World predictions for 2020 year of the Metal Rat. Part 1: exploration 2

Gong Xi Fa Cai! I wish you all a prosperous and meaningful year of the Metal Rat 2020, again. For the lunar calendar, the year has started on the 25th of January 2020. For the solar calendar however, the start is on the 4th of February. The solar calendar is used for many calculations in Chinese metaphysics and this is therefore the date we should be looking at for the beginning of the year. Still, this period from January 25th to February the 4th is a transition between the energy of the year of the Yin Earth Pig and the year of the Metal Rat. It already gave us the tone for the incoming energies. And so it is now the time for my annual Chinese astrology world predictions.

The Chinese astrology of the Yang Metal Rat

Produced with the Joey Yap Bazi calculator.

First, we have to look at the Elements involved into this year Chi (energy) to be able to make predictions. Here I will look at the Stem and Branch combination. The Stem is the Chi from “Heaven”, sent by the upper realm; and the Branch is the Chi from “Earth”. The dialog and interaction between the Stem and Branch is the basis of my predictions.

This year the Stem is the Yang Metal and the Branch is the Rat sign. The Yang Metal is the form of Metal that we find in the Earth; it needs to be refined and transformed to be useful. It is important to note that we are dealing here with a Yang year. Yang is an active energy, when the world is shaped through actions and big events, rather than by a passive attitude. It is therefore a year of changes and some could be drastic.

bir Branch itself is this year the sign of the Rat. The Rat is a Yang Water sign that also contains Yin Water in its Roots: the Roots being the hidden Chi contained in the sign/Branch. The Rat is symbolically a very active animal. One that is known for being intelligent, curious and restless. One that get what it wants through tenacity and inventiveness. An animal that can also bite, explore the lower realm of our world, and carry illnesses. All those characteristics are going to show up in this year. And he combination of  Yang Metal and the Rat makes for a very active year that is going to shake us all a bit…

The 5 Elements at work in the year of the Rat

The Elements at work this year are therefore: Yang Metal, Yang Water and Yin Water. In the cycle of the 5 Elements used in Chinese metaphysics and medicine, Metal gives birth to the Water Element. The good news it that we therefore have here a productive cycle at work here, with Metal feeding Water; and no conflicts of Elements like in 2019, with the Wood taking from the Earth. That seems to indicate a productive year for the world, and one could be mistaken for stopping here and announced a prosperous year of the Rat. BUT…

The problem here is that the Metal is on top and Water below. This is not ideal: the heavy Metal is therefore going to “sink” at the bottom of the lake or sea and will start rusting. It is a symbol of a structure collapsing, and continue the quicksand metaphor that was the year 2019 of the Yin Earth Pig. And so despite the productive cycle of Elements, we actually have an unstable year where Metal is depleted and is partly collapsing.

The 5 Elements used in Feng Shui. Copyright Laurent Langlais

We also have to look at the lack of other Elements. In the Chi of the year itself, there is only Metal and Water.  There is therefore no Fire, Wood of Earth. The Water Element gets overly strong this year, as Metal is feeding it: and Earth is nowhere seen to contain it. What is the fate of this other Elements when they meet the Yang Metal Rat? Fire is in a difficult situation: trying to control the Metal of the year, but extinguished by the overly strong Water. Wood can use some of the Water but opposed by the Yang Metal. Earth is depleted a bit by the Metal and has a hard time to contain the strong Water. Therefore we have in 2020 year of the Metal Rat:

1. An overly strong Water Element
2. An unstable Metal Element
3. A challenged Wood Element
4. An exhausted Fire Element
5. A weakened Earth Element

With Wood, Fire an Earth completely missing from the year’s Chi itself. I am able to establish worldwide predictions based on those relations between the Elements. Indeed, each Element or mix of, rules different industries, human activities, societal movements etc.

A quick note: I do not use the “birth date of a year”, as a year has no gender, no Luck Pillars, no “parents”, last only a year etc. Using the Bazi/4 Pillars DOB for a year is in my opinion a misunderstanding of the Bazi system. The year energy is its only Pillar, not the moment it comes into action…

So let see what this year is likely to bring to the world!

The challenging aspects of the year of the Rat

Let’s start with the bitter pill to swallow. I am not going to sugar-coat it, dear reader. The Metal collapsing and sinking at the bottom of the sea is not a reassuring image. When we combine Metal under attack and the Fire being exhausted this year, it seems difficult to avoid another financial crisis. It could be in the form of a worldwide recession, rather than a total crash. But I expect that first the US will revise their interest rates, and that will have a negative impact on stock market. Second, other major economies will be stumped in their growth – China of course. Third, some bad political moves – Brexit in particular – will burst some economic bubbles. We have a perfect storm preparing astrologically and one of my major predictions is a new financial crisis. The real estate market in particular will take a hit in several countries, but the crisis is more of a banking one again. In general we are now starting a cycle where structure collapses, and capitalism is taking more and more of a hit.  The Feng Shui time period 9 that will start in 2024 will change the deck again, more on this later…

The crisis is on us during the year of the Rat. Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chanceprojects/

In other difficult news, we will see more rise of populist leaders coming into power. Human rights will go backward for a while. Expect to see a hardening of policies all around the world with more authoritarian regimen. Immigration will be a huge topic and scapegoat this year. Some conflicts will unfortunately arise: there is something akin to a new cold war in the nature of this year, and diplomacy will often fail. It is a year of tension overall for the world, when ego-inflated and disconnected world leaders threaten each other, letting citizens behind wondering if they have a good grasp at our human priorities (the answer is: no, not a clue). The year of the Rat will bring us a world more polarised and divided than any recent years. It is a year when the main mean of governing is fear-mongering, and it works. Far-right movements will gain power again during the year of the Rat. Territorial waters and fishery quotas will be a cause of fight, notably post Brexit.

I haven’t yet looked into the candidates to the US election, but it is not a year of hope in politics, and so Trump re-elected is not impossible. The silver lining is that some women will be elected in a few countries (helped by their connection to the strong Water Element) and they will bring a softer take on politics wherever they are.

In society, prepare for a year of ugly revelations. The underbelly and “monsters” of our collective psyche are this year exposed. Expect some sex scandals all over: pedophilia, sex exploitations and so on. Hollywood and some major religions will be shaken by those revelations. It is a year in particular when the Catholic Church will be exposed by other major scandals. Human trafficking will also make the news, unfortunately. Expect more scandal about the police or military forces in some countries, and some tentatives of coup d’Etat. There will be at least one major bug and big affair on the protection of data (probably government and health related). The politics will also be tainted by some scandalous revelations.

In general we are forced this year to look at what what wrong we do to the world and each other, to be able to correct it and imagine a different society. But looking at it is not pleasant, at all…It is a year when we discover, metaphorically, that the sea (our subconscious) is full of monsters.

This year we confront our monsters. Credit: https://wallpapersafari.com/w/XmHNT7

Mother nature, natural disasters and epidemics

With the excess Water, mother nature is going to be a bit angry with us this year. A lot of Water without Earth to stop it paradoxically means a greater change of major earthquakes, as the tectonic plaques “slide” more during that year. I therefore expect that a couple of major earthquakes will be destabilising some countries this year.  The previous Metal Rat year of 1960 brought us the biggest earthquake ever recorded in human history at Valdivia, Chile! And this Rat year will bring other major ones, that’s my prediction. That earthquake also brought a large tsunami and this is something likely to happen here again, with such strong unbound water…Outside of earthquakes, we will still see some roads, bridges and building collapsing around the world this year. The year is better for transports (more on this below), but at least one ferry or large boat will crash.

The year of the Rat will bring us a major earthquake. Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newbeatphoto/

Another challenge for us during the Metal Rat year are epidemics. Recently the news of the coronavirus from China is now scaring the whole world, and has tainted the Chinese New Year celebrations, giving the lunar start of the year a very sour taste.  This epidemics is very logical in the context of the Rat year (even if, pay attention, it technically started during the last days of the Pig year). Why? First because the negative side of the Rat is to be an animal that live in sewers and carry illnesses: this sign therefore has the potential to bring epidemics, when badly aspected. A side note: bare in mind that all signs can be well or badly aspected, and that pet rats are some of the loveliest, most affectionate and intelligent pet, so let’s not be prejudiced against rats…But here you go, a Rat year can bring epidemics.

Furthermore this year it is a Metal Rat year. The Metal is weakened by the Water of the Rat. Metal rules the lungs, and so we have an epidemic potential that attack the lungs. The Yang Metal of the year also rules the large intestine, and it is now thought that this virus has been transmitted by consuming the flesh of wild animals sold on a Chinese market. Therefore we have a start in the digestive system that then affect the lungs, and the movement and Water of the Rat then carries it worldwide! It’s hard to stop such virus at first from spreading during a year when the Earth cannot stops the Water. And why did it start in the last day of the Pig year? Well, January is the Yin Fire Ox of the Yin Earth Pig year. The Yin Earth Pig bring a mix of  Yin Earth and Yang Water that is not auspicious, as it creates mud = potential for microbes to multiply. Then the Yin Fire Ox represents an attack on the lung and digestive system too, with the Yin Fire opposing the Metal contained in the Ox. So here you have it, the ferment and ground for the epidemics is unleashed during the last month of the Pig year, but will spread for a while during the Rat year…

Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/prachatai/

Moreover, this year is ruled by a lot of fear: the Metal-Water combo, without Fire to warm it up, means that medias go into frenzy and that the information passed over is based on fear-mongering. See how already the world is spinning into panic mode toward this coronavirus, and how racism is exploding with this epidemics and Brexit. Those are the negative aspects of the year unfolding, already!

Well, it’s not all peaches and roses, is it? But don’t forget that by creating the right environment through good Feng Shui at home and knowing your personal timing with your Bazi analysis, you can avoid a lot of problems, no matter what the year is.

And now, for more optimistic news with my World predictions for 2020 year of the Metal Rat. Part 2: integration