If you’re preparing for the Year of the Water Rabbit, here are some things you may want to think about regarding the shift of the energy in your own home. You can use this information to set up, but keep in mind that while it’s accurate and helpful, by nature it’s generic. If your purpose is to go beyond the basics, the application of Feng Shui must be tailored to you and your home.
There will be areas that you will want to keep quiet in the Water Rabbit year. Since it begins in February, January is almost always a great time to do a deep clean of the house and avoid negative effects.
Even this general stuff is a bit complicated so skip down to the guidelines if that’s how you scroll.
Tai Sui, Sui Po and San Sha
The Year of the Water Rabbit opens on February 4th at 10:47. The Tai Sui or Year Boss is in the E where the Rabbit is located because the Rabbit is the boss.
Although the Tiger and Rabbit are associated with wood, the Rabbit is yin to the Tiger’s yang. Will it be a better year? I think it will at least be a gentler one.
If you’re not already familiar with the concept of the Tai Sui you can think of it as the ruling energy of the year. In some years people born under the same Animal branch as the year are considered to be offending the Tai Sui. I think that is true in some years, however, I don’t think that applies to the Rabbit.
Directly opposite the Rabbit in the W is the Rooster. That means in 2023 the Rooster is called the Sui Po or “year breaker”. The Rooster is considered to be in opposition to the Rabbit. Their relationship is a clash.
Energetically the Rabbit sends force towards, pressures or stimulates the Rooster. The clash between Rabbit and Rooster has the potential for jealousy, competition where winning is the only point, as well as attraction. A clash means matters regarding Rabbits and Roosters can change more easily and rapidly.
If you’re feeling worried about the clash because there’s a Rooster in your BaZi, or because there’s a Rooster in your life, booking a BaZi reading can provides practical and applicable solutions. I can help you to navigate safely, mitigate and sometimes take advantage of a clash.
The San Sha or Three killings in 2023 covers the entire area between Monkey (SW3) and Dog (NW1). The Rooster, centering at 270 degrees in the west, and the Dog are in the most difficult positions. The energy of the San Sha this year is Wood element (east) vs Metal element (west).
Lest you get lost in the technical stuff, it’s important to remember that Feng Shui is all about relationships. Stick to first principles. If you want to know how the energy moves around, it’s elemental and elementary.
The annual calculations are expressions of the relationships of elements. They point out the Tai Sui, Sui Po, and San Sha: the relationships that may need more of your attention in any given year. You can think of them as roles we may be called to play.
Guidelines for 2023
- Don’t face E, meaning the Rabbit who is centered at 90 degrees. You can spend time in the E location of your house but don’t face that direction. If your head points E when you are in bed, you’ll want to consider changing that. Having your back to the E is fine.
- Avoid Rooster (W2) and the areas directly adjacent. The scope of the San Sha covers Monkey-Dog. To include the location of the Wu Huang or 5 Yellow, add in the Pig. So the entire area to be avoided covers 232.5-337.5 degrees on the compass. Don’t spend time there. Avoid digging, drilling or other activations in this area. Keep it quiet.
Consult a professional if you want to activate or make major changes to either E or W locations.
- If your house faces E or W I recommend you have a Feng Shui survey of your home and mitigate any potential issues, especially if a door is located in the W or E.
These locations and directions can be fine tuned further by applying Ba Zhai (8 House or 8 Mansions). In 2023 East Group houses and people seem to have an advantage over West Group houses and people.
Flying Stars
Flying Stars is a system used to identify energy pockets within a building, city, country…The base energy for each area is indicated by the traditional Lo Shu where Star 5 is in the center:
| SE | S | SW | ||
| 4 | 9 | 2 | ||
| E | 3 | 5 | 7 | W |
| 8 | 1 | 6 | ||
| NE | N | NW |
In addition to these base stars which are static, each house has it’s own collection of Flying Stars, which some would say is similar to a natal chart. The best results come when you’ve understood and dealt with these static and underlying energies first.
Once you’ve done that, there are the annual stars which move each year to play with. There are also monthly Flying Stars and daily Flying Stars which you may be familiar with if you read my daily forecasts.
Each star corresponds to a trigram from the Later Heaven Bagua and so each one also has an elemental nature. Some stars naturally pair up. Some stars play well together and some don’t. Some are helpful and some not so much. I won’t try to explain it more here.
In 2023, we have the 4 Star in the center, setting the tone of the year. The map below will tell you the locations of the annual Flying Stars within your home for the Water Rabbit year. They will interact with the monthly Flying Stars in a guest/host relationship. This interaction of the annual and monthly stars is used for forecasting and more.
Annual Flying Stars for Water Rabbit 2023
| SE | S | SW | ||
| 3 | 8 | 1 | ||
| E | 2 | 4 | 6 | W |
| 7 | 9 | 5 | ||
| NE | N | NW |
As a general practice, we want to avoid the annual Wu Huang or 5 yellow, so don’t spend time in the NW of your home. This is part of the San Sha this year so the instructions above have already warned about this area. Keep it as quiet as possible.
When to Act
Moving things around the house, changing rooms, and placing Feng Shui cures and enhancements is best done between 冬至Dong Zhi or winter solstice, and 立春Li Chun which is usually around February 4th or 5th. The exact dates vary slightly depending on the year.
You can maximize the results of your changes and adjustments by using date selection. If you want help with that, I invite you to subscribe to my monthly newsletter or, contact me to find a date that’s specific to you and your house.
If you’re familiar with applying Feng Shui you can use the information in this article to set up your house. You’ll also need to know your Ming Gua to make the most of the energy of 2023. Just compare your good directions with the “rules”. And of course I’m available if you want to enhance or mitigate rather than simply avoid.