Muddy Waters: the Month of the Water Dog

A 9 month                                          is about visibility.
A typical Dog Month                       features unusual drama mid-month.
Where not to be this month:        East, North.
Where to be this month:                South East & at the heart of things.
Favoured Animals:                          Tiger, Horse, Dog, Rabbit.
Especially challenged:                    (in order) Dragon, Rooster, Monkey, Rat.
The Hexagram (above):                  Cui Bringing Together, Lake over Earth.
Summary:                                           Watch and wait.

S
8       4       6
7       9       2
3       5       1
Water Dog lo shu

A Water Dog is like all Dogs, reliable. You shoot into the air and he’ll bring you a pheasant. It is her Yang Earth that makes for the constancy as well as that traditional inflexibility. It is a fact however that Earth won’t make a stable solution with Water. If Water stands for communication, Earth stands for something like confusion. You can’t drink Water with Earth in it and you can’t trust communication not subject to question.

This Water Dog month promises many gatherings: orderly assemblies but also mobs.  Some under control and some not. Some may be rational debates but more are likely to consist of declaiming that allows for no contradiction. As ever this may be local or international, home or away, domestic or commercial, at a distance or in your face. Dragons and Roosters may get caught up but the Sheep is the main mob animal. Notables born with prominent Sheep in their ba zis include Jair Bolsonaro, Rupert Murdoch, Roger Waters, Liz Truss, Ronald Reagan, Carrie Symonds, and yes, Donald Trump. You get the picture.

There can of course be deep wisdom in crowds; but equally deep stupidity. The difference between an assembly and a mob is leadership. And the difference between real leadership and populism is integrity. The populist adapts their view of things to those of the audience, a leader brings conviction.  We are at a time when it is sometimes hard to tell one from the other. One test is to do with values. What is the underlying motive? Why do certain people need to address crowds? Do they have a genuine message or just a need to dominate? None of the above luminaries stand for anything identifiable; populism is so much easier than an actual value system.

These questions may arise most particularly during the Hidden Stems of the Dog which fall between the 17^th and the 20^th this year when influence may be used with particular abandon. Expect conspiracy theories to be more than usually contagious and rabble-rousing to abound. And stay conscious that this could be in your back yard.

Chemically, Water and Earth can’t form a solution. Earth will not dissolve into Water, they become a suspension, something that must separate into its component parts. And only time will clear the Water.
© Richard Ashworth 2023 

Meanwhile:
Your Wood Dragon Year:  Forecast Days  : the 2^nd December (via Zoom 3pm-10pm GMT, timed to suit students from Australia to Vancouver) and again on the 9^th December (9am-5pm GMT, live in the Surrey Hills).
Your Home or office in 2024: at the start of each year I re-visit retainer clients to make sure they are making the most of the fresh qi. We have a few free dates. For details contact sheilaashworthfengshui@gmail.com
I am hosting a fresh Book of Changes series of monthly workshops from the 11^th October (one hour starting 5pm BST), examining each coming month’s Hexagram with a view, among other things to getting better and better at recognising how the month will play out. For those interested in forecasting as well as self-knowledge these workshops are the nursery slopes. More detail here: https://shorturl.at/pzLU9
And of course I’m teaching feng shui and ba zi online one-to-one all the time, dates and times by mutual arrangement. https://shorturl.at/bdmS0.
I may teach another starter Date Selection Course this year if there are the numbers for it. Do let us know if you’re keen, only basic prior feng shui knowledge required.
Also coming soon: Qi Men Dun Ja drafting by hand plus starter QMDJ interpretation.

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

Dog (1946, 58, 70, 82, 94; births in October*, 7-9pm & on certain days#) Pretty dynamic, a time when volunteering is the best choice.

Pig (1947, 59, 71, 83, 95; births in November*, 9-11pm & on certain days#) Unfamiliar territory, danger of getting bogged down. Advance!

Rats (1948, 60, 72, 84, 96; births in December* 11pm-1am & on certain days#). Tough dialogue, addressing the unaddressable may be your saving.

Ox (1949, 61, 73, 85, 97; births in January*, 1-3am & on certain days#) Frustrating, some may not be listening though they may look as though they are.

Tiger (1950, 62, 74, 86, 98; births in February*, 3-5am & on certain days#) Active, powered, witnessed.

Rabbit (1951, 63, 75, 87, 99; births in March*, 5-7am & on certain days#) Your best month this year under all headings. Romance may come with your mirror image.

Dragon (1952, 64, 76, 88, 2000; births in April* 7-9am & on certain days#) Blocked. Get flexible. Fixed plans will not serve you Nor (to a great extent) will reason.

Snake (1941,53, 65, 77, 89; births in May*, 9-11am & on certain days#) Nibbles and tastes rather than three course meals. On many levels

Horse (1942, 54, 66, 78, 90; births in June*, around midday & on certain days#) Your impulsiveness may serve you best.

Sheep (1943, 55, 67, 79, 91; births in July*, 1-3pm & on certain days#) Dog & Sheep means “Break Up”. Could be quite literal on more than one level. Best observe weak links with care. Some kind of break-up coming.

Monkey (1944, 56, 68, 80, 92; births in August*, 3-5pm & on certain days#) A chance to play but there’s risk in it. Thinking longer term than usual may help.

Rooster (1945, 57, 69, 81, 93; births in September*, 5-7pm & on certain days#) Over stretched is likely.

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

A Helpful Day
Thursday 12^th October, Water Rabbit, Well, Initiate (9) quite helpful.
A gentle awakening, creative and well-resourced. You may need to speculate to accumulate. It’s a low key win-win day. Rise early. Recaps 2023 to date.
Favours: Pigs, Rabbits, Sheep, Tigers.
Special Favour: Mothers, Wood(95) Fire(47, 2007) Pig; Water(63) Rabbit; Earth(98)Metal(50, 2010) Tiger.

Not so Helpful
Thursday 19^th October, Metal Dog, Horn, Establish (2) *** Caution!
Will tend to deliver less than promised. Dialogue could be harsh and launches disappointing. Not for risk-taking which is reckoned to be followed by lost wealth. Today is the last day of the so-called Hidden Stems of the Dog when international (& other) events occur against the run of play.

A Helpful Place to locate
South East, Determination: Year Star: 3 Month Star: 8. Sun (Dragon SE1).
3:8: Good month for the eldest daughter and the activities and qualities associated: career women, gentleness and cooperation supported. Also Snakes and Monkeys especially if they are an item. Not for Dragons for now.
Harness: Fire, bright light.

Not so helpful
North, Communication: Star: 9 Month Star: 5. Month Wu huang  Month san sha
9:5 plus San Sha (Three Disadvantages) is unlikely to prove helpful in the watery North. It speaks of willful blindness and lack of judgement. Best not to give that voice by communicating there for now. Move on.
To dilute: t’ang lung.
© Richard Ashworth 2023 

Richard Ashworth is one of the most respected Western Feng Shui Masters.  A good taster of his approach may be found on Audible . You can also see him at work on tv’s Housebusters 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.

Every month we send (at a modest fee) retainer 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 and much more from the Chinese calendar.
Subscriptions (and further info): Sheilaashworthfengshui@gmail.com
Richard Ashworth©
www.imperialfengshui.info