Author: Stephanie Stewart

Rooster Traits and Self Penalty

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

The Rooster is one of three animal signs in the Chinese Zodiac that consist of a single element. The other two are Rat (Water) and Rabbit (Wood). The energy of the Rooster is Metal, yin Metal that is. Being yin indicates a feminine quality, but plenty of our perceptions about Roosters have to do with an energy we might characterize as yang. Because the relationship of yin/yang is always shifting, or relative to the situation, there are unlimited ways to describe the energy of Metal. Here are a some examples.

General Traits of Metal

Exacting Nitpicking Principled Competitive
Fairness Underhanded Talkative Bitchy
Aggressive Brave Vain Strutting
Proud Trash Talking Exaggerating Fighting
Noisy Protective Warning Cutting
Defining Executing Precision Scorekeeper

Interestingly, you could take any one of the terms above and apply its opposite to the Rooster too. Try it. What if nitpicking became careless? Using extreme examples is helpful for learning but not every Rooster lives in the extremes. Think of all these words as clues rather than absolutes.

A simple approach to understanding the symbolic meaning of the Rooster’s possible “mistakes” is to consider the metaphors we use in our own language regarding roosters. Here are some common expressions:

  • Hatching rooster eggs: Wasting time or resources
  • Cock-eyed: turned or twisted to one side
  • Cock and Bull story: tall tales and elaborate lies
  • Cock sure: to brag
  • Cock of the walk: to be the boss
  • Strutting around like a rooster: to show off
  • Rooster games: preferring to fight instead of trying to work out a problem

The character Foghorn Leghorn, a famous Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies rooster, seems to embody the moment when the yin nature of the Rooster becomes so strong it turns to yang.

At the extremes this Metal energy could manifest as a person being too loud and self important, making a racket and attracting attention to themselves; attention that they expect you to pay. On the other hand, a Rooster who is too quiet is in trouble. If you love a Rooster, remember this. Listen to them and they won’t feel the need to talk so much.

Foghorn Leghorn: “Now let me know when I come to something that interests you.” He says this because he is going to keep talking until that happens. Roosters feel their words are important and they are. It’s hard not to listen to the opinion of the Rooster when they seem so certain. If that makes them cocky, so be it. You would be too if you were walking around with all that plumage, a loud voice, not to mention some shiny sharp talons.

Self Clash

The Rooster is one of four zodiac animals that carries with it the dreaded “self penalty”. This occurs when the Rooster encounters another Rooster, either in the natal chart or through timing.

A Rooster self penalty might closely resemble Foghorn Leghorn’s behavior in general, but in real life a self penalty is relative to your day master. If you have a Rooster in your chart, you have probably experienced the self penalty before. Depending on your day master the Rooster self penalty may show up in one of these five ways:

  • 木 Wood day master
    Power and control. Possibly a lack of self control or over controlling others. Or both.
  • 火 Fire day master
    Money. Bad decisions or reckless risk taking about money.
  • 土 Earth day master
    Output. Cockiness in speech, trash talking, too-sharp criticism.
  • 金 Metal day master
    Relationships. Fighting with coworkers, friends, peers, siblings
  • 水 Water day master
    Resources. Problems with food, drink, health.

Do you have a Rooster in your chart?*

Rooster Years: 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Rooster Month: September
Rooster Day: Depends on year and month
Rooster Hour: 5-7 pm (17:00-19:00)

Please contact me if you’d like to know your Four Pillars.

I’ll end this post with the natal chart of well known chef and restaurateur Michael Symon who has at least three Roosters in his natal chart. The Rooster often enjoys a good laugh and Michael Symon has one.

Ba Zi of Michael Symon
b. September 19th 1969
Life House
?
Hour
?
Day
Yin
Fire
丁
酉
Rooster
Month
Yin
Water
癸
酉
Rooster
Year
Yin
Earth
己
酉
Rooster
Big Fate
Yin
Fire
丁
卯
Rabbit

I say Michael Symon has at least three Roosters because I don’t know what time he was born. What if he has four?! His chart is already a special case where it looks like the Roosters (his wealth) take over the chart. In his career he has aligned himself with the “right people”, that is, the successful ones. Clearly that’s working out well for him!

Michael Symon started the 10 Year luck of Fire Rabbit in 2023. He’s experiencing clash in this decade but it doesn’t seem to be a problem. In 2023, a Water Rabbit year, he launched a cookbook – publishing a book is a Wood element activity. The Rabbit’s element is Wood.

One last thing: I hope you’ve noticed how throughout this post I’ve talked about Rooster qualities and energy, rather than Rooster people. There is no intention to criticize anyone here.

*Warning: Chinese calendar dates do not match up with the Gregorian calendar.

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Rooster Month in the Garden

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

rooster-289x300

Can you feel it? The cooling and contracting metal energy of fall is here, peaking in this Rooster month. It’s a welcome relief for my garden after a long and hot summer. The nights are getting cooler, days are noticeably shorter, it’s harvest time and the leaves are already falling from the trees.

Gui You Pillar BrownThe month of the Yin Water Rooster (Gui You) began on September 8th and will end when the Yang Wood Dog (Jia Xu) month begins on October 8th. The month pillar consists of yin water in the stem and yin metal (xin) in the branch.

By the meteorological calendar fall has just begun. By the Chinese almanac we are a little more than halfway through the season of fall which is all about metal. It consists of August (Monkey), September (Rooster), and October (Dog). When it comes to the timing of gardening tasks I feel the Chinese almanac is more useful.

The energy of metal has to do with contraction and distillation. In the garden you can visualize how the metal element works by imagining how an apple tree harnesses the energy of the sun, water and nutrients of the soil, and condenses it to create fruit. After the apples are harvested the tree loses its leaves and goes dormant, seeming to shrink as if all the energy has been spent.

The arrival of the Rooster month signals the peak of metal energy and the perfect time for a fresh start. The looser pattern of summer living gives way to structure and organization of school. The contracting energy creates space for new beginnings. In the garden, the eternal return is evident as always. Deciduous plants and annuals are dying back while evergreens are setting bud for winter blooming.

The Rooster is pure yin metal. In using imagery to study four pillars the yin metal of the Rooster is likened to pruners, whereas the yang metal (geng) of the Monkey would be more like an axe. As we all know, there is literally a cutting quality to the energy of metal when it has been forged.

When the Rooster month comes I am reminded that it’s time to do some minor pruning. Snip snip. For major pruning (lop, saw and chop), it’s usually best to wait until the tree or shrub is dormant. In any case, pay attention to what the particular plant needs.

Other than that caveat, because the new growth is done, just a few little snips to remove small branches going in the wrong direction will effectively maintain the shape you intended.

Mammoth Sunflowers and the Yang Wood Element (Jia)

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart
Sunflowers on the south side. There are 9 of them.
Sunflowers on the south side. There are 9 of them.

It’s been a great year for those hot weather plants like sunflowers, just as I predicted. I planted nine mammoth sunflowers on the south side of the house near the sidewalk. They are on the dragon side.

Mammoth Sunflower with Bee Visitor
Mammoth Sunflower with Bee Visitor
Mammoth Sunflower Opening
Mammoth Sunflower Opening

Sunflowers are a great example of the the yang wood (Jia) element and how it works. They grow giant sized woody trunks in a short amount of time, all the energy thrusting upward until it blooms. If you’ve grown them before then you know that once they get going it’s not the water that makes them grow – it’s the sun. The yang fire (Bing) element is what makes them so tall.

Eleven foot tall sunflower hasn't opened yet.
Eleven foot tall sunflower hasn’t opened yet.

Using BaZi for Genealogy

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

family-tree

Earlier this year I was talking with a genealogist about a family tree she was researching. Genealogists collect lots of birth and death data as well as other documentation of a person’s life so I thought it would be fun to see if we could use Four Pillars natal chart analysis to ferret out new leads and she was open to it. We didn’t know the hour pillar (time of birth) but were still able to glean some clues from the chart that led to new information. The genealogist did know the man she was researching had been married once and some other helpful and significant details.

Remember, for this to actually work the birth data (year, month, day) has to be accurate but the hour pillar is not necessary.

I’m going to keep this next part general for the sake of privacy. Also, I want to make it very clear that none of my readings or research are ever intended to reveal scandals or skeletons in the closet. I do it to help by providing information when it is welcome, i.e. only when asked.

Here are the clues I found that would help the genealogist to find further information about the man’s residences, travels, wives and possible children:

When I looked at the chart I could see that the man who we were researching probably had two wives and married the first when he was pretty young. It looked like neither marriage would last very long. I shared this information with the genealogist and she said she thought the man had only been married once and that was in his 30s. I told her that the chart indicated that he was first married when he was younger than that. It turned out that he actually did marry for the first time at age 23. The marriage the genealogist already knew of had occurred when the man was married for the second time at age 33.

Adding this information about a second, formerly unknown marriage to a genealogist’s records is a big deal, not to mention so much fun for me. Opportunities to read charts and get feed back are always welcome. If you’re researching family genealogy and would like a no-frills natal chart analysis please contact me.

Fiery Patterns in Time : Metal Horse Month

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

I was going through my Twitter feed this morning and came across this tweet from History Link:

history link twitter

A historical tidbit like that is just the right thing to get me looking for patterns in time and circumstance.

Today is the first day of the Yang Metal Horse month, also known as Geng Wu. June 6, 1889 was also the first day of a Yang Metal Horse month. Here are the two charts:

Thursday June 6, 1889 2:45 pm
Thursday June 6, 1889 2:45 pm
Friday June 6, 2014 2:45 pm
Friday June 6, 2014 2:45 pm

You may already know that because this is a Yang Wood Horse year we can expect fire to be very strong in 2014, however, at certain points this year the energetic cycles will create super fiery phases. With two horses in the chart from now until July 6 we can expect extra strong fire. It’s the perfect set up for days and hours where fire will be particularly intense.

Representations of the Fire Element

Moving quickly forward and upward
Triangular shapes
Fame; notoriety
Impulse
Creative ideas
Spontaneous awareness or understanding
Heart
Warmth; Heat
Summer
Joy
The colors red, pink and purple

Certain combinations of branches getting together in the chart, such as Tiger-Horse-Dog and Snake-Horse-Sheep, are the reason for the flare ups. Here are the days that will be real scorchers:

June 8 – Metal Dog
June 12 – Wood Tiger
June 17 – Earth Sheep
June 20 – Water Dog
June 24 – Fire Tiger
June 29 – Metal Sheep
July 2 – Wood Dog

I’m not going to hazard any predictions about what this month will bring – even if I did they would have to be pretty general. Depending on your day master element fire can represent one of 5 things in your chart: self, wealth, power, output or resource. Pay attention to events, your thoughts and feelings and you will understand the effects of fire on your chart this month even if you know nothing about astrology.

Core Theory of Feng Shui : Five Elements

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

I missed this post when I was doing my forecast roundup this year. In a sense it doesn’t “fit” with the others on the list because it is written by a consultant who uses a westernized form of the traditional Later Heaven Bagua.

3 door bagua

In the western method the bagua is static and it’s orientation is not based on compass directions. Still, from the perspective of five elements I’d say the post is an accurate summary of the energy of the last couple of years and a good prediction for this year.

A lot of talk goes around among those who study and practice feng shui. From novices to masters, the discussions tend to revolve around which school or method “has it right”. If you’ve been in this game long enough you will start to understand that there are many people who “have it right”, that is to say they get results. They are not all from the same school, and use different methods. If you are not comfortable with relativism then a career in the world of metaphysics is not for you.

From a client’s perspective, it is much simpler. Most western clients are not concerned with who taught their consultant or what method/school is applied. What they want is results.

Simply stated, anyone who understands and is practicing based on yin/yang theory and the Theory of Five Elements is on the right track, no matter how they dress it up. Some people are uncomfortable with the fact that this leaves the door open to New Age ideas, approaches and inventions – not to mention the marketing opportunities. The placebo effect does help some, at least for the short term. Some consultants are comfortable selling you the remedy they just prescribed for your house, others will help you make changes that are unrecognizable as feng shui adjustments using the stuff you already have.

Of course it’s up to you to decide who you want to hire. Find someone that feels like a good fit to you but don’t forget to ask about the basic core theories of their feng shui methods. If they don’t mention yin/yang or five elements then feng shui is not what they are practicing.

2014 Yang Wood Horse Forecast Roundup

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Jia Wu Pillar for sjsI’ve put together a list of Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology predictions for 2014. If you’d like to read my 2014 feng shui forecast for gardeners click here.
2014 is the year of the Wood Horse or Jia Wu. It’s also known as the year of the Green Wood Horse or the Horse in the Clouds. Are those clouds of smoke?

I don’t know any of the authors of these forecasts personally, but I have to say some of them have written things that went straight into my brain and heart. Sometimes insight comes with a painful shock that’s meant to wake you up. Some of the images and words they have shared have become like signs by the side of the road, reminding me of the ways I would like to travel. Maybe they will do that for you, too.

2014 Feng Shui Forecast Roundup

trojan horse on fire
Photo by Scott Merrylees courtesy of the Wakefield Express

Raymond Lo

Raymond Lo is a Hong Kong based Feng Shui Master, teacher, author and public speaker. In this year’s forecast he writes about world events and economies, popular culture, five element interactions and health issues.

Edgar Lok Tin Yung

Edgar Lok Tin Yung is from Melbourne. He writes three different forecasts and explains about the timing of the new year’s arrival.

  • Heaven Luck World events, weather and natural disasters
  • Man Luck Animal by animal predictions for 2014 (BaZi)

Richard Ashworth

Richard Ashworth is a well known Feng Shui Master in the UK. He is one of the most prolific, curious and compassionate writers out there when it comes to BaZi. He might make you cry. He might make you laugh. Here are his animal by animal predictions for 2014.

Paul Ng

Master Paul Ng is based in Canada. He writes about Feng Shui, business and economies, politics, weather and health for 2014.

Josephine Phang

Josephine Phang is based in Singapore who has a focus on BaZi. She also publishes a quarterly newsletter with feng shui advice. She writes general predictions for 2014.

Beng Kung

Beng Kung is a an architect who is also a feng shui researcher and student of BaZi. His predictions for 2014 are helpful for students and written from more of a teaching or technical perspective.

Feng Shui Agency (Sarah McAllister)

Sarah McAllister is another UK based Feng Shui master. She is also an urban planner and an author. She writes general predictions as well as predictions by zodiac animal.

Mvp Yimao

I’m not sure who is writing this blog which seems to be coming out of Kuala Lumpur, but clearly the writer is affiliated with Lillian Too. The first post listed here is written more from a technical or teaching perspective, the second one is the predictions for the zodiac animals.

Bernice Low

Bernice Low may be one of the most no-nonsense writers out there when it comes to BaZi. She reminds me of my favorite teacher of the Greek language who was intimidating and strict, yet made me want to work harder than any other teacher I know.

In her first post she explains how your BaZi reading is derived. It involves much more than your year animal.

In her second post Bernice predicts from the perspective of the day master, rather than the zodiac animal. I haven’t seen anyone else doing the 2014 predictions this way and I’m sure I’ll be revisiting her predictions throughout the year. Part 1 includes the following day masters: Bing (Yang Fire), Ding (Yin Fire), Jia (Yang Wood), Yi (Yin Wood), Wu (Yang Earth).

Part 2 covers Geng (Yang Metal), Gui (Yin Water), Ji (Yin Earth), Ren (Yang Water) and Xin (Yin Metal) daymasters.

Susan Levitt

Susan Levitt, who is based in San Francisco, is interesting because she studies Tarot, Astrology and Feng Shui. She is able to write from both western and eastern perspectives. Her divinations are striking. Her 2014 predictions are general and based on the zodiac animals.

I usually try to sum up the theme of the year in one word. The word for 2013 (Snake in the Grass) was “circumspection”. I’d say the word for 2014 (Horse in the Clouds) is “acceleration”. Can you keep up?

What’s Wrong With This Picture : Preparing Your House for Sale

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

What's wrong with this picture cropped

Here’s a nice house in a great neighborhood that’s on the market right now. It has off street parking and a garage. It’s a rectangle shape which is good for feng shui.

What is not in its favor is that it lacks immediate curb appeal, which may be slowing down the sales possibilities. It definitely could use some fresh paint and a little more landscape lighting. There are also some landscaping issues here in terms of feng shui. I think if all of these things were taken care of the property would be purchased sooner.

The biggest issue is the way that the front door and windows are blocked by the landscaping. Because of the way that the plants completely surround and encompass the door step even with the porch light on this area is too dark and enclosed, especially at night. This creates an imbalance for an area which should be yang, but which has become too yin.

Here’s the breakdown:

  • Shrubs next to the path should not intrude into the line of the path. They must be trimmed back so that the path to the front door is unobstructed.There is also a tree branch extending into the space of the path that should be pruned back or removed.
  • Overgrown evergreen (English laurel? Camellia?) on the left and a rhododendron on the right are covering the windows and enclosing the door area on the sides. The evergreen should either be pruned so that it is below window level or removed. The rhododendron should be moved to a different part of the yard where it would be helpful to holding energy for the house. It’s planted too close to the window and has grown too tall for that location.
  • Fuchsias on either side of stairs to door are intruding into the path. They should either be pruned away but most likely they also need to be moved farther away from the corners of the front door steps so that they can reach their natural size and beauty without being in the way. It would probably be better, however, to plant something that has a more upright habit rather than a weeping or drooping habit.
  • Ivy is growing all the way across the steps. up one of the porch columns and up the front walls of the house. Remove all of the ivy from the front yard. Not only will it reduce the yin quality by revealing the straight lines and angles of the stairs and house but common sense alone will tell you it’s a trip hazard. From a gardening and property value/maintenance perspective this type of ivy is invasive and will actually kill other plants and trees.

As I said before, the fundamental problem is that the atmosphere of the house and yard are too yin. This house is located in a fairly dense neighborhood but in the past it has attracted break-ins and burglaries more than other houses nearby.

Remember, the front of the house and the front yard are the yang or public areas. They are associated with career and money. Keep this in mind when landscaping but particularly in the case of preparing your house for the real estate market.

Using Feng Shui Outdoors

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

One of the ways in which feng shui was westernized in the 1990s was by placing the emphasis on what is happening inside of the house. It made the concept of feng shui more palatable to the average person because it seemed to be mostly about re-decorating, placing symbolic objects, and making color choices. The original Chinese approach of working with energy may be less attractive than the interior design approach because the interior design approach allows us to focus on the house itself, and sort of gloss over the need for people in it to make choices and act.

While interior form, decoration and clutter are important to address, they should be considered as a sort of second layer of the analysis. Going indoors, taking the compass degrees and other such factors are appropriately considered after the outdoor form. The outdoor form is stronger and more important.

Exterior form should be assessed as the first part of a feng shui analysis because it determines how, where, and how much energy is available to your home’s interior. This type of assessment also reveals any sources of negative energy. You just can’t proceed to an accurate conclusion without knowing where the chi is coming from, where it’s going and where it enters and leaves the property. What you also need to know is how to use the bagua and which one to use.

Most people who have read a book about feng shui or studied it at all are familiar with what is called the “Later Heaven Bagua” which is the arrangement of the 8 Trigrams used for indoor feng shui analysis and adjustment. Each trigram can be associated with a certain family member such as mother or father, a phase of life like youth or middle age, males or females, etc. The meanings of the trigrams don’t change but their positions do depending on whether you are using the bagua indoors or outdoors.

Qian Trigram
Qian Trigram

The Qian trigram is associated with the father, the oldest male, males of the house, authority, bosses, and the element of metal. We use its position on the bagua to check for any problems in the areas of the lot or house that will affect that gua or area. If you are working indoors the Qian trigram is located in the NW sector. If you are working outdoors the Qian trigram is located in the S sector. Why?

When you are working with energy indoors you need to use the Later Heaven Bagua. The Later Heaven arrangement is meant to reflect life on earth with its seasons and unique geography, rather than the primordial and perfect arrangement of the Early Heaven Bagua.

Later Heaven Bagua for use indoors
Later Heaven Bagua for use indoors

When you are working with energy outdoors what you want to be considering is the Early Heaven Bagua”. Let the Qian trigram be your guide.

Early Heaven Bagua for outdoor use
Early Heaven Bagua for outdoor use

So – if the man of the house is finding it difficult to succeed in his career, usually you will check the northwest location of the house. Hopefully you won’t find a bathroom there. In addition, you’ll want to check the South to see if there is anything to clean up or any of what is called sha or negative energy that could be causing trouble for him.

Yin Water Pig Month and the Water Element

Posted on by Stephanie Stewart

Thursday November 7th 2013 is the first day of the Yin Water Pig Month, also known as Gui Hai. Since the main element of the Pig is yang water, the pillar for the month is an entire pillar of water. In terms of Feng Shui and bazi the element of water represents many different things.

yin Water
癸
亥
Pig

The Water Element

The element of Water is yin by nature and represents wisdom among many other qualities. In a sense, Water is the last element in the Creative cycle of elements, therefore, you might call it the oldest, or closest to death. This gives people with a Water day or year stem a certain mindset. Sometimes they are the philosophers, sometimes they are the doomsayers. They know things. They seem to have one foot in the world of the living and one in the world of the dead.

The presence, location and strength of the Water in a chart can tell you something about a person’s intelligence. The Water element also represents the emotion of fear, the season of winter, cold, a salty taste, a putrid* smell, and the colors blue and black.

Water is easily influenced. Personality traits of Water are impulsiveness, flexibility, calmness, and a yielding or receptive nature, however, it’s best to understand you don’t know what it happening under the surface. It’s mysterious. The natural movement of water is downward, seeking the lowest point.

In general terms of Wu Xing and Bazi, Water is related to things that come out of us: emotions, words, talents, creativity. Too much output in a Bazi elementally works against a person’s self control. Lots of Water in a chart may also make it difficult for a person to sit still or stay put because of its inherent quality of movement.

The Water Pig Month

The month of the Pig will provide a big contrast to the fiery phases we experienced in month of the Dog that just ended. For some people the Water energy will provide a welcome respite from the Fire. For others it may “put a damper” on things. It all depends on your day master and your favorable elements.

Do you know if Water is a favorable element for you? Maybe you should have a Four Pillars analysis – OR – just keep track of events during the month and come to your own conclusions. You might be surprised by what you learn about yourself.

Very General Predictions by Day Master

If you don’t know what your Day Master or Day Stem is, just ask!
Wood Day Master

If you are a wood day master water is your resource. If water is favorable to you then you might find it easier to absorb and use information this month. You might feel smarter or feel your intuition is stronger than usual.

Fire Day Master

For fire day masters when water is a favorable element it can enhance your self control, power and fame. This might be a good time to ask for a raise, for a promotion or seek a new job.

Earth Day Master

If you are an earth day master and water is a favorable element in your chart you might find more money coming in November. If you are a man you may find you are more interested in or captivated by women this month.

Metal Day Master

Metal day masters who have water as a favorable element in the chart may find themselves more creative and expressive than usual. You could be a great communicator or teacher this month.

Water Day Master

For water day masters the element of water represents peers and friends. If water is favorable in your chart it could be a month where you get support and help from others, as well as enjoying socializing.

As always, none of this information applies unless you ACT. Don’t sit back and wait for good luck to happen. Keep things rolling along in the direction you want to go.

*Putrefaction is the stage of decomposition that changes solids into liquids – seems like the appropriate word choice.

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