May, 2020 | Serious Feng Shui

Metal Snake 辛巳 Month
May 5th 09:08-June 5th 13:49

Here are the Animal Fortunes for the month of the Metal Snake. To get the most out of the fortunes you’ll want to know all four of your pillars which are based on your birth date and time.

If you don’t know them get in touch. Each of the four animals of your BaZi correlates with an aspect of your life.

Year Pillar
Has to do with your physical body and what you do with it, ancestors, family traits. In terms of luck the year pillar is said to take the first “hit” of any event, good or bad.

Month Pillar
Relates to career, work environment, training, age mates and peers, siblings, exes and your modus operandi

Day Pillar
Yourself and true partner; your immediate environment and home life.

Hour Pillar
Your innermost self, your children, future, hopes and dreams.

The Fortunes

巳 Snake
Years: 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Month: May roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
It’s all about sincerity and what it will compel you to do. Or not do. It’s okay if your truth is that you don’t know. The world won’t end; just the opposite actually. You’ll be in good company. There are many kinds of sacrifice.
Hint: If you don’t know the facts, don’t fake it.

午 Horse
Years: 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Month: June roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Remember there’s a future. A former teacher of mine said regarding the Horse: Don’t let all the chi come out at once. The Metal Snake would like to lure you in and compete at the same time. How do they know your susceptibilities?
Hint: If there’s a hidden price you may have to pay it next month. Look before leaping.

未 Sheep
Years: 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Month: July roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Someone is looking for a new place to hide out with you. Set an end date on it because it might get too crowded – even for you. When your principles are questioned it might be time to review them. Keep up to date with yourself. How have you changed?
Hint: Craving innocence is lovely. Craven innocence kills by proxy.

申 Monkey
Years: 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
Month: August roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Feeling the urge to break free of something painful in your past? Are you moving house? If you’re not sharing your plans about that, ask yourself what you are trying to get out of it. Is it realistic? Don’t miss out on the experience but be aware of what you’re getting into.
Hint: Listen to those you trust. They want you to graduate as much as you do.

酉 Rooster
Years: 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Month: September roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Roosters hit a peak that comes with some special privileges this year. Identify areas where you might need an assist and make a plan now. Use that good luck in case you need it later. Figure out who is in charge of things you might need. That will save you some time.
Hint: Planning is paramount.

戌 Dog
Years: 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
Month: October roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
The Fire of the Snake should be supportive for the Earth of Dog but there are many subtleties in relationships – even amongst the Wu Xing. In fact, this month, the Dog’s knowledge may be compromised by a lack of discernment regarding information from advisors.
Hint: Stay hydrated. It may be best to let instinct and emotion be your guides. Return to first principles.

亥 Pig
Years: 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1994, 2007, 2018, 2030
Month: November roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Accusations flying? If you need a place to stay, team up with the Sheep and blend in. For both parties this may be the best way to spend the summer. Some friendships are dictated by timing. Why not? Nothing happens without a clash.
Hint: Try strategic withdrawal. I’m not talking about birth control. You’re too creative to risk that this month.

子 Rat
Years: 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Month: December roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Heard it from a friend who heard it on the radio? On television? On social media? Information wants to be free and you want to help with that. Be clear about the source and verification of your information. I know you don’t want to be spreading fear. Caution maybe but not fear.
Hint: Being a witness is not the same as being the troubadour.

丑 Ox
Years: 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Month: January roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Some would say your advantage this year is luck. Some would say it’s unfair. What’s relevant is what you do with it. Look up from your workload for a moment with compassion instead of judgment. Naiveté isn’t much help when dishonesty might be your trigger.
Hint: Give with intention to someone who is struggling. Whether or not it’s “real” isn’t going to diminish you.

寅 Tiger
Years: 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Month: February roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Tigers will likely be the first to spot the latest round of spin this month. This year Tigers are feeling the Kassandra effect because others are slower to pick up the relevant patterns. Kind of lonely I know but better times are coming next month. Hang in there.
Hint: Spread your message. Fight without putting yourself at physical risk. We need you.

卯 Rabbit
Years: 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Month: March roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
Water on one side, Fire on the other. With the Snake in charge this month, what’s a Rabbit to do? Be aware of your audience. There’s a time and place to speak up to established power but not this month. Make alliances with the like minded. Action comes later.
Hint: Conflicts may be motivated by competition and/or jealousy. Theirs or yours?

辰 Dragon
Years: 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Month: April roughly. If you’re near the beginning or end ask.
The Dragon doesn’t want an apprentice but the Snake is always there as the yin to your yang. You may worry about their influence on your reputation but the right Snake, chosen carefully, could actually enhance it. Will you make the investment of trust required?
Hint: Swallow your pride and do some soul searching if you want that. This won’t work without your attention.

In a Metal Snake month in a Metal Rat year, conspiracy theories abound. As Stewart Brand is credited with saying in 1984 (a Wood Rat year):

Information wants to be free.

This phrase in itself supports ideas about conspiracy, and since then people have used it to leverage various causes. For example, a librarian might see it as an egalitarian mandate: everyone is allowed to maintain privacy while still having equal access to information. Businesses that profit from selling information may see it as promoting a loss of income, hence the paywalls and “free if you provide your personal information” subscriptions.

In 1984, the idea that information wants to be free was related to the novelty of the internet, however, it wasn’t new. Politicians, protesters and propagandists have been leveraging this concept since the first graffito appeared on a stone wall. Ultimately, the real value of information relies on the source. Given the speed with which information travels these days we tend to disregard that. If only there was a paywall between us and Trump.

George Orwell’s 1984 was all about withholding information, or force feeding disinformation and fear, as a means of dividing and conquering. We can see the same kind of patterns in Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale. The ideas in these books resonate because we sense a possible truth in them. The source of any information, and the intention behind sharing it, is crucial in determining its usefulness. We will often be misinformed without considering that.

Craving Innocence vs. Craven Innocence

I find conspiracy theories more interesting than convincing. Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe. In my life, it’s always been the insights that go against what I thought I knew that allowed the experience of life changing magic. Believing opens possibilities I might normally reject out of hand; things that I want for myself and for the world. We’ve all heard the story of the mother who lifts the car off of her child. On the other hand, like Dana Scully, I don’t want to get duped. I don’t want to have to take responsibility for that. In excess that tendency might be called cowardice.

I’ve been thinking of George Dantzig who became a famous mathematician after he was late for a graduate school level statistics class and thought the two problems that were still on the board were homework. They were actually problems famous for being unsolved. George didn’t know that so he copied them down, went home, and solved them.

It would be counterproductive for us to accept every bit of information we come across at face value, but a little gullibility might be the secret ingredient to success. Like water, it’s only helpful in the proper proportion. If, like George, we let ourselves be easily persuaded at the right time, have done the required preparation or investigation, and are acting in accordance with those things, that’s when everything clicks into place. This is a principle of water placement in Feng Shui too; lessons from a Metal Rat year regarding the nature of Water.

5G : Is Language is a Virus From Outer Space?

Any good conspiracy theory rests upon human tendencies to look for patterns. Much of human survival and evolution is based on our perception of patterns and the innovations they inspire. We don’t just identify patterns, for better or worse we also create them. Maybe the difference between forecasting and gaslighting depends on the intention of the messenger.

This month, we’ll want to remember that patterns are sometimes presented in order to misdirect our attention; to spread disinformation or fear. Some of this may be done for political reasons, nefarious or not. We can’t let that take away our agency. There’s no value in second guessing ourselves into inertia. Let common sense rule unblind.

Speaking of misdirection, I’m still wondering about Bernie Sanders, 1941 Metal Snake, ending his campaign on April 8th, a Metal Snake day with Day Officer Remove. Is it his health? With the Sheep in his day branch is it some kind of strategic withdrawal? I’d like to think it’s the latter because that opens possibilities. We could use some options.

Metal Snake month opens tomorrow on an Earth Monkey day in a Fire Snake hour. There’s a Metal cycle in the first few days. The deception is in play right from the very first minute. There’s an emphasis on truths that are related to illness. What is the truth? How do you know? A certain kind of transparency can be a ruse too. And sometimes big efforts to hide something serve to draw more attention to it. Tricky stuff. All I can tell you for sure is that lies will be told. Be informed, enlightened and optimistic. Vet everything.

Month: May 2020

12 Animal Fortunes for the Metal Snake Month

I Want to Believe