Ox 2012
Who is an Ox?
Years: 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009.
Month*: January
Hour: 01.00-03.00am
* 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 an Ox?
The distinctive quality of the Ox is insistence, not persistence because the Ox’s yin Earth makes for a certain fragility, more of a curtain than a rampart. The Ox is in many ways, the most sensitive year animal. This is often expressed in what looks like obstinacy but is better understood as puzzlement at being disagreed with. In discourse you may find that an Ox has firm principles that on examination are not principles at all but more like prejudices or assumptions. They are often nonetheless firm as well as correct for all that. As a rule, don’t expect flexibility of mind from an Ox; they know what they know and are often not keen to venture beyond.
The Ox’s gifts are very often practical rather than intellectual. The intellectually gifted Ox is extraordinarily powerful. Because of her position between the Rat and the Tiger, the Ox can sometimes vacillate between a fierceness that does not suit her and a Rat-like charm that she may not be able to sustain.
With her allies the Snake and the Rooster, she forms a team which is of the metal element. That is to say that the alliance is linear, judgemental and competitive. Where the ground rules are clear, this is an unstoppable combination. These three make a great legal team with the Rooster charming the jury, the Snake unearthing information that no one else could find and the Ox sticking to the point. When the rules are unclear however, the metal alliance can falter. Then the Ox can become judgemental in a more covert sort of way, being less liable to argue than to judge silently. Without the Snake and the Rooster, the Ox is more barrack room lawyer than barrister.
Working in such a team, the metal, that is the qualities of logic, reason and competition, is less important than consistency. In dealing with the Ox, it is important to remember not only that the metal is there but also that the Ox may deny this fact even to herself.
The hour of the Ox (01-03.00) is the time that the worlds of spirit and flesh are closest. She has a deep spiritual agenda. The gifts of mediumship and divination are essentially Ox gifts.
The Ox may be attached to ancestral dogma. Fundamentalism of all sorts – political and social as well as religious – is a common trait. She is not always good at questioning tradition or second-hand wisdom that has come down on good authority. She will often quote great men not because their words are wise but because they are great.
With the Dragon, Dog and Sheep, the Ox forms the Literary Alliance. Some call this confluence the Four Earths and think of it as negative. The fact is that it is a demanding combination. If the Dragon is missing for instance, many think of it as poisonous but to see this as an assembly of the vehicles of expression without anything new to say is probably more like it. The coincidence of these animals is a challenge to a strong ba zi and can be the ruin of a weak one.
Barack Obama may currently be the world’s most famous Ox and a good example. He actually has a Sheep in his month pillar. This makes for a home-loving and secure man. This is heightened by his day stem (the character that rules the day he was born) which has a special affinity both with the Ox and the Sheep. This like so many Oxen, is a man who loves his babies.
The challenge to Obama in 2011 was to make up for the missing Dog. The Rabbit is the secret friend of the Dog and will tend to make this an easier process than otherwise. Without the Dog. the Ox and Sheep squabble over detail. The Dog stands for completion. Obama must see the job through. I’d suggest to Barack that he wears a Dog amulet by the way.
The Ox has a love-hate relationship with the irritatingly spontaneous and extrovert Horse to whom she can not help nonetheless being drawn. Nor is she that keen on the Rabbit who can help herself to the Ox’s fresh vegetables or the Tiger who somehow often manages to exploit her.
The Ox: Outlook for 2012
The Ox is yin Earth. Her weaknesses are a tendency to stay stuck when it’s no longer necessary and mistaking preferences for principles. Also a belief, often correct, that she was born to rule. Margaret Thatcher features, for instance among famous Oxen as does Barack Obama. The Ox may also be the most spiritual and most loyal of the Chinese Animals. It is hard to put anything past the Ox and often she would be smarter actually to get out of the way.
But you know all this. Traditionally the Dragon year is not especially comfortable for you. It’s all a bit fast. You like to feel your way at your own pace. This may characterise Barack Obama’s campaign for re-election. He’s already President, why he does he need another show of hands? The state-hopping velocity of the modern campaign is a serious drawback to the Ox seeking office which may put him under serious physical strain.
So first piece of advice for the Ox: soft pedal on the imperiousness already.
Next: this is not a year to overdo it. Small blockages are the bane of the Ox. You may be held up a great deal. This is not a year of freeflowing travel for you. And your notorious stomach may play up. Oily food is not for you nor bitter.
The yin Earth of the Ox that implies small blockages, perversely also signifies property acquisition. This is the year you may enjoy rental or other passive income.
You exert a powerful indirect influence this year. Your advice will be listened to if it is channelled correctly. Your most glamorous friend the Rooster will be a good go between to power as will the Snake who knows just how to couch things. Use these connections rather than relying on a direct approach.
Traditional feng shui advice is for you to carry a Rooster amulet which brings you indirect support from the Dragon. But generally this is a year in which your characteristic bluntness is not your strongest asset. Affrontery will see the carpet pulled from under you. This is no year for arrogance. If you remember that you’ll be ready for your position of special influence in 2013.
As far as relationship is concerned, this is an exciting time for you. There’s a decent chance of new love, very possibly involving someone you’ve known some time. Keep your antennae out.