Welcome to the Year of the Wood Dragon! As a break from investment research, we are excited to bring you our tongue-in-cheek Feng Shui guide.
Featuring a volcano behind fertile plains, our fantastical cover represents the shift into a new celestial cycle, with fire replacing earth as the guiding element for the next 20 years. The busy nature of the zodiac animals reflects the frequently dramatic characteristics of a dragon year, beautifully captured in the Chinese idiom 来龙去脉, which means “rising dragon and falling water in the ravine”. This phrase refers to the path between the highest and lowest points in a landscape, representing the cause and effect of all matters. The stars thus foretell a year brimming with activity.
We reveal your zodiac's health, wealth, love and career stars, suggest good places to settle and how to mitigate negative energy, highlight sectors by element, speculate on celebrity fortunes and, most importantly, predict the Hang Seng Index's monthly flight path.
Dragons have captivated human imaginations throughout history. While Western cultures often portray them as villains, they are revered as symbols of divine power, good luck and prosperity in Asia. Check out our selection of dragons from around the globe and uncover the allure of these legendary creatures.
While many believe we created dragons to explain the unknown or represent human fears and desires, some scholars point to a more common origin - the rainbow. In Australian Aboriginal mythology, the Rainbow Serpent is the creator god and ancestor of dragons. Dragons are also frequently associated with rainbows in Chinese culture. Here’s a family snapshot illustrating the remarkable diversity among dragon cousins:
● Chinese Dragons (China)
● Ouroboros (Egypt and then Europe)
● Jörmungandr (Iceland)
● Tiamat (Mesopotamia - Akkadian)
● Horned Water Serpent
(North America - Native American)
● The Snake-Parrot Mbói Tu'i
(South America - Tupi-Guarani)
● Arwe (Ethiopia)
● Djodi'kwado (North America - Iroquois)
● Magalim (Papua New Guinea)
● Uthingo Iwenkosazana (South Africa - Zulu)
Imagine opening your front door to find a dragon nonchalantly lounging in your living room. You'd be stunned, right? Well, that’s just the beginning of the story. This majestic creature is known for its capricious nature and is about to set the stage for an uncertain but astonishing journey for the Hang Seng Index (HSI), our favourite Earth Rooster.
In 2012, the Water Dragon languished around his rocky pool before returning to the air. Though it was not always a smooth journey, the Metal Dragon in 2000 spent the year in the skies. While the 1989 Earth Dragon achieved flight, it remained relatively close to the ground until the last half of the year.
In Feng Shui, the four pillars of destiny (the year, month, day and hour) comprise eight characters, hence the name bazi. Each of the pillars is described by the two cycles that have characterised Chinese ways of telling time for the past three millennia. They are the 10 heavenly stems and the 12 earthly branches. When you place those two cycles side by side, they repeat at intervals of 60, which then return you to the beginning of the sequence.
For Feng Shui purposes, the new year begins on 4 February. This is different from Chinese New Year, which strictly follows the phases of the moon. Each stem and branch is associated with one of the five elements (water, fire, metal, wood and earth) and also with either yin or yang, giving us the chart for the year. We compare this annual destiny chart against our Hang Seng Rooster's natal chart for 24 November 1969.
In Chinese philosophy, the five elements provide a basic framework to understand relationships between everything. Each year, wood, fire, earth, metal and water dance around each other, some ruling throughout, others bursting out for a month or so. We apply Feng Shui theory to the markets by assigning certain industries to each element to determine their general trajectory.
What sign are you?
How you will fare in the Year of the Wood Dragon?
According to Feng Shui, four afflictions bring their menacing influences to different compass directions each year. We introduce the usual cast of characters - Tai Sui, Tsui Po, San Sha and Wu Wang - and offer advice on how you can counter these negative energies. After all, forewarned is forearmed.
A cosmic ballet is performed every 20 years as the flying stars realign themselves, causing seismic shifts in the earthly realm. Our outlook is tied to this dance, in which nine heavenly bodies arrange themselves in a three-by-three grid, representing defined cycles. Yearly, monthly, daily and even two-hourly patterns exist concurrently and move independently, but the annual and 20-year alignments mark the pivotal moments. The new 20-year period shifts the underlying pattern, changing the attributes associated with the stars. Once ruinous, the Two Black will now promote energy while the Nine Purple is upgraded to the highest level of prosperity. Meanwhile, the former apex star Eight White retreats to neutrality.
Sorcerer: Dr James Greenbaum
Sorcerer's apprentice: Stella Liu
Wand bearer: Justin SL Chan
Director/Editor: Sandy Chen Dowling; Yukti Vidyarthi
Translation editor: Sandra Tsui
Design/Art: Cecilia Wong; Elva Lau; Lizzie Lau; Patrina Leung; Jon Berkeley
Web development: Paul Ngan; Timothy Wang
Video production: Alexandra Lee; Joy Zhou
Thanks to: Christina Qianna; Ellen Lo; Melanie Ng; Priscilla Man
Producer: Liz Patterson
