Who is a Pig?

Years: 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007.
Month*: November
Hour: 09:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Day: ask us

* Caution: the start of the Chinese month can be as early as the 4th & as late as the 9th, depending on the year. I can let you know this too.

What is a Pig?

The weakness and the strength of the Pig (who is inherently yin Water and therefore often reluctant to communicate) is that they think they know what is good for them. And they are actually right often enough to make advice close to impossible. By extension this means you Pigs may believe you know what is right for everybody else.

Technically the Pig is a cocktail of Water, Wood and Earth. This makes for extraordinary versatility. But this combined with the Pig’s weakness at emotional disclosure can mean that they lack a support system just when they most need one. Consider Fire Pig Hillary Clinton and her rogue email account; the story goes that she simply could not master her Blackberry and could not bring herself to seek appropriate help. That’s a Pig.

Versatile and wilful, gifted at whatever they do, the Pig is the sign of the inventor. Edison was a Pig and Elon Musk, as is Wikileaker Julian Assange. Perfectly-balanced Pigs can literally do almost anything but they don’t much like reflective advice from others and they are liable to hate uncertainty. Remember Fire Pig Elton John in “Tantrums and Tiaras”? And Elon Musk’s social media tiffs?

Vagueness is uncomfortable for the Pig: Edison was of course an obsessive patenter, Hillary determined to both get Wall Street onside and retain her liberal credentials and Assange, confident that he knows better than anyone else what the world needs to know. Brexit and the Trumpreich might have fallen differently but for some of these guys. This does not make them mistaken but the truth can be a moveable feast.

A balanced Pig (perhaps March birth around mid-afternoon) is a great audience and typically gets the listening/talking ratio just right. An unbalanced one can shoot off at the mouth and give (or take) away the farm before she knows it. Does any of this sound like – to pluck a name from nowhere – Earth Pig Simon Cowell?

More likely, you are prone to withdrawing into silence. Sometimes the Pig sulks but more commonly withdraws out of pure disinterest and can be perfectly cheerful when challenged on the withdrawal.

The Pig child needs just the right mixture of carrot and stick. Too much disincentive and he is suppressed or resentful. Too much carrot and he can be smug. The balanced Pig is the most sensitive of the animals; the unbalanced one has undergone an empathy bypass. As the parent of a Pig, just remember you are instrumental in this process. Your Piglet does not need to become a boor.

The Pig harbours the Wood of creativity so they can be as adept with the written as the spoken word as well as the yang Earth of deep concentration. Many Pigs prefer to study in noisy rooms and many are effortless A-students as tutors of first and second year postgraduates of 2020 may notice. Bear in mind though that there is a near-epidemic of depression and anxiety among millennials and that Water is the associated element. Don’t ever take a 1995 or 2007 Pig’s good cheer for granted.

The Stevie Smith poem “Not waving but drowning” is about a Pig. They look so competent. And they are. Until they’re not. If you care for a Pig beware of their apparent endless confidence. There are crucial gaps.

The Pig does not tend to like the Snake; one way or another they immobilise each other. And the Monkey, the Snake’s intimate, can be a source of annoyance also. The Pig’s most natural team is with the Rabbit and the Sheep. This alliance is quintessentially domestic; together these three can make anywhere home. A perfect family might be Pig father, Rabbit mother and Sheep first-born. Once home, the Rabbit entertains while the Sheep ensures compatibility and the Pig skilfully performs the tasks that are beyond the scope or interest of her partners.

Traditionally the Pig also enjoys the company of the Tiger as Elton John’s husband Water Tiger David Furnish can attest. You might think they’d be more cautious but they know that the Tiger is uninterested in conquering anyone he considers easy meat. Of course he’s missing something here but the Pig’s fearless approach often disarms the Tiger before they realise. And by the bye, Pig’s literary ambition often burgeons in a Tiger year and flourishes in a Rabbit one.

Although she may herself be more adventurous, the Pig also understands the loyal and consistent Dog. She respects the fact that every home needs its guardian. These two will tend to develop a camaraderie with its own distinctive banter. The Pig respects the Dog’s diligence and the Dog knows the Pig will compensate for his weakness.

The Pig also operates well as factotum for a group consisting of the Snake (whose company she can’t otherwise stand for long) the Monkey (see above) and the Tiger. For these she is, interestingly, the peacemaker and setter of standards. Without the Pig this grouping whose common interest is travel and mobility, can’t get off the ground. Taron Egerton interestingly who impersonated Elton so effectively in Rocket Man, is a 1989 Snake.

One final note: the Pig suffers what is called the self curse. That is to say that she has limited patience with other Pigs. And as Rocket Man illustrates, a huge capacity for self-loathing. The Chinese character for a house is one Pig under a roof. Just the one. Approach them gently and listen.

Richard Ashworth © 2020
www.imperialfengshui.info

The Pig in 2020

That was the river. This is the sea.
The Waterboys

In a Pig year, there’s a nearly constant demand for the Pig to change shape. Even Pigs with solid plans, experience and the best of intentions may have found all they could do was to try to keep up with the next iteration. As a result, some Pigs may think all they want is to be done. You’re not.

Pigs would like some recovery and quiet but there’s still work to be done. Your year of shape shifting is over, but the Rat year is an aftermath and further changes are inevitable. For the Pig, 2020 will be a year of movement and learning. Embrace the coming changes early in the year or they will tend to overload you near the end. You have the most options available now.

The Rat year demands completions and endings of the events set in motion in 2019. The biggest success for the Pig often arrives after lessons have been learned. Expect some of those wins in 2022. Now is the time to prepare so finish your homework. Make your goals for the year public to reinforce your accountability.

Throughout the year the Ox may fruitlessly try to block your flow while the Rat tries to speed it up. This dissonance results in awkward pacing and confusion. Interpreting it as an emergency will be a self fulfilling prophecy. Haste could result in breakage, chaos and injury. Go at your own pace. Take care with bathing and swimming.

Trust that good decisions and actions will lead to good results. A set of rules, of your choosing of course, will keep you going in the right direction especially when you are impatient. Base them on where you want to be two years from now. Stick to them. Rely on your own counsel as much as possible.

If you must have an advisor you can probably find one in March. Don’t expect too much. Even the advice of well meaning maternal types could be tainted by past disappointments or power plays. If rebellion or revenge is recommended you’ll know you’re in the wrong place. Seek the quiet places where you can hear yourself think. This could be a balm for the impatience and anger you may be experiencing.

The restlessness that began in December could become irresistible in February and November. It isn’t unfamiliar but this year it runs deeper than usual, making you question whether or not you are in the right place. It’s only natural that you’ve changed and now you want your environment and those in it to reflect that. Let those feelings provide the impetus for making a job change. Find your true calling. Pigs who are already in the right place job wise are probably due for moving house or travel.

Pigs have the Scholar Star in 2020 which is supports furthering education. Most of all you are meant to learn. Start investigating the programs that interest you now. Take small steps. With so much Water element in play there will be multiple opportunities to further your expertise or learn something new. All you have to do is make your selection.