Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Feng Shui Timing and Skyfall?


Roll out the Sky ball?

Today sees the general release of the new James Bond film Skyfall and from a Feng Shui perspective, they must have used auspicious timing in choosing this date. It's not surprising, as the film is reputed to have cost a whopping £93.7m ($150m). With such an investment, who wouldn't use auspicious timing to maximise their returns? Kerching!

There are many ways to choose auspicious timing and relatively recently, an Asian construction company won a global multibillion dollar contract and avoided hefty late penalties by doing so. "Going with the flow" as great timing is sometimes known, is used globally by those who know of its success record; to launch, host, unveil or announce important events. Let's look at some of the options available today.

In the Tong Shu or Chinese almanac, today is listed as an "Open" day; a lucky day to unveil or present something new. Whilst in Chinese astrology, it's a Metal Monkey day, which has a special distinction within the Chinese zodiac as it's known as "The Reformer"; a perfect day to give something up or develop new concepts. Consequently, the classic Bond Martini is replaced in Skyfall by a can of Heineken, the privilege of which cost the lager company almost a third of the film costs.

Although, Skyfall's general release is today, the world wide premiere was actually 3 days ago on the 23rd October; a day auspicious for new cycles and long term partnerships. As this film breaks records in its partnerships with sponsors, it's highly appropriate. However, in the 28 Lunar Mansions, the moon appears in the Ghost constellation, so let's hope this aspect doesn't turn around to haunt them.

When we consider the Chinese astrological elements of Yang Metal which indicates Heaven or sky, and Monkey's metal elements denoting spherical shapes (ball), you can see the inspiration behind today's title. Furthermore, the Monkey day and Dog month Chinese zodiac signs are the beginning and end of a spectacular alignment. They only need the Rooster to complete and finalise it. Rooster represents entertainment and the showman.

In Chinese mythology, the Rooster is known as the bird that cannot fly but makes a lot of noise. It can indicate critics, so having film critics on board will make Skyfall the surefire success it deserves to be. However, the truly clever aspect about today's lucky timings is that entertainment and critics aside, between 5pm and 7pm we enter the Rooster double hour, which completes the triple alignment of Monkey, Rooster and Dog to create the strongest ever metal element. This can be likened to pure gold and represents outstanding wealth to the fire element of the film industry and its director Sam Mendes. In the UK and Ireland where the film opens today and at teatime tonight, it may feel similar to a PT Barnum moment where we are all part of the greatest show on earth!

Returning to solid ground, the Chinese almanac is positively grinning and recommends meditation or honouring ancestors, asking for blessings, taking a course visiting friends, having a haircut, sweeping house, travelling, getting engaged, getting married, exchanging gifts, having an astrology reading, buying or making clothes, seeing a doctor or choosing a treatment, emigrating, opening a business and trading, refurbishing a home or office, laying foundations, fixing a roof, buying or setting direction for your bed, opening a water course and drilling a well.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Element of Earth


The element of earth is all about being grounded, being physical, being incarnated, and manifesting tangible things in life. The earth signs, Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are famed for their down to earth approach to life, for their organisational abilities, for their strong senses and physical needs, and for their ability to harness the resources of the material and natural worlds.


Their rulers, Venus, Mercury and Saturn seem to have varying degrees of association with the earth element. Venus as ruler of Taurus finds her place as a lover of physical experience, particularly sensuous experience and the value she places on money and security achieved through material goods. Mercury is less naturally associated with earth, as the planet of ideas and communication, but in clever Virgo finds his knowledge applied in an orderly and organised fashion. Saturn is the planet that seems most at home with earth energy, and his rulership of Capricorn, the last and most complex of the earth signs, shows his powerful presence in the material, financial and physical realms, as the planet most able to harness the realities of incarnation.

With the Sun in earth, the individual finds fulfilment through doing something tangible, perhaps through running a business, or applying knowledge, or building up a life of security and material prosperity. The realm of the body and the senses is important to one's sense of identity - one has to feel real and solid.

The Moon in earth suggests an innately grounded personality, a person able to deal with mundane reality. This is someone who finds nurturing in physical routines, in contacting their body and in organising their resources in well-managed fashion.

Mercury in earth gives the individual an ability to apply ideas and knowledge, and a natural understanding of which ideas will make it into reality.

Venus in earth suggests that the physical side of love may be particularly important, and that values may tend towards the pragmatic, sometimes even materialistic side. A person with Venus in an earth sign wants a lover who understands how to deal with life on the material and physical levels.

With Mars in earth we may excel at going after our goals and making them a reality. Organisation and planning may be key parts of our strategy for getting what we want.

Those who have an emphasis on earth in their chart are often brilliant at manifesting. They understand how the world works in that 'real' sense. They have buckets of common sense, and often contain natural business acumen. The physical and material realms are their natural domain.

With a lack of earth there can be problems with neglect of the body and difficulties in understanding how to make ideas and dreams a reality. A lack of common sense is often apparent, and the last thing you could say about these people is that they have their feet on the ground! With conscious effort in finding a foothold in the material and physical worlds however, they can make great progress, as they value their achievements in this sphere of life very highly.