A 5 month                                speaks of mischief at the heart of things.
A typical Monkey Month       is about the Hungry Ghosts.
Where to be this month:       North, North East.
Default orientation:                Face your best direction across the tai chi.#
Where not to be this month: tai chi, West
Favoured Animals:                  Monkey, Rat, Dragon, Snake.
Especially challenged:           Tiger, Pig, Horse, Dog
The Hexagram (above):          Pi, Stagnation, Heaven over Earth; Things fall apart.
Summary:                                Stay alert in the chaos.
#You may need help with this.

The Month of the Earth Monkey, Animal by Animal:
These generic forecasts carry different nuances dependent upon whether this Animal rules your Year, Month, Day, Hour or Life House.

Monkey (1944, 56, 68, 80, 92; births in August*, 3-5pm & on certain days#) Empowered but it’s risky challenging the Tiger. Drive carefully#, minimise travel.

Rooster (1945, 57, 69, 81, 93; births in September*, 5-7pm & on certain days#) Too much. Rest.

Dog (1946, 58, 70, 84, 96; births in October*, 7-9pm & on certain days#) Demands may weary. Top up, rest.

Pig (1947, 59, 71, 83, 95; births in November*, 9-11pm & on certain days#) Issues with movement#; you’re in the best position to solve them.

Rats (1948, 60, 72, 84, 96; births in December* 11pm-1am & on certain days#). With so much Fire around, you’re the voice of reason.

Ox (1949, 61, 73, 85, 97; births in January*, 1-3am & on certain days#) Tiring but creative; trust your instinct even when demanding.

Tiger (1950, 62, 74, 86, 98; births in February*, 3-5am & on certain days#) Peak aggression in Monkey Month; care with travel# and Fire. Seek Pig for security.

Rabbit (1951, 63, 75, 87, 99; births in March*, 5-7am & on certain days#), Big change behind scenes. Make good use of the 18^th.

Dragon (1952, 64, 76, 88, 2000; births in April* 7-9am & on certain days#) One of your best months. Draw upon your team: Rooster, Monkey, Rat even other Dragons with care.

Snake (1941,53, 65, 77, 89; births in May*, 9-11am & on certain days#) Allow yourself to be led. Pioneering not for this month. Care travelling#

Horse (1942, 54, 66, 78, 90; births in June*, around midday & on certain days#) Choice between aspiration and recreation. Both show big gains.

Sheep (1943, 55, 67, 79, 91; births in July*, 1-3pm & on certain days#) Mostly solo, in your heart even when it seems otherwise. Capitalise on the 9^th,18^th,21^st Aug; 2^nd,3^rd Sept
* Chinese Months start later than European ones. #You’ll need help or a Chinese Calendar for this.
# Special caution: 8^th, 11^th, 20^th, 26^th, 29^th Aug; 1^st 4^th 7^th Sept.

A helpful Day in the Monkey Month

Not so helpful

The Month of the Earth Monkey – the shape of the month.
The Drunken Monkey
“Solidity is an advantage but it is emptiness that makes a space useful.”
Lao Tze The Tao Te Ching.

The term “Drunken Monkey” is sometimes used to describe the indiscipline of the human mind, slipping without awareness from topic to topic like a drunk, one step short of collapse. We think of this, then we think of that and usually before we catch ourselves, our train of thought has become a series of abandoned wrecks on the side of the track. Whatever the time or place, we can address this. The much misunderstood principle of Mindfulness is one popular way. Locating ourselves very carefully in keeping with the day and the environment is another. Yes, that’s feng shui.

In the early 80’s I attended a series of Sa Zen workshops. The drill was to sit, eyes open and stay present for hours at a time. No dreaming, no reminiscing, no planning, no shopping lists or lofty goals; just presence. A moment of slumber or defocus and I would be awoken by a bamboo cane to the shoulder. I wince now as I recall the bruises. What this amounts to is essentially just learning to be alone with ourselves and to feel what we are feeling. Which can be the first step to conversation with God, Tao or whatever.

This Earth Monkey Month has something of that wrestle with consciousness about it. The Monkey Month is always the Month of the Hungry Ghosts, said to host wraiths, living or dead who cannot be satisfied and remain present hoping that life will become alright with more power, that new car, that perfect relationship, that fresh triumph over competition, that additional billion. Fact is nothing does it for us. We have to be present first and then make useful choices. Often ba zi is the place to start.

August is traditionally the month of travel and Monkey is one of the so-called “Stations” or “Terminals” of the Chinese Zodiac and hence inherently about transport. Or not. A well-starred August is a time of adventure: flights and road trips and outings. One like this in a Tiger Year is the very reverse unless we choose our moments carefully. It promises queues and cancellations. And of course you don’t in 2022 need psychic powers to see that coming. What may be helpful to know however is that Snake (8^th, 20^th Aug; 1^st Sept), Tiger (17^th & 29^th) and Monkey (11^th, 23^rd Aug; 4^th Sept) Days are likely to be the most trying, with differing outcomes dependent upon the Animal itself. Best stay home.

The very worst days in this regard are likely to be the Tiger days. Monkey and Tiger are traditional opponents, both yang and aggressive in their different ways. The Tiger wants space and will push to get it (think of the Tiger years of 1914 and 1938 for instance) the Monkey believes in precision, ideology and absolute right and wrong. Monkey is Metal; Tiger is Wood. Monkey is cars; Tiger is rapid movement. Both are stretched by Fire which of course is generally pretty plentiful in August. You can see why a Tiger day in a Monkey Month would proverbially be about road rage and collisions. Walking is a good idea on these days.

Finally this is a 5 month which of itself is a poor augury but combined with the above suggests that the main trouble will be in capital cities, headquarters and other centres. Work from home if you can.

I’ve said more than once that I aim not to trade in disasters and awfulness. But some things need attending to. What I hope I’m doing is saving you from them by listing what not to do and when. Hope so. Happy holidays.
Richard Ashworth 5^th August 2022  

Where to locate in the Monkey Month
North East, Wealth Star: Tai sui (Tiger) or Year Star: 8 Month Star: 8.
Two 8s are a pretty helpful combination. Locate here for progress under the headings professional, commercial, creative and indeed spiritual (whatever spiritual progress might be. Occupy. Be noisy.
Magnify: Fire bright light – including sunlight.

Where not to locate in the Monkey Month
West, Intervention: Year Star: 7; Month Star: 7. Annual toe far. Dragon Virtue
Two 7s clash is a proverbial snafu. Women fall out, children are upset, disagreements are covert, alliances are fraught with deceit and disloyalty. Trust is broken. No place to linger.
Improve: with Water

Richard Ashworth is one of the most respected Western Feng Shui Masters. He was among the pioneers of feng shui survey & analysis at a distance on MySpirit Radio in the noughties. A good taster of his approach may be found on Audible at https://adbl.co/2m92Es3. You can also see him at work on tv’s Housebusters at https://bit.ly/2lJWLBl  Or read his collected Feng Shui Diaries. Most Thursdays and Fridays he is to be found teaching both feng shui and ba zi one-to-one online (times by mutual arrangement) with students from Seattle to Belgium.

Richard has worked from Lebanon to Bermuda, in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and with stars such as Naomie Harris, Kelly Hoppen and Gillian Anderson. Unusually for a Western Master, he has addressed the Grand Masters at the International Feng Shui Conference in Singapore. He is now also a Founder Committee Member of the IFSA UK Chapter.

Every month we send subscribing clients a more comprehensive monthly bulletin than this one, covering in detail right places to be (and when) as well as the most helpful days Animal by Animal & much more from the Chinese calendar.
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Richard Ashworth©
www.imperialfengshui.info