Pigs in Space

This year the Pig’s mission, if they want it, is to examine their fears about intimacy and sharing space. If you feel there’s a conflict of interest for you around that idea, all the more reason to do it. The Tiger may have you feeling anxious and crowded, also smitten. Stop and consider whether that is the Tiger’s intention or just some part of their nature that’s in you too. Maybe you enjoy the scariness? In the case of secret friends Tiger and Pig, like calls to like no matter how it looks on the surface. The Tiger is probably the one person you find it difficult to exclude. This is not a problem for you with others. That alone will make for some anxiety – simply being unused to being that close to anyone.

Letting people in makes you worry because you are afraid they want to get close in order to make you more like them. That may or may not be true, however in the case of the Tiger, you might be right. In many cases, in partnership this is what the Tiger demands and what they get, or they leave. The Tiger will push you to keep up. What you need to know is not every Tiger is like this. There are going to be Tigers who show up who have learned not to make impossible demands of their partners, but you’ll have to take it case by case. On the plus side, the Tiger will be helpful in focusing your talents into one project and organizing your priorities.

2022 brings a lesson for the Pig about sharing space and making space for relationships. The Tiger and Pig are secret friends. This year it’s not so secret.

In a Water Tiger year, the lucky Pig has the most opportunities for alliance, and venues for their talent. 2022 is going to be a good year. I know you might not believe this, but I’m telling you that many things are going to go well for you. As the case seems to be for everyone this year, what is offered to the Pig is what can be learned in the context of relationship. When the Tiger meets the Pig, there are new directions for growth. What if I told you that you can fuel resistance or reduce it at will?

Pigs are off to a dynamic start right away in February, when the combination of Tiger and Pig creates the Wood element. How that manifests is unique to each natal chart, because in a Ba Zi a combination of Earthly Branches potentially creates or supports an element, and potentially reduces or removes another. What’s difficult for someone who is new to these ideas is that they think it has to be one or the other, when it’s usually both. It can be difficult for us to hold in our minds that more than one thing can be true at once. Maybe that relates to the Pig’s challenge in understanding there is no purely good or purely bad experience. My point is, if you have a Pig in your Ba Zi, you can expect some good things this year, even if Wood is not your best element. Maybe the most important lesson the Pig can learn this year is how to handle cognitive dissonance.

If at any point you realize you’ve taken on too much, make adjustments. Get advice from the Rabbit. If there are things you want to drop completely, it will be easiest in October. Unless you’ve reached a breaking point, try to hold out until then. Try not to retreat unless it’s strategic.

Although it seems like it would be obvious, when Pig and Tiger are together outsiders may not be able to tell which is which. People may perceive the relationship as one of control, but if that’s true, I think it might be mutual. Pigs empower Tigers by way of domestic resources. A smitten Pig might go so far as to buy clothes for a lover so they don’t have to shop – also because they want to decide what you wear. Pygmalion? On the other hand, the Tiger empowers the Pig, but also wants to change their nature. It is possible to control by way of support. The Tiger may want you to do better so they can look better. Appearances, including showing up, are more important this year for you. Work on your timing with that.

What I don’t recommend is letting yourself be consumed. The lesson of the Tiger for the Pig isn’t that they should “succumb” to relationship. It’s a lesson about how it’s possible to maintain your own identity and still have the intimacy you crave. Do you still not realize how resilient you are?

Keep in mind that the outcome of the breaks you get in 2022 likely won’t arrive until 2023. Until then, keep cobbling those synergistic talents and projects together. Don’t be premature when it comes to putting your product out there, but know that March will give you a preview of 2023; what it will be like when the time is right. The most happy Pigs I’ve run into are the ones who have two or three small(ish) projects that feed each other. They change them up from time to time, but whatever they do relies on their multiple talents. This suits the versatility of the Pig, who could be successful in almost any career. That’s what also makes it difficult for the Pig to settle on any one thing. Who was it that told you that you have to? Maybe it was a jealous Snake.

If the Pig is in your day pillar and you’re single, 2022 may bring a new partner. Partnered Pigs may also find someone new in their life (a baby?). It’s likely that throughout the year you might be considering a break up or overhaul of your current relationships. That energy will peak in February and November. If the Pig is not in your day, you might be exploring these same concepts in the context of other alliances: family, parents, siblings, children, employees, co workers or colleagues.

What might get a Pig into trouble is over communication or indiscretion. The Pig’s straight shooting manner is sometimes perceived as too blunt to be friendly or promote trust. The Tiger leads the Pig to be more expressive and aggressive. Be careful of alienating others through carelessness with your words. If you want to avoid hard feelings, don’t share another’s secret without their explicit permission. Like the Dragon, you are a catalyst. Acknowledge how you can soothe or stir conflict at will. If you have not realized this before, check your natural tendencies in May and do some experimenting.

No year is without its difficulties, however, this is the year to act like you know that 2023 is going to bring the peak you’ve been waiting for – because it is. What you want to keep at the front of your mind is everything that goes right this year. Make your internal narrative a balance of planning and preparation for 2023, and counting up all the breaks you’re receiving. The biggest risk this year lies in you not realizing how lucky you are. Maybe you’ve got used to thinking of yourself as the opposite. Consider whether this is a habit because if it is, you might be sabotaging yourself. Don’t do that.

Amulet: I don’t think you need one.

Summary: In the driver’s seat.

February: Potential partnerships abound. Believe it.
March: Preview of 2023’s success
May: Do you want to stir or soothe conflict?
October: Cull and harvest in preparation for 2023.
November: Possible losses. Take care with bathing and indoor swimming. If you are depleted, seek support.