Auspicious Dates & Places for the Fire Snake Month

The (4^rd) month of the Fire Snake 2023.
(02:33am 6^th May to 06:46 6^th June inclusive)
in the Year of the Water Rabbit.
Public edition

Hsiao Chu

A 5 month                                              means power calls for firm handling.
A typical Snake Month                        is deceptive but instructive.
Where to be this month:                      North, South.
Where not to be this month: central,  West
Favoured Animals:                              Snake, Rooster, Ox, Monkey
Especially challenged:                         Pig, Rabbit, Sheep.
The Hexagram* (above):                     Hsiao Chu, Small Offering, Wind over Heaven.
Summary:                                             a time of learning and examination

*I am now listing the Hexagram corresponding to the particular month in question rather than the generic Tidal Gua. Put simply, Hsiao Chu corresponds specifically to a Fire Snake rather than to just any Snake

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

Snake (1941,53, 65, 77, 89; births in May*, 9-11am & on certain days#) When the student is ready the teacher appears. Ready?

Horse (1942, 54, 66, 78, 90; births in June*, around midday & on certain days#) Slightly sluggish, more heat than light.

Sheep (1943, 55, 67, 79, 91; births in July*, 1-3pm & on certain days#) Several doors are ajar.

Monkey (1944, 56, 68, 80, 92; births in August*, 3-5pm & on certain days#) Full power if you’re prepared to put your cards on the table.

Rooster (1945, 57, 69, 81, 93; births in September*, 5-7pm & on certain days#) You don’t need this type of encouragement..

Dog (1946, 58, 70, 82, 94; births in October*, 7-9pm & on certain days#) A time for deft footwork.

Pig (1947, 59, 71, 83, 95; births in November*, 9-11pm & on certain days#) Stick to the facts.

Rats (1948, 60, 72, 84, 96; births in December* 11pm-1am & on certain days#).
Challenges arise that are both insuperable and not worth the trouble..

Ox (1949, 61, 73, 85, 97; births in January*, 1-3am & on certain days#) Some purchase, eyes best kept on the prize.

Tiger (1950, 62, 74, 86, 98; births in February*, 3-5am & on certain days#) Proxy fights may waste your time. Identify the real adversary and act appropriately..

Rabbit (1951, 63, 75, 87, 99; births in March*, 5-7am & on certain days#) Some seepage, calls for unusual generosity.

Dragon (1952, 64, 76, 88, 2000; births in April* 7-9am & on certain days#) Attention, students approach; be sure to be fully prepared. The correct material is essential.

* Chinese Months start later than European ones.
#You’ll need help or a Chinese Calendar for this.

Fire Snake Month: A Time of Learning.
The Fire Snake which last ruled a full year in1977 has tremendous memory, academic gifts and the biggest heart of all Snakes. They are also inclined to own goals. These may prove to be the themes of the month. Equally Snakes are reckoned to find a teacher during a Dragon Month. For all of us, having found an instructor, now may be the time to proceed to learn.

You’ll notice that there are more Remove Days this month than usual: four actually, the most I have ever known to fall in a single month. As a portent Remove is neutral but usage tends to the negative, it’s about throwing away stuff. Three (12^th, 24^th May, 5^th June) will be helpful in streamlining life. On such a day judgement as to what to drop and what to retain will be at its best. The outlier on the 6^th June however could just be the day you discard something you really meant to keep. That could as easily be a lover as a white elephant. That’s what I call an own goal. Caution.

Another quirk is that there are no perfect days for placing Water. For some of us that may mean we will need to contain things as they are even though we know they need to change. Environment and attitude may be a part of that. Roosters who have found the year so far hard going may have to wait for a break in the clouds. And some moodier Dragons may be out of touch with their ability to transform. A lesson to draw however is that whatever help we may wrest from the world of woo-woo, ultimately our experience sunny or clouded is a choice. Nonetheless this may not be a month for deep disclosure.

How might that apply globally? Look out for fresh strategies and new alliances. The Snake is not generally a panoramic thinker like the Rat, impulsive like the Horse or borderline irrational like the Dragon but flexible, able to jettison objectives when necessary like shedding a skin. Alpha Snake Xi Jin Ping is in this category; his climb to power involving a series of about-faces and the dropping of associates whose proximity had become inconvenient. Deception, whether in North Eastern Europe, Taiwan or Sudan is the thing to watch for. A balanced Snake is devoted to the truth (often with a capital T), an unbalanced one may just see it as one of many instruments.

Domestically this pattern may show as a better balance between work and play as the Sun starts to shine. This may be the month to commit to a relationship. Especially if you’ve been in one a while. You may espouse a cause or path of discovery but the month may also prove full of false trails. Snake is all about knowing which is which.
© Richard Ashworth 2023 

A Tricky Day
Tuesday 6^th June, Wood Sheep, Tail, Remove (8) ***** replacement
Horse Month kicks in with Mong Chun, Grain in Ear at 06:46. Make way (carefully) for the accoutrements of Summer. Discard nothing without consideration.
Activity: Rabbit due East & Sheep SW1 (around 205º) for company.
Safe to make space: Earth(59) Metal(71) Pig; Earth(99) Metal(51) Rabbit; Wood (55) Sheep; Water (42) Horse.

A Helpful Day
Wednesday 24^th May, Water Horse, Orion, Remove (4) ***** empowered.
Water Horse is pulled (at least) two ways. The inspiration of Fire can be over-thought by too much Water or magnified by Fire. Rapid action without too much forethought and (especially) too much criticism makes way for the remarkable within 60-90 days.
Activity: Sheep South West (SSW around 205º) for just a little Fire.
Winners: Tiger, Dog, Pig
Supreme: Wood(74) Fire(86) Tiger; Wood(94) Dog; Wood(55) Sheep.
 
A Helpful Location
South, Bright Future: Year Star: 8 Month Star: 9 Moon (Horse)
8:9 Hot and helpful. A Fire Snake Month is of course close to pure Fire, that is brightness and the light. Advance to the South if you want to get noticed, publicity, promotion, attention of all sorts. Some Flying Star patterns may mitigate and some ba zis may not be able to make use of the qi but for those who can – broadly those in need of Fire – this is very helpful.
Add: just be present and active.

A Tricky Location
Tai chi, Home, the centre: Year Star: 4 Month Star: 5.
The 5 Yellow or wu huang is proverbially the Star that needs controlling in order to forestall mayhem. Its effect varies according to surroundings and usage: 5 may sit perfectly happily in a quiet room and cause no harm. Conversely it may appear briefly and coincide with all manner of pestilence. What however is important to realise is that although Elemental rules are consistent, as are those of Yin and Yang, the 5 is a wild card. Unlike all the other integers it has no corresponding Trigram; it belongs to no family member, Element or group. It has if you will, no stake. This means that the damage with which it is associated alters according to the underlying pockets of qi or Flying Stars where it lands. In brief, if the Flying Stars at your tai chi are poor, steer clear all month. Only a messy salt Water cure, a t’ang lung charm or a great deal of Metal will help anything like as much as peace and quiet. If disturbed the outcome will obviously enough vary according to those Flying Stars. If that’s unclear do contact me.

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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Richard Ashworth©
www.imperialfengshui.info