Chinese New Year 2007
Chinese New Year 2007 - Year of Fire Pig
Welcome
to the Chinese year of the Pig. Chinese New Year is the
main holiday of the year for more than one quarter of the
world's population and the Chinese New Year commences each
year in February, according to our Western, Gregorian calendar.
Chinese tradition employs both a Solar and Lunar calendar.
Using the Solar calendar, the year starts on 4th February
and this begins the new Zodiac animal cycle. The New Moon
day of Sunday 18th February 2007, however, is the official
Lunar New Year celebration day when the dragons and fireworks
come out onto the streets!
2006 was the Year of the Fire Dog and it's been a fascinating
and dramatic year. If I look back on what I wrote before
the Dog Year, I find that the predictions of dramatic changes
in attitudes to the environment and Mother Earth have all
been borne out. Suddenly the media and politicians know
the full extent of the coming effects of global warming
and changing solar radiation cycles on our world climate,
at last catching up to the rest of us.
Now in the cycle of twelve animals comes the friendly Pig.
The Pig in Chinese astrology has its principal qualities
of honesty, tolerance and rigour. The Pig is well-meaning
and generous, persevering and steady, and is appreciated
for his courage, prosperity and nobility. His best roles
are as doctor, mediator, judge, confessor, poet, painter
or benefactor. He comes into the world with a lot of very
old fashioned sentiments such as goodness, tolerance and
an admirable belief in the perfectibility of mankind. Needless
to say, the nasties will pounce on him to make mincemeat
out of him. Pigs can be very naive, credulous and overconfident,
and sometimes even downright stupid. Money – you'd
think after talking to the Pig that it means nothing to
him – that he can take it or leave it. But, in fact,
the Pig finds it really essential to have money and will
spend a thousand dollars in a day if he finds what he enjoys.
Then at other times he will frugally save every penny in
his piggy bank. Happily, Pigs are very lucky with money
and it always comes to them somehow. They end their days
being well-off and contented.
They love domestic comfort and are also in love with nature
– their idea of heaven is to take long walks in the
forest; their ideal house is in the country, the mountains
or at the seaside where they can do regular walks on the
beach. A very large number of Pigs usually live in the country
and if they don't, they yearn for it every day. Pigs need
space and lots of fresh air. Modern flats and apartments
will depress them and they will feel sick in a confined
space. Lifts and elevators are too much for them for very
long.
Their home is a pride and joy and they can be found tinkering,
renovating, adding to the rooms and frequently decorating
to make it all comfortable, filling the place with very
expensive and lush objects of beauty. They will not allow
dust and dirt to besmudge their property but will remove
it in an instant whirl of cleanliness.
Click here to read
how the Year of the Fire Pig affects you!
The Mythology of the Pig
The mythological stories of the Pig are fascinating, as the
Pig is always associated with knowing the next world. Pigs
were wild in old China and Vietnam; they were powerful solitary
animals that fed on acorns and corn and often devastated the
harvests of farmers. In Celtic mythology, the pig was a supernatural
animal and the herd of swine was regarded with the utmost
respect. The Celts regarded the pig as an assistant in understanding
the spiritual nature of man. In many other mythologies too
the Pig is regarded as an animal of spiritual authority. The
Pig even has a shaman-like quality to him as there are old
stories of him changing into human form.
In our western culture, however, we have huge problems
with the Pig and often find him revolting, or regard him
with gastronomical delight and serve him up on platter,
knowing little about his symbolism in older cultures. The
other image we have is of the pig wallowing in mud –
we imagine him as a lewd or indulgent and repulsive beast.
Nothing could be further from the truth about Pig. He is
a strong and significant animal of spiritual guidance.
Pigs in Love
Pigs love life and even know how to make flowers grow in the
desert. They have great imaginations for beauty and therefore
make joyful poets and word people. They are fascinated by
love and even from their early days are motivated and conditioned
around the pleasures of loving others. They can be quite sensual,
passionate and imaginative. They like to experiment in love
and if you are with a Pig partner, expect to be adaptable
in your love life.
Pigs are also very faithful by nature and are quite demanding
and discriminating. Once they have found the person they
love, they are with him/her forever. Pigs expect their partners
to be honest and fully express their feelings, like the
Pig does. When happy with a relationship, they are very
reliable, peaceful and dependent.
Click here to read how
the Year of the Fire Pig affects you!
Overprotective Parents
The Pig is naturally an overprotective parent who is very
concerned with the well-being of his offspring – a stickler
for education and the right values. He instills the children
with a strong sense of morality. The negative side is that
he can find it really hard to allow the children to leave
the nest and cut that cord – Pigs can be just too possessive.
At home the Pig, when he finds a pleasant environment,
will rarely move about. This is because he always enjoys
a congenial physical environment where he can relax and
luxuriate in the best conditions. He finds divorce a bit
shocking because it breaks up the harmony and comfort of
the home.
Yearly Elements
Each year, the elemental influence of the year changes,
and this year we will experience a combination of Fire and
Water. There are Five elements in the Chinese system: Wood,
Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, with each successive element
supporting the next. Across the five, however, they clash
and Fire and Water do not sit well together. This year the
element is Yin Fire, which is more powerful than Yang Fire.
Yin Fire symbolises emotions, tension, agitation and illusions.
Underneath is Yin Water. Resulting from this combination
will be many conflicts over politics, government and also
authorities imposing their will onto the people. Yin Fire
is also very explosive and symbolises firearms. The AK47
assault rifle, a deadly weapon, was designed and began production
in 1947, the last Fire Pig year.
2007 is a mixed one with the year being ruled by the Water
element in Chinese and the Pig being ruled by Fire element.
With Fire and Water together it's going to be a struggle,
as one is inimically the enemy of the other. Fire is on
top this year with Water below – and Fire cannot burn
without support. When Fire and Water clash, they either
result in lots of scalding hot steam and explosions or they
can transform whatever situation it was into something completely
different.
Click here to read
how the Year of the Fire Pig affects you!
Previous Pig Years
Previous Fire Pig years have been very dangerous, with much
political to-ing and fro-ing, plus lots of upheavals. Other
Fire Pig years were 1947 and 1887. In 1947 the separation
of India and Pakistan took place and, although it was negotiated
well, the two countries tried to move 4 million Hindus and
Muslims between borders. By the end of the year, the two were
at war.
Palestine was partitioned after a British plan to divide
Palestine was rejected by the UN. Britain recorded its most
severe winter since 1894 and a fierce blizzard hit New York,
where 28 inches (72 cms) of snow were recorded. It was the
year of the first plane to fly at supersonic speeds (above
the speed of sound) and Bell Laboratories invented the transistor,
which revolutionised radio and electronics. The CIA was
established in the US (Water rules secrets) and, also that
year, President Truman released his Truman doctrine, which
was an attempt to slow down the spread of communism throughout
the world. It was the birth year of the Cold War. At the
same time in Burma, the national leader Aung San (father
of today's Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest) was assassinated.
The other most interesting event of 1947 was the report
of a crashed UFO near Roswell, New Mexico in the USA. Although
several flying saucer crashes were reported in the literature
around that time, the Roswell crash is the one that has
dominated UFO research and been the most publicised.
The place of extraterrestrial races in the Five Elements
system is ruled by the Fire element and the issues of UFO
contact with humans on earth has resulted in UFOs becoming
classified information and subject to great secrecy. Secrets
are ruled by the Water element. The resultant clash has
been a point of dispute with many citizens' groups ever
since the 1960s. We can expect that in 2007 this issue may
surface again very strongly and the resultant publicity
may allow some secrets to be revealed about UFO sightings
in the past. With Fire (ideals) and Water (secrets) prominent
in the 2007 chart we can expect clashes of values over secrecy.
It's possible some great announcement may be made by authorities
in 2007, not necessarily to do with Roswell, but perhaps
to do with the possibility of ET life in our solar system
(or elsewhere) being acknowledged this year. Other secrets
may also be revealed in politics or about our ancient past
history this year.
The Economic Tests
The economy in a Fire Pig year can be very driven, as the
Yin Fire aspect starts off the year well. Seasonally, when
the Spring and Summer months begin (which is from March/April
onwards in the Chinese calendar) then the economies of many
countries will perform well. These months are favoured by
the Fire element. After the summer finishes and the second
half of the year comes, the Water element in the Pig year
is more favoured: the Fire dies off, so the economy and stock
market may slow right down in that second half. In 1997 which
was also a Yin Fire year, the Asian markets collapsed in the
second half of that year.
Looking at industries – those related to Fire and
Water will not do so well this year with Water and Fire
elements clashing. Water types of industries include communications,
media, advertising, shipping, and the water bottling and
soft drinks industry. The Fire industries are the stock
market, finances, energy generation, electricity, technology,
and entertainment. Fire and Water can contribute to sudden
breakthroughs though, in technology or new energy devices,
and there is great potential for new and dramatic inventions
that revolutionise the way we generate power and also solve
medical problems.
Weather and Politics
Fire and Water clashing says a lot about climate and weather
and you can bet that the year 2007 will be one of even more
unnatural climate extremes. Expect dramatic weather changes,
storms, fires, droughts, volcanic eruptions, floods and
even tsunamis. Other events that could be characteristic
of 2007 will be chemical fires, industrial explosions and
incidents related to factories or chemicals mixed in the
wrong manner causing toxic poisoning and maybe even in food
poisoning outbreaks.
The Fire Pig year will also be a year of drama and change
in politics, as the Fire/Water combination means clashes
of values and criticism, unrest, threatened coups or violence
in politics and arguments, disputes and fights over values
and rights. Those who tackle political issues in a violent,
combative or aggressive mode will not do well this year,
but those who take on issues with a more sympathetic and
embracing approach, using mediation techniques, are far
more likely to achieve success in a Pig year. There could
be sudden changes in leadership, many arguments in politics
and dramatic rebellions of peoples fed up with oppressive
rulers. Keep all that in mind in your business, family,
education areas and daily life – you'll be more successful.
Famous Pigs
Those born in the year of the Pig who have achieved fame
and good fortune include people like:
artists Cezanne, Van Dyck, Velazquez and Chagall
musician Duke Ellington
film director Alfred Hitchcock
writers Ernest Hemingway and Francoise Sagan
and the composer Ravel.
Others are
Oliver Cromwell, English protestant general, overthrew king
1649; became dictator 1653 ("Lord Protector")
Carl Yung, influential analytic psychologist, populariser
of the "Collective Unconscious"
Henry Ford, inventor of mass-production and the Ford motor
car
King Henry VIII of England
St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit Order
Viscount Montgomery, the British general
Prince Rainier of Monaco
and Albert Schweitzer the humanitarian reformer.
Click here to read
how the Year of the Fire Pig affects you!
Article by Richard
Giles
