Who is a Sheep?

Years: 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003.
Month*: July
Hour: 13.00-15.00
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 Sheep?

Idealistic, yin Earth, not the top getter-onner with others, the balanced Sheep has well-meant judgements about everybody which can sometimes keep her stuck in first gear. For the unbalanced Sheep (July birthday and/or mid-afternoon birth) ambition and foolishness are pretty much the same thing. For the balanced one, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Noel Gallagher, however, leveraging affability for fame and fortune is second nature. See below for what the most unbalanced Sheep do with this gift for
belonging.

The balanced Sheep, as well as being an expert judge of people, knows exactly what matters and is not easily diverted from it. The arrangement for instance that Wood Sheep Bruce Willis, his ex Demi Moore and her ex (and Bruce’s fishing buddy) Ashton Kutcher came to, whereby they stayed friends and the children avoided becoming conflicted is not usual, either in Hollywood or the world at large but it is typical Sheep behaviour. They can all change partners as often as a Jane Austen cotillion but Bruce gets to see his kids.

Conversely, the value of caution and conservatism is often clear in Sheep relationships. The most obvious of these is with the extrovert spontaneous Horse whose sidekick the Sheep often ends up being. With the Sheep beside him, the Horse’s fun may be a little less riotous but he will also stay out of serious trouble. The young Horse and Sheep of 1978 and 1979 for instance, are often a tag team who go out drinking and clubbing together. The Sheep may stand back in amazement at the daring of the Horse but is there both to pick up the pieces and to take advantage when these risks bear fruit. The Horse dances on tables, the Sheep ensures a soft landing.

This illustrates a psychological truth about the Sheep: the risk-taking they shy away from is exactly what attracts them most. Many a desirable partner has on the rebound from a Horse, found a life-long proposition in the Sheep. Read Marianne Faithfull’s revealing autobiography if you want to see how this applied to the Rolling Stones.

Placed as the Sheep is before the Monkey in the Chinese Zodiac, they also understand trickiness. There is generally a certain wariness between these two as a team: they are unorthodox but magical.

The Sheep also forms a natural affiliation with the Pig and the Rabbit; a very domestic alliance. The Chinese ideograph for home is a Pig under a roof and the average Rabbit would happily stay home 24/7 if allowed to. The Rabbit is the diplomat and mixer while the inherently versatile Pig takes up the slack of whatever jobs there are to perform. The Sheep’s part is to make things secure. She will have ensured for instance that there are no sworn enemies on the guest list. Sheep is an ideal social secretary as well as a resolver of conflict. Psycho-therapy is among appropriate career paths. And of course this gift is one that can be abused.

The Sheep is passionate, representing the yin or feminine side of sexuality but whether male or female, the Sheep is more seducer than chatter up. 1967 Sheep Michael Gove’s appeal is surely a subtle one but he clearly fits several of the Sheep patterns.

Perhaps most interestingly, the Sheep can form a formidable team with the Dog, the Dragon and the Ox. Individually each of these three is somewhat intimidating to her but when this group gathers, her value becomes obvious. She can draw flexibility from the Dog, humility from the Dragon and cheerful co-operation from the autocratic Ox. Above all he ensures peace among them. Even if all they do is make the coffee, the Sheep is a comforter of the insecure. She understands that most barkers never bite and that aggression is simply inverted fear. George was the Sheep aspect of the Beatles, Lennon and Starr the Dragons. The Ox? George Martin. Perhaps the charge that Paul was a natural solo is accurate.

A final word: the dark side of the Sheep is to leverage gregariousness for power. Brazilian “strongman” Jair Bolsonaro and cynical media mogul Rupert Murdoch don’t fit the pattern of the easygoing Sheep at all. But the Sheep loves the herd to be on their side. They have to belong; sometimes even when that involves falsity and betrayal. Donald Trump was born on a Sheep day, making his deepest quality the need for approval. This is not only the Sheep’s nature but often their weakness. In this sense they are not so much “strongmen” but weaklings because their only strength is in the endorsement of the herd. Populism is so much easier than conviction.
Richard Ashworth © 2021
www.imperialfengshui.info

The Sheep in 2021

If you’re worried about being sheepwrecked, remember it’s only a temporary sojourn on the island. If you want companionship, you might be best served by someone who doesn’t need you. Don’t look to pick up someone else’s pieces this year. You’ve got your own work to do close to home.

Having watched your friend the Horse go through 2020’s clash, hopefully you have realized that when you’re the Sui Po or Year Breaker, you have a choice about how that’s going to manifest.

A clash is a stimulus, a wakeup call, a message from the universe that, if you want to keep up, there is something that requires a change. A clash is for learning. It’s not necessarily bad, but certainly uncomfortable.

Remember that you have four pillars, each of which is clashed every 12 years, every 12 months, every 12 days, every 12 hours. There are clash minutes too. All of this is just by way of reminder that you’ve handled a clash many times. The clash that makes us sit up and take notice is the one that lasts the longest. A clash year means you have more time to think and experiment with solutions too. You have time to break or change a pattern. The clash is usually pointing out which one needs attention. Look to the other pillars in your BaZi to see what other cards you’ve got in your hand. Leverage those.

Losing beauty, at least at times it knew me.
All Mirrors recorded in 2019 by Angel Olsen (1987 Fire Rabbit)

In an Ox year, the Sheep’s clash has to do with “the place when you go there, they have to take you in”. You may be wondering where that is in 2021. A Sheep’s worst fear might be rejection. You can see how these ideas go together. The Sheep’s bottom line is, it doesn’t matter so much how we feel, or what we believe, it matters who is present to take shelter together. This year, competing personal values and ethics may get in the way of that.

Important communication to accomplish? Do it in March. Both February and March support your technical side, so all the better if you’re creating a presence online.

If you were born in a Sheep year, and you live with your parents, that could change in 2021. Even if you don’t live with them, you may want to move house. Either way, your parents are going to need your support. Take care with who you think is rejecting whom, it’s usually mutual.

In January and October, the Sheep will be involved in the Earth Penalty. This is also called the clash among friends. Accordingly, it could reinforce stubbornness and increase righteousness. Anger may flare up quickly. If your chart is already Earth heavy, take care with health. Check in with your doctor if something feels off. Luckily, there are Feng Shui adjustments you can make in your home to facilitate a smoother year. Get in touch if you’d like help with that.

January	Earth stress. Blockage.
March	Settle housing situation
April	Solutions you hadn’t thought of before show up
July	Have you figured out how supporting the wrong group harms you?
October	Who’s the bully?
November	Friends move away and you are left behind. Make a different plan in March if you don’t want that.

Sheep to Watch
In 2021, well known 1967 Fire Sheep Kellyanne Conway is looking at both a clash year and the most significant year of her career. Look for her to “change sides” if she can. I would guess her hour is Snake so this will be a political move, but I doubt she will be able to be as close to power as she was before. Not in 2021. This is supported by the other signs in her BaZi that say she is changing to the side of women, whatever that means. As for 1955 Wood Sheep Lindsey Graham? Highly unlikely to change allegiance.

In one of those BaZi “coincidences” or things you can’t make up, Kellyanne’s Wood Monkey Day pillar is her daughter Claudia’s year pillar which is associated with ancestors. Claudia’s Earth Snake day pillar is a match for Kellyanne’s hour which would represent her children) if I’m right. When I see this kind of pattern, it makes me think these two souls have known each other before…Monkeys and Snakes. What could go wrong? I guess we’ll find out when the Tiger arrives in 2022.

©Stephanie J Stewart 2021