character of the year. In this case, the central number is one, which symbolises change, chance and victory. Last year, the central number was two, representing illness.

Having a flexible attitude that embraces change and setting our minds to victory is what we should be doing now. Let’s stop adopting the attitude of many TV commentators and, instead, plump for success. The media love sad stories, but 2017 will be a happier year than the last.

But beware
Although this will be a good year, there is one thing to remember: friends can easily become rivals.

Just as the president of the United States said, “America First”, and just as Tokyo’s governor has organised a Tokyoites First political group, people tend to put themselves first, which causes friction in friendships. People tend to come into conflict and easily experience jealousy.

This applies not only to individuals—firms and divisions will experience the same. Over the past few years, collaboration and alliance were the key words in business, but this will be very hard to achieve in 2017. Collaborative projects in your business may face hard times; business alliances are fragile.

Cure
People love feng shui because there is always a cure. So how can we overcome trouble with friendships?

Wearing a red tie or scarf will make you safe. The colour red creates fire energy, and fire is always good when fighting.

Another cure is wearing a dragon. Conflict this year is caused by overly strong water energy. There are many shrines devoted to dragons in Japan and most of them were built for flood control. The dragon symbol is a well-known means of controlling water energy.

Wearing a dragon image, such as on a tiepin or earrings, or placing a dragon figurine on your desk is one way of harnessing the dragon’s power.

Though we may face trouble as a result of selfishness, it will nonetheless be a wonderful year for business. We can have confidence in growing our business, so let’s get going.