Wood Tiger Month: A very old joke

Auspicious Dates and Places
for
The (1^st) month of the Wood Tiger 2023.
(10:47am 4^th February to 04:31am 6^th March inclusive)
in the Year of the Water Rabbit.
Public edition

An 8 month                                     is especially creative.
A typical Tiger Month                 features confrontation.
Where to be this month:             tai chi – facing a favourable direction
Where not to be this month:     South West, South East, North East
Favoured Animals:                      Tiger, Horse, Dog, Pig
Especially challenged:                Monkey, Snake, Rat, Dragon.
The Hexagram* (above):             Ji Ji Already Complete, Water over Fire; the eternal cycle.
Summary:                                      a time to take charge.

*I am now listing the Hexagram corresponding to the particular month in question rather than the more generic Tidal Hexagram. Put simply, Ji Ji corresponds specifically to a Wood Tiger rather than to just any Tiger.
 
Wood Tiger Month: A very old joke.
Two things about Tigers: they are aggressive and they mark beginnings and endings.
This month’s Hexagram is Ji Ji, often called “Already Complete”, an ending and a beginning: Water over Fire, a dowsed blaze. Several thousand years ago King Wen placed this Hexagram second to last in the Book of Changes, followed by Wei Ji “Not yet complete”. In a sense nothing ever is complete. It’s kind of a joke.

However here in 2023 something appears to be ended and something else begun. As I said the Tiger is inherently aggressive. This is not an indictment, aggression is just the will to live, literally meaning “stepping forward”. That’s all. And like each of the Five Elements or wu xing, the Yang Wood of the Tiger has its own variety of aggression: it needs space. Yang Wood is the ash root that penetrates a wall, the hardwood that pierces the rainforest canopy. You may feel this restlessness in your bones as you stretch from your winter doze. It’s in the air. Time to pick up the bucket and return to the well.

The Tiger location in the North East is quite tricky. Doubly so, this month. This time last year, Russia invaded Ukraine from there. It’s unlikely that you face an invasion into your house from the North East but best keep your eye open. It is reasonable to suppose that Russian escalation will come soon and as ever that energy will show up on other levels.

Someone described feng shui as “doing the right thing in the right place at the right time.” Rhythm and timing will tend to inform the whole year but particularly now in the Spring, the time of Wood. There is a moment when that wise remark, coming too early, is crass and a moment a little later when it is lost. In between there is the beat when it could have landed. Notice when the right idea turns up in the wrong situation. Notice when things happen too fast and when they happen too slow. February is the month to listen most closely to your inner metronome.

It’s not too late to get King Wen’s joke.
© Richard Ashworth February 5^th 2023.

The Month of the Wood Tiger, Animal by Animal:
As you know, we are now firmly in the Year of the Water Rabbit. It’s a very different year, central issues being about timing and the healing of chronic upset. Rats & Rabbits themselves, also the House of Windsor, please take note. My Animal Fortunes for 2023 are now posted on the website. Such ramblings are drawn from the Four Pillars or ba zi of the Year together with the Year Animal concerned.

Tiger (1950, 62, 74, 86, 98; births in February*, 3-5am & on certain days#) Pick up on that restless Wood energy at its most powerful. Act directly.

Rabbit (1951, 63, 75, 87, 99; births in March*, 5-7am & on certain days#) The world’s your lobster. Spoiled for ways to progress.

Dragon (1952, 64, 76, 88, 2000; births in April* 7-9am & on certain days#) Competitive; excellence is the way through.

Snake (1941,53, 65, 77, 89; births in May*, 9-11am & on certain days#) Plenty of opportunities; the Wood of both Rabbit & Tiger signify your gain.

Horse (1942, 54, 66, 78, 90; births in June*, around midday & on certain days#) Early Fire; publicity easy to find.

Sheep (1943, 55, 67, 79, 91; births in July*, 1-3pm & on certain days#) The breaks are still a little way off.

Monkey (1944, 56, 68, 80, 92; births in August*, 3-5pm & on certain days#) Opposed directly – but you like that.

Rooster (1945, 57, 69, 81, 93; births in September*, 5-7pm & on certain days#) The type of indirect opposition that fuels you.

Dog (1946, 58, 70, 84, 96; births in October*, 7-9pm & on certain days#) Demanded of. And worth it.

Pig (1947, 59, 71, 83, 95; births in November*, 9-11pm & on certain days#) Mostly free hits. Time to make your move.

Rats (1948, 60, 72, 84, 96; births in December* 11pm-1am & on certain days#).
Recognised. In a year when you may struggle to feel appreciated.

Ox (1949, 61, 73, 85, 97; births in January*, 1-3am & on certain days#) Demands, decisions. Respect timing.

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

A Favourable Day
Wednesday 8^th February, Fire Rooster, Carriage, Danger (7) *** habit-forming
Fire Rooster: short attention span, distracted by glitter. Carriage brings wealth of one kind or another if you’ll let it. The treasure will be below the surface.
Activity: not today.
Favours: Snakes, Roosters, Oxen, Dragon, the focussed.

Not so favourable
Tuesday 14^th February, Water Rabbit, Tail, Remove (4) **** dangerous.
A poorly-aspected Remove Day like today counsels gratitude. A day to take stock of what’s valuable to you. And whom. Perhaps let them know. Dinner maybe? No day to end anything. 2023 is all about timing. Also of course offers insight into the rest of this Water Rabbit Year,
Activity: face (but don’t locate) NW for peripheral vision.

Where to locate during the Tiger Month
Tai chi, Home, the centre: Year Star: 4 Month Star: 8.
The 8 Star of endings and beginnings, is generally reckoned the most helpful. The Tao however as far as we can tell, doesn’t differentiate between deserved assistance and any other. We live in a causal universe, not necessarily a just one. So the 8 of the North East (the home of the Tiger) may help the unworthy as much as the worthy. Add to that the fact that the Tiger stands for the chaos much of the world finds itself in today and we have an interesting situation: a great deal of flexed power, some on the side of the angels, some not. As ever this may be apparent locally, domestically, politically, internationally and other. Fun stuff. Two of the themes of this Rabbit Year are visible already: timing things right and paying appropriate attention to children.

Where to avoid during the Tiger Month
North East, Beginnings and Endings: 7 Month Star: 2.
2 & 7 together make Fire. On the world stage that may mean literally armed conflict. In your front room it suggests unresolved family arguments particularly about space and timing. So remove Wood – plants, flowers – from here for now. Conversely if there is existing dispute to be resolved, negotiation here with a cup of tea and some patience might work wonders. Shouldn’t work or socialise here though. .
Support: another jar of Water, it’s that kind of month. Red 7.

The Ba Zi – what is it?

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. You can also see him at work on tv’s Housebusters   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.

Every month we send subscribing 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 & much more from the Chinese calendar.
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Richard Ashworth©
www.imperialfengshui.info