Tiger 2014

Who is a Tiger?

Years: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010.
Month*: February
Hour: 03:00 am – 05:00 am
Day: ask us
* 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 Tiger?
Because the yang wood Tiger is composed of three different elements, he is an especially versatile predator. There is nothing wrong with being a predator except that it can imply a very rigid view of the world. Tigers often don’t play well with others, not because their egos are in the way (unlike the Dragon, the Pig, the Rooster or the Horse) but because for them, work and play are very distinct activities. They can up to a point frolic with other Tigers but broadly every alliance is focused on an outcome.

The Tiger never forgets. For the unbalanced Tiger no slight, insult or rejection can be allowed to go unredressed. He may wait a lifetime but he will get his revenge. On the other hand the balanced Tiger will always repay a debt and go out of his way to acknowledge assistance.

The typical qualities of yang wood are sharp eyes, a strong will and swift movement. The Tiger stalks his prey silently and pounces when he is ready. He can wait days as long as he is not hungry. A needy Tiger is very dangerous. Never scorn the Tiger.

The Tiger will often have a fresh view of things which makes him the eyes of the team he makes up with the Horse and the Dog. The Horse is front of house, the Dog the keeper of records and the Tiger the hit man.

In terms of human relations the Tiger may be the most yang of the animals; that is swift, sharp and unsubtle. The earth he inherits from his predecessor in the Zodiac the Ox, is turned miraculously from yin to yang when he receives it. The unbalanced Tiger knows no mercy and expects none. And in this he has altered the dogma he receives from the Ox – do as you would be done by – into a personal code. This alteration can amount to perversion and make for serious misunderstandings; the unconscious Tiger probably knows himself less than any other animal. His ruthlessness, which he can wear as a badge of honour, is often simply a failure to open up to interdependence with others. Of all insults “dependent” is the worst for the Tiger. He will not depend. This makes relationship an act of will. With a true act of will, the Tiger forms the most enduring relationships. If it is not truly a choice but a resigned agreement to bend himself out of shape, all around him will distort also. Sometimes the truly unconscious Tiger thinks this reflects a merciless world in which he has been clever in getting his revenge in first. This logic doesn’t work and the smarter Tiger knows this.

But even this one is not in the clear because the corollary of foregoing revenge appears to be falling on his sword. This is a mistake too. Most of us prefer not to live by the law of the jungle but then most of us are not as well-equipped for it.

Metal is generally considered to represent logical thought, authority and competition. The wooden Tiger likes to think of himself as logical but instinctive or even automatic is a better description. He can only make use of metal early on in life or at the inception of a process. After that he can deceive himself that he knows what to do and that he is beyond advice. The really unbalanced Tiger (yang wood day stem born in February for instance) considers himself bold and resolute but truly is hanging onto past (mother) stuff that ought to have been completed. The admission of this would affront his pride and he is unlikely to do it.

Richard Bandler used to say that the person with the most flexible behaviour has control. The Tiger is the yangest woodenest of the animals. He is so flexible that he can be completely immovable. This can be his role in the alliance with the Monkey, Pig and Snake sometimes called the The Four Terminals.

The Monkey sells the traveller a ticket, the Pig may offer to accompany him and the Snake can enchant with tales of exotic locations but the Tiger may simply snarl and send the traveller on his way. Without the Pig in the ba zi this combination can like the Four Earths, be a seriously unhelpful combination, implying restricted movement. It has been of course – think about it – very common in 2013.

A tender father and an implacable father in law, a good leader but an erratic motivator, at his worst, the keynote of the Tiger is an uneasy combination between a long memory and a short fuse. At his best he is the sort of leader any man would gladly die for.

Tiger in Wood Horse Year.

Stars include: di sha Precarious, da sha Conflict.

The Tiger never forgets. As the animal that heralds the dawn it would be disastrous to do so. The Tiger also guards the gate of the year at the beginning of February. You are important. Your influence is everywhere. Your great qualities of patience, humour and affection make a difference for the better wherever you go. And that quirky unpredictability where just when the world thinks it knows you as one character, you emerge as something very different. Think pop star turned WAG turned award-winning designer, Victoria Beckham. Or commercial shapeshifter 1950 Metal Tiger Richard Branson.

In a sense the Tiger is a visionary. Your weakness however is that you can impose a half-baked vision on others. You may believe that yours is the only way. It isn’t. This year if you don’t get that, you’re in trouble.

The Tiger has great vision but often does not listen. This year, pay attention to the spoken word. If you have a Tiger Year Pillar, listen to advice that comes down to through authority and tradition. If you were born in February, adhere closely to professional codes of practice. If you have a Tiger Hour Pillar – you may have misunderstood where you are heading.

Do not seek revenge. As Gandhi said: “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.” Revenge is a misuse of your vision. This year many of your deepest beliefs – especially about people – come into question. Since you can sometimes attack first and understand later, you may find this hard. Like the rest of us, you are frightened to open up. This year if you’re brave and smart – and you’ve proved that you are many times – you learn true intimacy. Intimacy btw is being sufficiently vulnerable that you can be hurt while truly trusting that you won’t be.

This year you may feel disappointed or let down but only if you confuse those who depend upon you with those upon whom you are dependent.

The Tiger is a wonderful parent. If you insist on it, your children may disappoint you – this is especially likely for the Hour Pillar Tiger. If you can see it the other way round and take responsibility, no disappointment, only learning is necessary. Many would say incidentally that a child can be disappointed by a parent but not the other way round.

Along with the above qualities, the Tiger can be rigid and opinionated. This is especially true of the 1950 Tiger. Don’t be. If you do, you’re going to make a fool of yourself.

Health: psychological only.

Money: kind of irrelevant.

Relationship: pay attention.

Feng Shui: for advance seek the Horse in the South.

Readers’ Digest Version: very tricky.