The desire to know what lies ahead in our lives and fortunes never fails to stir up our sense of curiosity and fascination. We become more especially stirred with it come the Chinese New Year.
There are two traditional calendars used to reckon the Chinese New Year. These are the solar and lunar calendars.
The solar calendar has “24 fifteen-day solar terms.” The first is called the “Start of the Spring,” which falls on Feb. 4 or 5.
The lunar calendar “has 12 months and begins by the second full moon after the winter solstice, that New Year may fall somewhere between Jan. 21 to Feb. 20.” For 2016, the start of the Chinese lunar New Year was yesterday, Feb. 8, and will last up to Jan. 27, 2017.
Most Chinese use the lunar calendar to reckon the start of the New Year. But for fortune telling, the principal reference is the “Start of Spring” of the solar calendar.
According to folkloric account, it was Buddha who chose and arranged the animals according to their perceived attributes and Chinese “yin and yang,” the two fundamental forces in the universe. The yin (even) is known as the passive or negative force and the yang (odd) is said to be the active or positive force.
The yin and yang of the animals are determined on the basis of the number of their claws, toes or hoofs and arranged in alternating or complementary sequence according to their attributed universal force.
The rat uniquely combines the attributes of the yang and yin. It does not have the same number of claws on its front and rear legs. It has four toes on its fore legs and five on its hind legs, for an overall yang of nine (4+5=9). In keeping with the old Chinese saying that “a thing is valued in proportion to its rarity,” the rat was ranked first in the zodiac lineup.
The Chinese zodiac is “a circle of twelve 30-degree divisions of longitude that are centered upon the ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year.” The western zodiac has the same concept.
Born under the year of the Monkey, you may find it interesting according to a publication that you share the same birth sign with some of the good, better and best known personalities of past and contemporary history like “Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Dickens, George Gordon Byron, Yao Ming, Celine Dion, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Halle Berry, Christina Aguilera, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Harry Truman, Alice Walker, Michael Douglas, Owen Wilson, Daniel Craig, Mick Jagger, Bette Davis, Annie Oakley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betsy Ross, Cuba Gooding Jr., Gisele Bundchen, Kim Cattrall, Nick Carter, Patricia Arquette, Alyson Stoner, Christina Ricci, Cole Sprouse, Demi Lovato, Dylan Sprouse, Miley Cyrus, Mitchell Musso, Nick Jonas, Selena Gomez, and the only female in Chinese history to rule China, Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty (618- 907).”
Luck and fortune
The Monkey is the 9th animal in the Chinese zodiac and 2016 is designated as the Year of the Fire Monkey.
Over and above the misfortunes in 2016, the year will still be auspicious for the Monkey and its friends, the Rat, Dragon, and Snake.
The Monkey and its friends are advised to have a clear idea of their financial goals and must refine past strategies to enhance their chances of success to improve their financial condition. The months of February, May, September and November are highly conducive to earning money.
Investing in securities is one good idea since it will yield handsome profits. It is expected that by September, their effort to accumulate wealth may have remarkably improved.
May and August are seen to be favorable months to also undertake new ventures. Like in securities investments, however, avoid speculative ventures. These investments may end up in losses.
Monkeys are called to be more cautious in the month of September. Their intellectual faculties may suffer at this time. They can become careless while dealing with professional and legal issues. They must exercise due diligence and must not bypass legal processes to avoid mistakes that invite trouble.
While the month of June and September are auspicious to starting new endeavors with the help of others, Monkeys are advised to avoid making commitments they cannot keep. Instead, they better concentrate on goals or ventures already decided beforehand. They must not deviate from the decided course.
The rest of the animals are seen to also have a favorable year. The Ox, though slow and steady, will enjoy the energy and leadership of the Fire Monkey. The Ox can go beyond its natural limits. Next year’s Rooster, however, will be its lucky year.
The Tiger’s luck and fortune this year will also be relatively good although it is the least compatible with the Monkey compared to the other animals.
The Rabbit will enjoy the Monkey’s fun. It will enjoy travel, social events, fine dining, fairs and festivals. Amid the fun, the Rabbit is advised to “maintain balance” lest it be overwhelmed by too much activity and suffer from lack of productivity. Next year’s Rooster is expected to be least auspicious for the Rabbit.
Similarly, the Fire Monkey will bring much life and energy to the Horse. It will bring a year “of adventure, new journeys and excitement.” The same goes with the Sheep, whose success from the previous Sheep year will continue.
In addition to “excitement, adventure and new experiences or ventures” this year, the Rooster will start a new life cycle in 2017, which will be its lucky year.
Likewise, the Dog and the Pig will be energized with good life by the Monkey year. This may lead them to becoming “overly enthusiastic and unrealistic.” Again, moderation and vigilance against excesses are advised for the year.
Bottom line spin
The forecast made by a Feng Shui master, hired by an international financial magazine, about the global market for the Year of the Monkey is not encouraging. He “sees a big slide in the world economy,” warning that “the global economic situation will be terrible and lots of companies will be bankrupted.”
If the market will go down lower this year, I believe the local market’s slide and that of the rest of the world will not be any worse than that of last year.
When our market closed by the end of 2015, it was down 3.85 percent or 278.49 points below where it began for the year and 14.56 percent or 1,184.40 points below the year’s peak. This may not happen again this year.
The worse may not yet be over, but it does not mean a slide to rock bottom.
(The writer is a licensed stockbroker of Eagle Equities, Inc. You may reach the Market Rider at marketrider@inquirer.com.ph, densomera@msn.com or at www.kapitaltek.com)