Author: Stephanie Stewart

Maxine Waters Reclaims Time

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Summer 2017 in America

Many Feng Shui masters might not agree about this but the way I see it we are now in the 9th fate: the age of Fire. The super powers of women are becoming obvious to everyone whether they like it or not. Boys are getting angry that there are female only showings of Wonder Woman. Guys like James Damore and Steven Mnuchin are getting nervous and making a pre-emptive strike to block the oncoming rise of women by pouring on the rhetoric. We have seen these tactics of avoiding answering the question that was asked (Mnuchin), or defending a weak position by claiming the victim role (Damore), used against women in authority positions many times. Maxine Waters is not having that. Her super power is reclaiming time. Mnuchin was not able to derail her – instead he opened the eyes of the world to her mastery. Times are changing. The change is accelerating.

Maxine Waters was born in an Earth Tiger year. Earth and Wood together is about power and success, aka kun and choi in the language of Ba Zi.

I wrote a post earlier this year about how people with a Tiger branch in their Ba Zi are quite effective against the Trump administration. Rather than spending a lot of time blustering on social media or in other public arenas, these Tiger people are watching and waiting. They are also working behind the scenes to make sure that when they go in it’s for the kill. They will not forget who did what and who stepped out of their place in the pecking order. The Tiger branch clashes with the current month of Monkey so Tigers will be prominent in August, and then again in October because of the Tiger’s alliance with the Dog.

As the year has progressed I have come to describe our current political situation as a tension between Earth and Wood elements. In the dynamic cycle of the Five Elements, Earth is controlled by Wood. In Ba Zi terms this means Wood is Earth’s power, and Earth is Wood’s success. Under certain circumstances Earth and Wood can also combine to create more Earth. Earth and Wood combining is a characteristic of Trump’s birth chart. He seems to be able to render his opponents ineffective. I say this only happens when the opponent lacks subtlety due to a surfeit of aggression.

Earth vs. Wood

Let’s use Earth element to represent Trump since he has an Earth day stem, Earth day branch and was born in a Dog year. We’ll also have Earth represent the U.S. Government since the office of President and the government are virtually inseparable.

Birth Chart of Donald Trump
Born June 14, 1946 at 10:54 am

Qualities of Earth

  • Remote
  • Stubborn
  • Unmoving
  • Powerful
  • Heavy
  • Compiling
  • Massive

 
Trump’s particular type of Earth reminds me of a small planet becoming huge; adding to its own gravity by consuming everything in its orbit. HUGE!

Now Wood will represent people with a Tiger branch in their chart, such as Maxine Waters and the Tigers from my earlier post. For the Wood element I’m also including the citizens of the U.S.A. since we are the ones who give the power to our government.

You’ll also want to note Maxine also has strong metal in her chart so it’s in her nature to speak up fearlessly about her beliefs.

Birth Chart of Maxine Waters
Born August 15, 1938

Qualities of Wood

  • moving in every direction
  • constant movement
  • stubborn
  • flexible
  • persistent
  • ambitious
  • idealistic
  • wants space

 

From the words alone you can see how these Earth and Wood clash, but they also have a relationship that can be harmonious.

If you follow my logic, Trump is a problem that “we the people” have the power to fix. How to begin? Don’t get distracted by the daily drama. Stay attentive to all the important things you do in your own microcosm even if all that means is communicating kindness and love to those around you. It does make a difference in the macrocosm. Align with those who share some or even just one of your values – don’t worry if you don’t match up on every issue. Be ready to move and change. Success is in flexibility and cooperation.

Summer’s Almost Gone

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Tomorrow is the first day of the Earth Monkey 戊申 month which covers the rest of August and a bit of September. When the Monkey comes the change of seasons is accelerated. Summer’s almost gone. Let’s be glad we had it.

Things are looking spent in the garden. Most of the evergreens have just done their annual leaf/needle drop so the ground is crackly and yellow just like the grass that none of us water. We have had no measurable rain here in Seattle for the last 49 days. The ground is very dry. It’s also been unusually hot with runs of days where temperatures are in the 90s. It’s easy to see our air quality is very poor when Bellevue is almost obscured from the west side of Lake Washington. You can smell the smoke in the air from the fires in British Columbia. It’s not what we are used to here in the temperate rain forest. Big changes are happening everywhere.

The part of the change to love is the crazy amount of growth that has happened this summer, the bounty of blooms and reblooms, as well as the extended season for scented bloomers. Here are the perennials and bulbs that are still performing in the garden. Enjoy!

Weigela

Rose of Sharon

Summersweet “Hummingbird”

Scarlet Monkey Flower (Mimulus cardinalis)

Evergreen jasmine

Bee balm “Jacob Cline”

Gladiola

Feng Shui : What’s Your Story?

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

By the time I was 15 years old, my family had moved house 13 times. We had lived in three different states, at least six cities, and many houses. We lived in Arizona mostly, but also in Texas and California. I became fascinated by houses and their atmospheres and started out defining them by which ones were safe or where the safe places were in each house. This was based purely on how it made me feel. I became fascinated by houses and to this day I still have many dreams that occur inside of houses.

During 5th grade when walking home from school I would look at the houses along the way, making up stories about each one. The story would tell who lived inside and what living there would be like. I would add details about their day to day lives. In some houses there would be French toast for breakfast. In others there might not be any breakfast at all. Not every story was a happy one.

There was one house that was my favorite and the story I told myself regarded what my life would be like if I lived there. The house stood out because there was a garden gate leading to the back yard that you could see from the street. It was the closest thing to a moon gate there was in Douglas, Arizona at the time. Really it was just a wooden gate with a rounded arch above it* but to me it seemed mysterious and inviting. On some days if I thought no one was home I was brave enough to go up to the gate and peek over for a glimpse into the garden. I was looking for magic (divine intervention?) as my parents had just separated. My thought was if I could live in that house my life story would be very different. Little did I know I was onto something.

After 5th grade my parents reunited and we moved to another house – this time outside of Douglas about 1/4 mile from the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The house was run down and you could tell nobody had cared about it in a long time. It had several low, tin roofed outbuildings that were spooky; a hot darkness filled with old junk, rattlesnakes and despair. Everywhere you went on the property there were snakes, scorpions and horrible smelling trees. It was easy to imagine nasty things had happened there in the past. Some days migrating Mexicans the adults I knew called “wetbacks” would come traveling through the desert asking for water. I was never afraid of them – I was afraid for them. That same year some ranchers who owned many acres near our property captured and tortured some Mexican men not far from our house. Fear was in the air.

There were no safe places in that house. I don’t remember much about the interior except for the bedroom I shared with my sister. Close to the center of the room there was a big opening in the floor covered by a board. The board fit into the opening so it was flush with the floor. If you put a rug over it you might not know it was there. There was some storage space beneath – not a full basement. It was like a grave that could open at any time. Nights were the worst because I was always afraid some person who had been hiding in there would come up out of the opening while I was asleep. For me this idea was somehow related to the people coming across our land and asking for water. I had the impression people had actually hidden in the hole at some time.

My mother became very ill and nearly died when we were living in that house. When she was in the hospital my brother and sister and I were sent to stay with friends and neighbors. I forgot to go back to our house to feed my parakeet and it died. My experiences, emotions and my family matched up with the feelings and impressions I had of the house and property.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because you might have thought you don’t know or understand anything about Feng Shui. I’m saying you do in the sense that you know your own story.

You have already noticed feelings, emotions and patterns associated with your environment but perhaps you didn’t take the time to analyze them. If you are honest with yourself you will admit there are places in your house right now that don’t look, feel, taste, smell or sound right to you. This is telling you something about the ch’i in those spaces.

Maybe there are parts of your house where you just don’t want to go. Maybe there are parts of your house where it feels great to you. Think of the words you would use to describe either of those two situations regarding your own house. Writing them down would be a good idea.

Now take those words and see how they apply to your health, relationships, money, career, family, children… Take note of how the words describing your issues link up with the feelings about certain areas of your house.

If that doesn’t work for you try this: What areas of your house or yard are neglected? For example, if it’s the SW there may be something you are avoiding in your relationship with your mother. Or maybe you are a mother who is not taking care of herself. If your front door (related to the mouth) is difficult to open and close, what does it mean to you? Are you not saying things that need to be said? Lonely? Purposely keeping people away? Experiencing illness related to the mouth?

Practicing this kind of thinking will reveal things you are capable of changing if you want to. As a Feng Shui consultant I can help you. What is your story? If you don’t like it you can change it by making different choices. Why would you wait?

*While writing this realized I tried to re-create this gate for a fenced garden in 2000.

Feng Shui Elemental Cure : Six Rod Wind Chime

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart
Metal element as activation or cure

For as long as I can remember I’ve loved the sound of wind chimes*. My first memories of hearing them involve being at my grandmother’s house in the Catalina Foothills of Arizona. I associate them with the wind signaling the coming of rain or a storm; something I still find thrilling even after all these years of living in rainy Seattle. In the cycle of elements, metal creates water. The NW (metal) of the US is a rainy place to live (water).

In the practice of feng shui, a wind chime with 6 metal pipes is often recommended to activate using the metal element, or cure using the metal element. The pipes are made of metal and the number six has to do with the 6 Gua (NW) which has to do with metal. The wind chime can be placed indoor or outdoor, depending on what your house is like.

Sounds pretty simple right?

There are lots of other layers here to consider, such as the birth chart of your house, the current year and month, and the compass location where you are doing the adjustment. For example, using metal in a compass location that corresponds to E or SE is probably not a great idea because those areas are related to the wood element. In the dynamic cycles of the elements metal chops wood.

Another important factor is timing. You don’t want to try to activate or cure one thing only to cause some other problem by doing it at the wrong time.

Here’s how I see it from my gardener’s perspective:

Using metal as a feng shui activation or cure, like pruning, is only healthy if it is done at the right time and in the appropriate fashion. Before you start cutting you need to understand whether the tree is evergreen or not, the growth habits, the mature size it will attain, and when it is the appropriate time to do it. Hacking and chopping, especially in the wrong season will maim a tree forever or leave it dying a slow death.

There is a magical enhancement in artful pruning just as there is in the proper application of feng shui.

*Did you know you can get wind chimes that have different tunings? If you are curious about wind chimes you may want to check out this site: https://www.musicofspheres.com/. I have the Balinese one.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders : If You Want a Friend in Washington Get a Dog

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

What would it be like for a woman growing up with Mike Huckabee as her father? And why would that compel her to stand and loyally defend the crass actions of her boss Donald Trump? To answer these questions one must consider both nature and nurture. This is just one of the ways to use Bazi.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders was born on August 13, 1982.

The year pillar reveals the nature of parents, grandparents, ancestors, family attitudes, and traditions that are handed down. Compare it to the day pillar and you can have a quick read on the nature of a person’s parents and how he or she responds to that influence. This is where our decisions or reactions usually come from unless we consciously change ourselves.

Twitter/Sarah Huckabee Sanders

Dog 戌 vs. Dragon 辰 is a Clash

In the case of Sarah, the relationship of Dog in the year pillar and Dragon in the day pillar is key to understanding why she is willing to take on the task of defending Trump. There is a conflict between loyalty to authority and defending those who are bullied. There are boundary issues. Her problem lies in discerning who is the bully and who is being bullied.

Because Sarah has been bullied herself she perceives that type of energy as negative. Unfortunately, bullying and being bullied also has the comfort of familiarity and invokes a possibly troublesome loyalty she feels to her father Mike Huckabee.

Being bullied at the same time you are learning to love and be loved is a powerful but useless lesson many girls and young women have learned from their fathers. It’s difficult to believe in a love without manipulation and pain after that. Maybe a big part of the problem is that there is a certain thrill simply in having your father that focused on you. Imagine the outcome if his focus was on teaching you self care instead.

Dog the Father

Source: Getty/Mic

A man who can make remarks like this is a scared misogynist at best. At worst he is a bully who is interested in taking away women’s freedom. For Sarah he is the archetype of the father. As such he represents authority – even the highest authority which some would call God. Sarah’s loyalty to Trump is a reflection of her loyalty to her father. She will have a huge conflict going against Trump in any way and feels compelled to defend him even though it makes her look like an ass.

Some of the characteristics of the Dog correspond with Sarah’s father’s career:

  • Mike Huckabee ran in the Presidential Primaries in 2016 but didn’t really have anything new to say.
  • He is a Christian Minister who probably thinks he is protecting his flock but is too dogmatic to be an inclusive and charismatic leader.
  • He was the Governor of Arkansas from 1996-2007 which shows that he does have leadership qualities with the like minded, i.e. his pack/PAC.
  • Coincidentally(?), he was born in Hope, Arkansas, the same town as Bill Clinton. Also interesting is that Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and George W. Bush were all born in 1946 which was a Dog year. This would lead one to think that the phrase “You lie like a dog” means not only that you lie, but that you do it badly.

 

Sarah has some of the Dog characteristics too. In Sarah’s chart, the character representing her self is 戊 and the character representing her father is 戌. Even if you’ve never studied Feng Shui or Bazi you will probably notice how similar these characters are. Sarah and her father are similar too, but not exactly the same.

But don’t forget Sarah’s day branch is the Dragon. Have you noticed how much more reluctant and heavy* she seems with each new press conference? She knows that Trump’s behavior is out of line and yet she doggedly pursues her own success by continuing in her protective position. She attempts to portray Trump’s behavior as paternally oriented but you can see she is struggling. On the other hand it’s the Rooster year, this is her big chance and the money is good, so…

The Rooster Year 2017

Because there is a Dragon in the day branch of Sarah’s chart, in a Rooster year she may find herself attracted to the fame and power of her job as a spokeswoman and losing track of her own mojo.

Her current fate is Wood Dragon indicating that this is a time where she has new opportunities for both power and money. Her problems are “first world problems”. This kind of big success must distract from any unpleasantness she has to go through to achieve it, but she doesn’t see the crash and burn coming. Unfortunately, a second Dragon means she may be kidding herself about how much she is able to outsmart those around her. Thinking about her long term career (i.e. post-Trump) might be a better strategy.

*I don’t mean she gained weight.

James Comey in Hot Water

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

James Comey
Born December 14, 1960 (hour unknown)
is too much water? He gets fired from his position of FBI Director on May 9, 2017, ostensibly due to damage done to the credibility of the FBI on his watch.

You don’t need to use divination to know that Comey’s firing has much more to do with our current administration’s ties to Russia than it has to do with some other action on Comey’s part. The reason Comey was fired is that he was perceived as having too much power over information about events that happened last year. The element of water represents Comey’s power in his ba zi but the element of water in general is about communication. Communication will not be suppressed by his dismissal in 2017 because the central energy of this year is water.

But let’s look at his ba zi.

James Comey was fired on a Fire Monkey day. You may remember that 2016 was a Fire Monkey year so already you can see here that there is an implication that he was fired for things that happened last year. Obviously there are echoes of recent events – anyone remember what happened shortly before the election? The 2 months prior to the election were Fire Monkey (August) and Fire Rooster (September). The same sort of chi as 2016 and 2017 but on a different scale.

When the Monkey is in the chart along with the Dragon there is a triple water combination in his chart. In a sense in the Rooster year the Dragon is lurking all of the time but it looks like April 2017 (Dragon month) completes the water combination and it is just too much. The Monkey has to do with getting in trouble with spoken words and the Dragon has to do with sudden change. When they come together with the Rat, keeper (or revealer) of secrets Comey is fired.

Comey’s current Big Fate is Water Snake. We just entered the Snake month on May 5th. Look to the Snake for marking out liars, spin doctors and truth seekers. Always a theme for the Snake. And just so you know, I’m not creative enough to make this stuff up.

Dragon Month : All Will Be Revealed

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

In April, after the rain the air is like a living thing. It smells of aspiration and dirt – everything is possible. The colors are brighter, the view of Mt. Rainier is so clear you can almost touch it. There’s a psychedelic quality to April. It reminds me of that Beatles song Because, which was released in 1969 – an Earth Rooster year.

In the Chinese calendar the Dragon marks the end of the wood season of spring. It’s the part of spring that is the most magical and changeable. The weather changes throughout a single day; today’s bright flowers will be spent tomorrow. There’s a poignancy in knowing it won’t last – except in the choices you make this month.

If you are looking to make a change then April is the month to do it, especially during this Rooster year. With the Dragon present you will find the things you thought were holding you back (including bullies) are really just the shadows on a wall – a perception that does not have to be your reality.

In April there is hidden knowledge under the surface. If you try to look directly at it it will slip away. Take a more subtle approach and see what you catch out of the tail of your eye. Don’t try so hard. It’s all there if you are open to it.

A Dragon manages impressive achievements and solves problems of all sorts without apparent effort or preparation. You probably know people who are like this or it may even be you!

Born in a Dragon Year: 1940,1952,1964,1976,1988,2000,2012
Born in a Dragon Month: April 4th-May 4th*
Born on a Dragon Day: *
Born in the Dragon hour: 7-9am**

*You need an almanac to get this right – or ask me.
**The location of your birth is needed to get this right – just ask.

Ox and Sheep : Clash of the Feminine

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Ox and Sheep are two of the four earthly branches that are called vaults. Each one marks the end of a season. The Ox marks the end of winter which is the water season. The Sheep marks the end of the fire season which is summer. These facts alone reveal how different they are and yet they are similar in that they are both yin as opposed to the yang of Dragon and Dog – the other two vaults.

Ox and Sheep are both feminine or yin, but compared to each other the Ox is yin and the Sheep is yang. The interplay of yin and yang is always evident, sometimes even obvious, in any situation you can describe. All that exists for us exists in relation to something else. As much as we might sometimes like to think that we are separate, the lesson there is that we only exist in relationships.

Ox and Sheep both share the feminine qualities of being sensitive and maybe even psychic. They both have to do with fertility but not in the same way. Ox symbolizes a woman’s stages of pre fertility or post fertility. The life producing quality is still there but is distant and inaccessible. At the end of a cold and sometimes dark January (the Ox month) the wood season of spring begins. Above ground, Ox is a time of waiting for enough warmth to arrive to stimulate growth. Underground, it is the time that roots are growing and the life is stirring in the soil. The fertility and potential are there, it’s just not as obvious as it is during the fruitful Sheep month of July.

There’s a connection between the Ox and the Greek goddess Demeter. Although Demeter provides the grain and sustenance of life, she is not compliant and seems to disappear at will. She’s not afraid to go to the underworld if she has to in order to solve a problem. This is the part of women that many men fear. Demeter is a mother who sometimes appears in a form that is remote and intimidating because of the impersonal nature of her nurturing. Like Demeter, the Ox has rules that will be followed and that applies to everyone who wants to eat. In terms of time there are Ox years (like 2009), the Ox month which is January*, Ox days** and the Ox hour comes every day from 1-3 am***. That might be the time of the night that you wake up haunted by repetitive thoughts.

In contrast to the Ox, the Sheep is more like the archetype of Kore or Persephone who is a fertile young woman. Remember, the Sheep month of July which is about warmth and picnics comes right before the Monkey month of August which is about metal and reaping. The Sheep is ripe and a bit naive, more easily lured into relationships and groups than the Ox with her rules. To men the Sheep might be the younger, accepting, accommodating and non-threatening woman. In terms of time there are Sheep years (like 2015), the Sheep month which is July*, Sheep days**, and the Sheep hour comes every day from 1-3 pm***. In many cultures this is known as the siesta time; time to take a break and nap or do some wool-gathering. Afternoon delight.

The Sheep and Ox clash because they are so much alike. Being more about rules, the Ox has to do with religion or religious attitudes while the Sheep has more to do with spirituality and enlightenment. The clash has to do with conflicting beliefs and competition.

Although all women enfold the qualities of both Ox and Sheep, these clashes of belief are what we often see among women. The very things that should bring us together are also the things that divide us. It’s often a question about “Who is doing it right?”

Women divide along lines of age, whether or not abortion is acceptable, working outside of the home vs. not working outside of the home, having children or not, how to raise them, who has money or doesn’t, whose children/husband is the best/worst, who looks the best/worst, and who is the happiest/unhappiest. Still, women are known for being more cooperative and nurturing with each other than men are and I think that is generally true. It’s the same old dance of yin and yang.

*Chinese months don’t follow the same dates as the Gregorian calendar, starting and ending slightly later.
**You’ll need to use a 10,000 year calendar or a calculator to figure out the stem and branch of a day.
***When Daylight Savings Time is in effect you have to adjust the time to get the hour correct.

Dragons and Roosters and Tigers Oh My

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

I’ve been paying more attention to the people in the news lately (who hasn’t?) and I’ve noticed a trend amongst those who are making trouble for the Trump machine. Some of the people who really stand out have either a Dragon branch or a Tiger branch. Their actions now are related to the Metal of 2016 (Fire Monkey) and 2017 (Fire Rooster).

Metal is an element that can be fierce and competitive – not afraid to fight or call out injustice. Metal is strong in the charts of people who are openly fighting back right now.

The Dragon is diverted from his usual subterranean ways by the Rooster (2017) and will be forced speak out. People with a Dragon branch may go against their usual affiliations even at the risk of being ostracized by colleagues or losing their jobs.

The Tiger in 2017 is in conflict with the Rooster. Expect people with a Tiger branch to remind us to respect the hierarchy, represented in this case by the power of the Constitution. They will patiently wait until it’s time to be ferocious and then they will pounce. They will be especially prominent in February.

If you want to align yourself with people who will be effective in the resistance, look for the Dragons and Tigers for now. You can look for people with Tiger and Dragon qualities or you can look for people born in certain years.

DRAGONS: 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000
TIGERS: 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998

The Dragon or Tiger branch can be present in any of the four pillars that make up your birth chart, not just the year.

Who has a Dragon Branch?

Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
December 7 1952
Year: Water Dragon

United States Attorney General Sally Yates
August 20, 1960
Day: Metal Dragon

National Parks Service*
August 25, 1916
Year: Fire Dragon

Representative John Lewis (D-GA)**
Feb 21st 1940
Year: Metal Dragon
Month: Earth Tiger

Senior Federal Judge William C. Canby, Jr.
May 22, 1931
Month: Water Dragon

Who has the Tiger Branch?

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
November 23rd 1950
Year: Metal Tiger

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson
February 23, 1965
Month: Earth Tiger

Senior Federal Judge Richard Clifton
November 13, 1950
Year: Metal Tiger

Where there are Tigers you will find Horses

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
June 22, 1949
Month: Metal Horse

Metal Element

Washington State Solicitor General Noah Purcell
I was not able to find any birth information for him but my guess is that he was probably born in 1980 – a Metal Monkey year.

*You can read the ba zi of an institution by its “birthday”
**John Lewis has both Tiger and Dragon

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Hillary Rodham Clinton was born October 26, 1947 in Chicago, IL. Her birth time is unknown but I believe there is enough evidence available to support that she was born around 8am.*

Here is her natal chart:

Hillary Clinton Natal Chart

Hillary Clinton is a yang earth person. Does she have what it takes to be the next President of the United States? Here’s the Five Element breakdown.

Earth element

She’s got a solid base of supporters.

Yang earth (Wu)

Hillary is a Wu (yang earth) person Everywhere you see a Wu in the chart you see her supporters, the majority of which are always women. I say women because they have the same polarity as Hilary, meaning they are both yang earth.

There is even more Wu hidden in the Chen (Dragon) of the hour branch. Many of the causes she is known for supporting and furthering have to do with women and women’s concerns, i.e. children. In a Gallup poll taken in March of this year, 56% of women gave her a good rating while only 44% of men rated her favorably. If there is anything that can give her an edge in this campaign it is her women supporters.

Yin earth (Ji)

Look for Ji in her natal chart and you’ll find there isn’t any. Ji would be male friends or supporters. If she could get more men on her side it would be hard to keep her from becoming the next president, but in Hillary’s case Ji earth is not favorable. Ji is present in 2015 (Yi Wei), because hidden inside of Wei there is Ji. She has had to face a lot of attacks on her reputation from her mostly male peers in 2015.

The lack of Ji also predicts that Hillary is not good at the art of persuasion. She is also not good at social media.

Metal element

Hillary has some creativity to combine with her analytical skills and can bring innovative programs in fairly quickly. Her creativity is a bit heavy handed in its execution. Remember her role in what everyone now calls Obamacare?

Yang metal (Geng)

Hillary is good at the long game and will make sure Ts are crossed and Is are dotted. You might not realize it, but she is working on perfecting her next project right now.

Yin metal (Xin)

Xin is not present in the natal chart so Hillary has a hard time appealing to younger voters. She is not good at chit chat and the sound bite type of entertainment that entertains people. Instead, she seems too rigid, didactic and boring – or she says something stupid like claiming she is “flat broke”. People think she lacks a sense of humor. People want her to be more “real” by which I think they mean spontaneous. She isn’t good at that.

Lately she is trying to be more entertaining but it just comes off as awkward because she is not used to using that element. She should keep working on it or find a way to use her yin wood element (Yi) more effectively on behalf of young people.

Water element

She’s smart and she’s got plenty of money. She seems cold hearted at times, but that is because the water is hidden.

Yang water (Ren)

Hillary has more money and feelings than you think. Don’t be fooled because she is not a conspicuous consumer, doesn’t seem interested in showing off her wealth, and doesn’t like to talk about her money or show her emotions.

Yin water (gui)

Because the water is in the hour branch she’s not going to run out of money. It may go away but it will keep on coming back.

Wood element

Hillary has the guts to make tough decisions without flinching but she also has the self control to keep her actions within the laws and constitution. Hillary’s comfort with smart power is due to the nature of the wood element in her chart. She can come down hard but she also has a compassionate side. There is a dual nature to her power and she is usually good at using it.

Hillary has both Jia (yang wood) and Yi (yin wood) in her natal chart. Right from the start this tells you she’s patient and she’s in it for the long haul. The longer she can stay in the game the more powerful she will become. Next year will bring an even greater growth of her power, but if she doesn’t get elected next year don’t count her out.

Hillary has even more going for her than that. Her day pillar Wu Yin (Earth Tiger) is one of the best pillars for political power and leadership.

Yang wood (Jia)

Hilary has a proven track record of getting things done and making tough decisions without flinching – see her recent book Hard Choices. This is a great example of how the yang wood of the Tiger and the yang earth in the day stem are interacting. The elemental relationship is about power, control and winning. She has been called “hawkish” meaning she is ready to go to war when she sees fit. A woman with this type of energy in America is sometimes labelled as a “bitch” or at the least as “not very nice”. She doesn’t seem to do nice. In Hilary’s case, her yang wood is not gentle but is inclined to be kind or compassionate – sort of a benign dictator. Again, look to the causes she supports for evidence.

How does she handle the email scandal? She feels no need to apologize or explain. There is no evidence at this time that she has gained some advantage by keeping her email private but her attitude about it is unsettling. It may be getting too late to apologize or admit error.

Yin wood (Yi)

Yin wood is hidden in the Dragon hour branch. Hillary needs it to have a fighting chance at being president because it balances the qualities of the yang wood. Without the yin wood she might operating too far outside of the laws to stand up to the kind of public scrutiny a political candidate will have to endure. The Yi will keep her out of trouble.

How does she handle the email scandal? She reminds you that she never went outside the law or policy. Each time she is asked about it she says “it was allowed” to reassure you that she can play by the rules.

Fire element

She is good at analysis and has the experience and knowledge to be a competent and successful president. Of all five elements, the one Hillary has the most of is Fire or resource. In fact, there is fire in all four pillars.

Yang fire (Bing)

Hillary can see a few steps ahead in the game that is her career. She can identify key patterns and points that allow her to put forth innovative legislation.

Yin fire (Ding)

Hillary knows her facts, stays up to date on her information, and can win an argument by using these strengths.

Timing and The Peach Blossom Factor

Here’s the main thing that I think is working against Hillary’s run for the nomination: timing.

The branch that we call “peach blossom” for Hillary’s chart is Mao or Rabbit branch. There is no rabbit in the natal chart. Peach blossom is the type of energy that makes you attractive and draws people to you. A woman without peach blossom in the highest position of power may be too much for a male dominated culture to accept. If she had it she would have more male supporters and possibly more young people. It would be very difficult for anyone to beat her.

The only way for her to enjoy the peach blossom effect of the rabbit branch is through timing. From 1992-2002 her 10 year luck pillar was Yi Mao – for this 10 year period the Rabbit was present. If you look at photos of her from this time she is at her most attractive and looks happier than you ever see her again. She could really use that kind of luck now.

*Clinton, Hilary Rodham (Scroll down for Source Notes at Astro.com)