Rabbit 2013

Who is a Rabbit?

Years: 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011.
Month*: March
Hour: 05:00 am – 07:00 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 Rabbit?
The Rabbit is yin wood, essentially gentle and domestic. Her time is early morning; the legend has it that she and the Rooster swapped places which is why the cock crows in the Chinese Zodiac not at dawn but at dusk. The Rabbit rules the Spring therefore – think of March Hares and Easter Bunnies – and the Rooster the autumn.

The Rabbit is subtle, in keeping with her yin nature. She provides service readily and is often suited to catering and caring. But her preparedness to roll up her sleeves makes her the unexpected queen of networking. If you want to be introduced to the person in charge, ask a Rabbit.

The Rabbit can wait her turn; vigilance and patience are typical.
Her natural allies are the Pig and the Sheep. This is a house-proud team and the Rabbit is a team player. Her unexpected friend is the Dog who values her ability to charm without threat.

The Rabbit also belongs to the gathering known as the Flowers of Love (or Plumflowers) along with the Horse, the Rooster and Rat. She may often find herself clearing up behind these three extroverts and quite often the cuddle-bunny will obtain a life partner from the leavings of her more obviously glamorous colleagues.

The Rabbit tends to be conservative with a small “c”. Early rising is typical but this tendency to the yang of early alertness may be demonstrated by the yin of sleeping in. Lazybones or insomniac, sleeping is an issue.

Because of the unflattering connotations of the local word for Rabbit, in Vietnam this branch is called the Cat. Intuitively this does not sit right. The ideogram so clearly has ears. Yin wood relates to the eyes and to the Spring, leaves and flowers and grass, none of which are feline attributes.

In some ways the Rabbit epitomises yin. Yang wood may be best characterised as an upwards movement like the growth of a tree. Yin wood is more of an outward expansion like the spreading of grass. What these two expressions of wood have in common is irresistibility. But they are very different types of irresistibility. To counter yang wood we need yang metal: an axe will cut down the biggest tree. But you could attack a lawn with that same axe and not remove all the grass in a lifetime. This is the power of yin wood.
Wood is both stubborn and flexible. Yin wood (as characterised by soen, the wind of the South East) is thorough as well as organised. Hexagram 53 of the Book of Changes, Gradual Progress describes this: the tree grows against all the odds either because it throws itself absolutely upon the mercy of the tao or because it has a detailed plan that it follows meticulously. Or both.

The Dragon is said to lose money when the Rabbit arrives. This may be because the Dragon is distracted by his neighbour who is so apparently different in nature. This is not a great pairing but the fact is that the Rabbit sitting between the Tiger and the Dragon shares qualities with both. Partnership with the Tiger is sometimes formalised as the House of Diplomacy. The Rabbit offers carrot while the Tiger wields a stick. This arrangement exemplifies the truism that more is achieved with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone.

Wood represents bone, spine and hair as well as eyes: the light is fire but the receiving organ is wood. The Rabbit is often not strong in these regards, unlike the Tiger. This is yin and yang.

Rabbit:
Stars include: Ba Zuo Achievement, Yik Ma, Ji Jiao Hazard.
You keep pushing and the boulder keeps rolling. You do stick with it, don’t you?! This year you maintain the impetus of the Dragon year. The yin Fire of the Snake demands the best of you which may not prove comfortable. Early on (perhaps as early as November 2012) you set the context; someone very exalted may say yes to you, allowing ambitious plans to proceed although delivering could take most of the year. Don’t look down or give into conventional cliches about what can and can’t be done by someone like you. Just get on and do it.

The Rabbit’s weakness is often modesty. This, the year of the Snake in the Grass is not about self-effacement or even irony. If the trumpet needs blowing, best to pucker up. Your resources, physical and other, may wear thin and there’s danger of self-pity. You can’t afford it. This is a year in which much is so because you say it is.

You know your own power in certain areas and not in others, which can make you over-dependent on good notices. What you may not have taken on is that your life is yours and anyone else’s endorsement is a bonus. It’s time to learn cooperation without giving away the farm. In your ba zi (or Four Pillars) this will relate to what was happening when your first Luck Pillar or Big Fate cut in. This could be as early as birth and won’t be later than age 10. I suggest you give this some deep thought: you are run by some pretty limiting decisions that could easily be brought to the light and given back to the universe from whence they came. The door is open. When I am teaching ba zi, I often leave students to “dream” equipped only with this date (easily calculated from birth details) and some evocative music.
You tend also to suffer from a distinctive species of informed blindness. You research so well that there are no surprises and then suddenly there are and you find yourself denying the obvious. Deal with the world as it is. Avoid assumptions as far as possible.

There’s a great deal of travel on the cards, mostly to new places, pretty much all in successful pursuit of your objectives. You’ve been waiting long enough.

The Snake is not your natural ally; he demands too much for too little return but your momentum is set now, taking you all the way through to 2015 when on looking back, it will seem as if your history has been rewritten.
You will be in considerable demand for altruistic and charitable causes. Choose well and don’t over-commit. Consult Hexagram 4: just once!

Health: danger of pushing yourself too hard. Pacing crucial this year. Special care in May and mid-October.
Money: comes good first quarter. Peaks in April. Last quarter could be draining.
Relationship: occasional opportunities. It’s simply not your priority.
Feng Shui: face, travel, sit North, South even North East not West or South West.
Readers’ Digest Version: the difference between success and failure is persistence.

Richard Ashworth ©2012