The Water Rooster month begins today, September 8th. As I write this the feeling of relief is palpable. The Rooster brings order and not just of the pecking variety. There was a huge thunderstorm in Seattle last night: 200 strikes in less than an hour in my area. That’s a pretty unusual occurrence and it… Read More
Hunter’s Moon
Gardeners learn to observe the cues of nature to properly time their efforts. Simply by paying attention every day to what is going on in the garden you will learn how to identify changes in season by noting the smell of the soil, temperature, precipitation and plant growth rather than relying solely on the calendar.… Read More
Metal Element in the Garden: Fall and Fruit
I don’t really need a calendar to know fall is here because: The huckleberries and crabapples are ready to be picked. I can see in the branches and leaves of the deciduous trees that the qi is contracting. My evergreens have just finished their leaf/needle drop. In the morning I can smell the ocean. The… Read More
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Conor McGregor
My son Joe asked me to make a prediction for the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Conor McGregor. I’m not one to follow boxing or UFC but I thought it would be a challenge and add some flexibility to my readings. I decided not to do any research on either fighter before writing… Read More
Summer’s Almost Gone
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… Read More
Ox and Sheep : Clash of the Feminine
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… Read More
Rooster Month in the Garden
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. The month… Read More
Yin Water Pig Month and the Water Element
Thursday November 7th 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 yin water sitting on top of yang water. An entire pillar of water (except for that tiny bit of yang wood… Read More
Hurricane Sandy
Sometimes I feel like a bit of a ghoul in the pursuit of knowledge when it comes to feng shui and ba zi. Whenever I hear about someone’s misfortune, which people tend to discuss more than their good luck, I immediately start thinking of questions: When did that happen? How did the person die? In… Read More
Dry Earth
You don’t have to be a gardener, farmer or feng shui consultant to know that the earth in Seattle is dry right now. It’s drier than than I have ever seen it before. This is the first year I have considered the usefulness of an irrigation system. Rather than relying on regular watering my garden… Read More