Who is a Pig?

Years: 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007.
Month*: November
Hour: 09:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Day: you’ll need a Chinese Calendar or an expert for this.

* 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 predominantly yin Water and therefore often reluctant to communicate) is that they think they know what is good for them. And they are 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 “Rocket Man”? And Elon Musk’s social media tiffs?

Vagueness is uncomfortable for the Pig: Edison was of course an obsessive patenter, Hillary determined to get Wall Street onside while retaining her liberal credentials. And Assange, confident that he knew better than anyone else what the world needed to know – and maybe he was right. Brexit and the Trumpreich might have fallen differently but for some of these guys. This does not mean they were 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 and indeed the yang Earth of deep concentration. Many Pigs prefer to study in noisy rooms and many are effortless A-students as tutors of second and third 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 or their call for help as crying wolf.

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; there are mutual issues of trust, truth and sincerity. 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 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 but it will probably never be a meeting of souls as each is technically the other’s gip sat or force of obstruction. 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 © 2021
www.imperialfengshui.info

The Pig in 2021

Just trying to keep the Water clear aren’t you? The Ox will challenge you on that. Communication is the solution. Pun intended but I still mean it.

Hold on. 2022 is coming. You’ve been in the rough part of the growth pattern. It’s been long and I know you might be wondering whether all of the work you’ve been doing is going to pay off. I know you’re sick of hearing that this is just some kind of awkward age. I doubt it will be news to you that every age is awkward.

All this trouble trying to catch right up with me
I keep moving, knowing some day that I will be
Standing, facing, all mirrors are erasing
All Mirrors released by Angel Olsen in 2019 (Earth Pig Year)

The promise of 2019 feels like a false start looking back. Then there was 2020. Need I say more? If you are feeling hopeless about what you see as a lack of progress in your life, feel it. I’m still telling you to keep the faith. Keep holding on because the goals you’ve been working toward are coming to fruition in 2022. 2023 looks pretty great too.

In 2021, stick with the project you want to be doing in 2022. I’m sure you’ve got several to choose from. Choose the one you love because you’re going to be doing a lot of it.

You may be wanting to move, move house, or travel but unless that’s part of your mission the desire probably doesn’t go that deep. Don’t get drawn away from your purpose by superficial whims and distractions. You’ve still got another year before the unveiling of whatever it is that you’re working on. When the Water Tiger comes your audience will be ready for you and you will definitely be traveling.

This is a time to build up resources. That means people who support you, knowledge, safe and consistent housing and food, and health are important. Build up your stamina and strength. 2022 you will thank 2021 you later.

If Pig is your Day Pillar, be careful of smooth operating friends that may need some revisions to their code of ethics. Now’s the time to consider whether you want them to be included when you glow up. Funny to say but, they will be harder to get rid of once you are feeling successful.

In both February and November, you’ll probably be feeling an intense need for space. In November it may benefit you to go on a retreat to indulge that if you can. Do what you need to do, but be careful of excluding the people who love and support you. Call them, and call upon them, as needed.

Let people in when things are difficult so that you can easily share those good times that are coming. You think you will bring them down by revealing what is hard for you, but if that’s true it’s because they love you and they are sad, not disappointed in you.

In the first half of the year, look to finishing up any kind of formal training you are doing. You’ll want to have things completed by the end of July. Consider the second half of the year your graduation. That will be a good time to make sure your self care foundations and domestic infrastructures are solid. Take on practical routines that will make it easier to fly non-stop in 2022. I see you smiling and nodding, but there is a way to do this that won’t cramp your style. You’ll figure it out. You’re certainly not going to lose any options over it.

February	Learning and training. You might feel fierce about making space for that.
March	Learn and work from home. Taking care of/supporting parents and their health.
May	What is usually familiar baffles. You’ll figure it out in July.
July	Use this month for finishing and completing.
October	See the possible losses of November and avert them. You’ve been here before.
November	Could be some losses but don’t give up now when you’re almost at the finish line. Resolve anything left over from 2019.

Pigs to Watch
1947 Fire Pigs: Hilary Clinton, Elton John, Stephen King
1959 Earth Pigs: Mike Pence, Kevin Spacey
1971 Metal Pigs: Erykah Badu, Missy Elliott, Mary J Blige
1983 Water Pigs: Edward Snowden, Kim Jong Un, Rapsody
1995 Wood Pig: Megan Thee Stallion, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner

©Stephanie J Stewart 2021