Auspicious Dates and Places for The Month of the Fire Sheep 2022

A 6 month                                      focuses on authority – for better or worse.
A typical Sheep Month                  is about belonging.
Where to be this month:               South, North East.
Default orientation:                       Face East.
Where not to be this month:        South East, North West
Favoured Animals:                         Pig, Rabbit, Sheep, Horse
Especially challenged:                   Rat, Ox, Snake, Rooster.
The Hexagram (above):                 Dun, The Yielding, Heaven over Mountain; Trust
let go.
Summary:                                       Include so as to be included.

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

Sheep (1943, 55, 67, 79, 91; births in July*, 1-3pm & on certain days#) Slave to the Fire – mostly attention – which is good if Fire favours you. Grace required. Pay your dues.

Monkey (1944, 56, 68, 80, 92; births in August*, 3-5pm & on certain days#) Melts Metal; not your clearest month. Some openings for profit – 18^th A fair exchange.

Rooster (1945, 57, 69, 81, 93; births in September*, 5-7pm & on certain days#) Tail-chasing is so tempting; stillness probably better: wei wu wei.

Dog (1946, 58, 70, 84, 96; births in October*, 7-9pm & on certain days#) Pace yourself; you’re more affected by heat than most. Possible break-up of some sort – 18^th or 30^th.

Pig (1947, 59, 71, 83, 95; births in November*, 9-11pm & on certain days#) potential rather than fulfilment. Unfinished business can complete now.

Rats (1948, 60, 72, 84, 96; births in December* 11pm-1am & on certain days#). The reducing Fire supports brilliance if you’ll let it. Full of ideas if you are open to them.

Ox (1949, 61, 73, 85, 97; births in January*, 1-3am & on certain days#) Take it slowly; you’ll see more. Technically the Month Breaker.

Tiger (1950, 62, 74, 86, 98; births in February*, 3-5am & on certain days#) Still on top. Prepare for possible setback in Monkey Month to reduce impact. No surprise of course.

Rabbit (1951, 63, 75, 87, 99; births in March*, 5-7am & on certain days#), Fast moving, empowered. Busy but not frantic. Many opportunities.

Dragon (1952, 64, 76, 88, 2000; births in April* 7-9am & on certain days#) Sleepy; let miracles be done or you and through you. If you’re not changing radically already, now is the time.

Snake (1941,53, 65, 77, 89; births in May*, 9-11am & on certain days#) Slightly out of sync; wait for the next bus rather than walking to the next stop.

Horse (1942, 54, 66, 78, 90; births in June*, around midday & on certain days#) Needs met without great effort. Delegate. Trust your team; this may mean family.
* Chinese Months start later than European ones. #You’ll need help or a Chinese Calendar for this.

A helpful Day in the Sheep Month

Not so helpful

The Month of the Fire Sheep – the shape of the month.
Dungeons and Dragons
The annual T’ung Shu (or Farmer’s Almanac) is where feng shui Masters look for an inkling as to what the year holds. I am no exception. This volume has been in use in one way or another for more than a thousand years and it is reputed to sell more copies than the Bible. You will see it modestly bound in paper, piled high in Chinatown’s shops from late November to February. Like so much Chinese Metaphysics it consists of insights which are based in the cycles of weather, planetary movement and the phases of the Moon (which you might call yin) as well as conclusions, tables and calculations (which you might call yang).

If you had consulted it late last year you’d have noticed that neither Rats nor Dragons could expect helpful Stars in 2022. And the Dog was only due to receive one. The Dragon’s power means she can be tyrannical or a saviour, Dogs are proverbially immoveable. Unpacking that, it was clear that Dragons like Putin and Boris Johnson (but also Harvey Weinstein and Philip Green)  needed to find an entirely new approach if they were to get by; on the saviour front, Marianne Williamson too.

The fates of Putin and Johnson are entwined. Both are in great difficulty and truth be told, great pain though we may not be inclined to pity them. Both have painted themselves into a corner. Putin however was born on the day of the Dog which means that he is compromised on both public and personal levels. What happens to one will be echoed in the other but the pit is deeper for Putin.

For the Dog in his ba zi, a Sheep Month implies some sort of break up. Dogs and Dragons are however the most stubborn Animals of the Chinese pantheon. Even resignation means they are down but not out. They cannot stand to lose. They bounce back. The Dog ruling Putin’s day is the same Fire Dog as Trump btw.

I’m pretty certain that Putin is receiving ze ri advice (that is guidance about timing) from one or more of the many technically brilliant Russian feng shui Masters. So why is he not doing better? The answer may be a very human one. The Dragon is tuned to transmit. Putin like Johnson no more listens to woo-woo advice than to any other sort. It’s clear both from the T’ung Shu and observation of the world stage that this year Dragons need to learn to listen, to adapt and evolve and completely change their approach. If not it is not only they who suffer.

This applies to all of us Dragons and to a greater or lesser extent everyone. As my teacher and role model Chuck Spezzano advised: “Open to the yin”. The more committed we are however, the less likely we are to do it.

To add to all this, at the heart of this month’s lo shu are the baleful Annual 5 and the macho Monthly 6 which indicate toxic male energy in places of power. Even worse decisions than recent ones are likely to come from our governments, boards of directors and other centres of power, especially those led by Dragons. No change there then. This may of course as ever comprehend your kitchen and indeed bedroom. And it may only be a beginning.

“Open to the yin” was what Chuck Spezzano advised but it was Dorothy Parker who remarked that “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” It’s pretty clear that men, even if they don’t think so, need women to keep them from the worst of male stupidity. Interestingly feng shui though historically very much a male preserve, has its roots in female wisdom. In a universe with no fixed points, the closest there is to a constant is the phases of the Moon. Which is the base line of Chinese Metaphysics. And who is most likely to have stumbled upon this cycle – a man or a woman?

As you might expect, it looks like most of what’s wrong with the world is the outcome of decisions made by small groups of men without appropriate female supervision. The overturning of Roe versus Wade is no exception; nor the invasion of Ukraine. Nor indeed are the playing fields of Eton as transposed to Westminster.

This may be related to the fact that we are now on the cusp between the 8^th Fate (where greed slugs it out with idealism) and the 9^th (where mature contemplation may be countered by haste). Either way we are in desperate need of female wisdom at the centres of power.

In turbulent times like these many of us want to know how to respond to crisis. And the answer in this fragile Sheep month is that now of all times is the moment to represent our true values. And to listen and change as appropriate. Open to the yin. Especially Dragons and Dogs.
Richard Ashworth 4^th July 2022 

Where to locate in the Sheep Month
North East, Wealth Star: Tai sui (Tiger) or Year Star: 8 Month Star: 9.
9 and 8 are a pretty helpful combination. Occupation is often the best form of activation, so this is the place to move your hot desk again this month. Aim to enjoy the attention that follows because creativity and productivity come in the same package. Orthodox advice for obtaining the most from this combination includes holding long loud parties but making a cup of tea with intention may work just as well. Note also that the tao has no favourites: the 9:8 pattern suggests progress for Russian troops in Ukraine just as clearly as the above. Continue to avoid facing NE3 (around 60º ENE).
Magnify: Fire bright light – including sunlight.

Where not to locate in the Sheep Month
Tai chi, Home, the centre: Year Star: 5 Month Star: 6. Year Wu huang.
The conjunction of the rogue 5 Star and the paternal 6 at the tai chi supports the worst kind of machismo. You may be noticing this in the home as well as on the world stage. 6 relates to the father, the older male and heads – in many different senses including that of leaders. There’ll be a lot of vacuous spouting and innocent fathers and older men locating here are especially vulnerable.
What’s at the tai chi tends to represent what’s on the front page: reversing Roe versus Wade has lit a fuse and the outrage is not dying away any time soon. Meanwhile the 9 Fire that falls in the North East this month suggests a great deal of attention and firepower will (continue to) be focused on Ukraine. It’s not getting better in a hurry. 9 is the Star of explosions and attention; expect many manifestations, some not pretty.
Readers’ Digest Version: Continue to steer clear.
Pacify: t’ang lung; we can supply these.
Salt Water Cure; we can send you instructions.
No Fire: avoid bright light.

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.

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