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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, February 6, 2024

On February 10, we say goodbye to the introspective, more pensive rabbit and greet the most prized of all the Chinese zodiac signs, the dragon. But not just any ordinary dragon; 2024 ushers in the year of the wood dragon. Buckle up because it is going to be a wild ride!

In addition to being associated with a zodiac animal, each year is also associated with one of the five elements (earth, wood, water, fire, metal). This year’s element is wood. While the dragon is an auspicious sign, it is also a volatile one, offering fast-paced opportunities that could yield tremendous successes or abysmal failures. The wood element – which fuels flames – enhances the intensity of the dragon. Expect the possibility of great transformations that positively impact the course of world events. In the last wood dragon year, 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Beatles arrived in America, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. But there were also great upheavals. The U.S. radically ramped up its involvement in Vietnam and students began protesting en masse; Nelson Mandela, after giving his “I am prepared to die” speech, was sentenced to life by a South African court; the second most powerful earthquake – registering a 9.2 on the Richter scale – occurred in Alaska; and three civil rights workers, a part of the 1964 Freedom Summer, were brutally murdered in Mississippi.

But we should keep hope that the wood dragon will usher in peace and positivity in the world as the dragon is not just the most revered animal of the Chinese zodiac, it is also the kindest. When the Jade Emperor, ruler of heaven and earth, created the Chinese zodiac, he decided to create a 12-year cycle calendar, with an animal representing each year. Instead of just choosing his favorites, he challenged the animals of the world to a race. The first 12 to arrive at his palace on the other side of the river would become part of the zodiac. The dragon came in fifth. Shocked, the Jade Emperor asked the dragon how that could have happened given that he can fly. The dragon told him that he had gotten waylaid. First, he had to stop to help provide rain to a village of farmers whose crops were dying from draught. Then, as he was about to fly across the river, he saw the rabbit clinging on to a log in a sad attempt to cross the river. “I had to help the rabbit” the dragon told the Jade Emperor. “So I blew gently on the log to make sure the rabbit would safely arrive on the other side of the river.”  

For the dragon, power should be used to help others, not dominate over them. And that fits with some of the most famous dragons: Bruce Lee; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Joan of Arc; John Lennon; Adele; and Pelé. With the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the U.S. presidential election, hopefully this characteristic of using power to help others will dominate in the year to come. Heavens knows we need it.

What does the wood dragon have in store for you? That all depends on your own Chinese zodiac sign. Fortunately, the aptly named website, The Chinese Zodiac.com has listed its Lunar New Year predictions for the 12 zodiac signs. You can read what is in store for you here (remember those born in late January to early February should look up the precise date of the lunar new year for your birth year to make sure you have the right zodiac sign).

Ultimately the lunar new year is less about predictions than it is about spending time with family and friends. So to our East Asian friends who celebrate the lunar new year, 恭喜发财! (Gong Xi Fa Cai – pronounced gong see fa tsai and meaning “wishing happiness and wealth”).

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, January 17, 2023

Hippity hop!  Sunday welcomes year of the rabbit, putting to rest the ferociousness of last year’s tiger.  The invasion of Ukraine, various mass shootings in the United States, and the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the world is ready to silence the tiger’s roar.

With the rabbit’s gentle nature, this year should prove to be much less dramatic. But 2023 is more than just year of the rabbit, it is year of the water rabbit!  Every year has it’s own element and 2023’s element is water.  At the same time each of the 12 zodiac animals has its own inner element and for the rabbit that is wood.  Why is this so good?  Waer helps wood grow which means that the characteristics of the rabbit will be reinforce by the water. 

The rabbit brings peace to the world and the year is usually one of hope.  In addition to the rabbit’s peaceful nature, the water element brings intuition and inner thoughtfulness, allowing people to be more sensitive to those around them.  As a result, the water rabbit should see a world focused on building bridges instead of walls.  Feng Shui master Raymond Lo thinks that the water rabbit could end the conflict in Ukraine but, being the half-glass-empty guy that he is, noted that that doesn’t necessarily mean that the conflict is over, only that it goes underground.  Feng Shui master Marites Allen also sees the year as a good one for world events, with conflicts subsiding and alliance being built.  She also notes that it is a good year for love and romance.

What does year of the rabbit mean for you?  That depends on your zodiac signs.  Check out this write-up on year of the rabbit’s impact on each zodiac sign. 

In the end, Lunar New Year is less about predictions and more about spending time with family and friends and cherishing them throughout the year which I hope many of you do.  For our friends in China, where COVID is running rampant, we will keep you in our thoughts and hope that your families stay healthy and safe.

恭喜发财！(Gong Xi Fa Cai – pronounced gong see fa tsai)

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, January 30, 2022

Enough with the head-down, slow-and-steady hard work of the year of the Ox. On Tuesday, the world will shake off its yoke and welcome the king of all beasts: the tiger!  Powerful, daring, bold, expect 2022 to be exciting and positive.  Even Raymond Lo, normally the Debbie Downers of feng shui masters, is excited!  As Lo points out, this isn’t just any ordinary tiger year. With 2022 being a water year, this is year of the water tiger!  And why does this make Raymond Lo burst with positivity?  Because the tiger’s inner element (every zodiac animal has its own internal element) is wood, and water is supportive of wood.  With such supportiveness, Lo sees a strong economic recovery, conflicts being resolved and more harmony in the world. 

But he does note that there is a chance that, like a tsunami, water could flood the wood and we will see elements of destruction.  Marites Allen, known as the “Philippine Feng Shui Queen,” echoed this sentiment, stating that the tiger, with its competitive personality, will cause people to have a short fuse.  On a more macro scale, we could see greater human rights violations and greater income inequalities Allen said.

For those who have missed traveling the last two years, both Lo and Allen agree that tiger years always mean more traveling.  But, in returning to his glass-half-empty self, Lo did say that because of this increased travel, there will be increased traffic accidents.  Be warned.

But overall, the sentiment for year of the water tiger is positive, with the Way Fengshui Group in Singapore telling Her World magazine that tiger years can “turn crazy dreams into glorious reality.” So dream crazy and dream big.

Of course, how you fare during year of the water tiger depends on how your birth sign interacts with the tiger.  Her World magazine has a list of predictions for each of the 12 zodiac signs in this upcoming year (click here to look up your sign)

Ultimately though, Lunar New Year is less about predictions than it is about celebrating with cherished family and friends over good food and fun.  For our friends in China, where COVID is popping up, our thoughts are with you and we hope that you can take solace knowing that there will be more positive times to come, at least according to Raymond Lo.  加油.  And of course,恭喜发财 ! (gong-see-fah-tsai – “may you be happy & prosperous!”)

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, February 9, 2021

The world needs an ox. Boy does it need an ox. Grounded, loyal, gentle and trustworthy, the ox fixes and stabilizes, heals and unifies. And on Friday, the ox will finally arrive as our friends in East Asia celebrate the lunar new year and mark the start to new beginnings.

The ox is known to work hard and plan and because of that some see this ox year as one that will take the negative challenges of last year – a rat year that brought a world-wide pandemic – and transform them into positive outcomes.  But the ox year can’t do it alone.  We have to put on our ox hats and work at it too.  There does seem to be light at the end of this COVID tunnel, but like an ox, we must stay focused and persistent, ensuring that we reach our goal of ending this pandemic. 

Although many are positive about the upcoming year of the ox, seeing its reliable nature as something that will get us through the next few months, there are some doubts.  In particular, feng shui master Raymond Lo warns that it could be a “bleak” year. That is because this year’s ox isn’t just any old ox but a metal ox.  In Chinese astrology, a new year doesn’t just usher in a new animal, it also brings forth a new element.  In addition to being associated with an animal, each year is also associated with one of the five astrologic elements (metal, wood, water, fire and earth).  For 2021, that element is metal.  But at the same time, each zodiac animal is independently associated with one of the five elements.  And a ox’s intrinsic element is earth.  According to Lo, mixing an earth ox with a metal year “is a symbol of a harsh and cold atmosphere that incites disharmony, conflict, assassination, and terrorism.”  But Lo has never been a “glass half full” kind of feng shui master and if you ask me, Lo seems to be a little too focused on 1901, another metal ox year that saw the assassination of U.S. President William McKinley, the attempted assassination of German Emperor Wilhelm II, and an attempted coup in Portugal.  Let’s hope these are all things of the past.

What does year of the metal ox mean for you?  That depends on how your zodiac sign interacts with the ox.  To find out your wealth, career, love and health prospects for 2021, click here (Don’t know your Chinese zodiac sign? Find out here).

But most importantly, the lunar new year is a time to cherish your loved ones.  That’s hard to do in person right now, but maybe this weekend you, your friends and family can each order in some dumplings (traditional new year food in northern China), hop on the Zoom, and reminisce about the good times you have had together and plan for more in the future!  With that, I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year and 恭喜发财! (gong-see-fah-tsai – “may you be happy & prosperous!”)

Since many will be missing outdoor lion dances this year, here is a great performance from Hong Kong, 2019.

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, January 23, 2020

Are you ready for Year of the Rat?

For the Western world, a rat is not a good thing.  “Rat race,” “I smell a rat,” “pack rat,” “who gives a rat’s ***,” usually do not connote positive vibes. But in Asia, the rat is more respected.  For the rat isn’t just any animal on the lunar year zodiac, it’s the first of the 12-year cycle.  So on Saturday, when the world welcomes the Year of the Metal Rat, it will also be celebrating the start of a new lunar cycle!

It was the rat’s ingenuity and quick-thinking that caused it to be first among all twelve of the animals in the zodiac.  According to legend, the Jade Emperor called all the animals of the world together and announced that he was going to choose 12 to be part of the zodiac.  How would those 12 be chosen?  Through a race, and the order of the animals in the zodiac would be determined by the order in which they finished the race.  The rat, realizing it was one of the smallest animals, knew it didn’t stand a chance to be first let alone one of the 12.  So he asked his friend the ox if he could bum a ride on his back to get to the finish line.  The ox, being an honest, dependable soul and a good friend, agreed.  But just as the ox was about to cross the finish line first, the rat hopped off of his back and beat him to it, making the rat the first among the 12 animals.

With the rat year the first in the zodiac cycle, some feng shui experts say that 2020 will be a year of new beginnings, a perfect time to finish long-term projects and to make some money.  But some note a more ominous future.  Previous rat years have brought on wars and other calamities: 1840, a rat year, saw the start of the Opium Wars in China; and 1960, the start of the Vietnam War.  For those who remember the last rat year – 2008 – will also remember the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

What does the rat year mean for you?  All of that depends on how your sign interacts with the rat sign (to figure out your sign, click here).  For more details on what is in store for you, check out feng shui expert Theirry Chow’s predictions here.

But regardless of what 2020 may hold for you, the Lunar New Year – which lasts 15 days until the Lantern Festival on February 8 – is an important time to celebrate with cherished family and friends.  And to all our readers who celebrate the Lunar New Year, we wish you a healthy and prosperous Year of the Metal Rat!

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, February 15, 2018

On Friday, about a quarter of the world’s population will sit down with their families, eat a good meal and celebrate the most festive of holidays in Asia: the Lunar New Year.  While most associate the holiday with China, various other countries and cultures also celebrate it – South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Asian communities throughout America.

But Friday does not just usher in a new year, it also brings in a new animal in the 12 animal zodiac.  And with the new animal, a new year of speculations and predictions.  This year is the Earth Dog which, with the earth element, is particularly auspicious since the dog’s internal element is also earth.  With earth reinforcing earth, it will reinforce the good.  But it will, unfortunately, also reinforce the bad.

If you are having a baby during this Earth Dog year, well then, lucky you!   A dog is loyal, compassionate, and values morality and justice; an easier kid to raise than a dragon or a tiger.  But a dog can also be “highly dependent, suffer from imaginary fears, and sometimes self-reclusive and silent.”

Thus, it should come as no surprise that the current U.S. president is a dog.  And that is the greatest fear for most Chinese feng shui masters for 2018.  In general, it is not good luck when the year matches your sign.  For dogs, to ward off the bad luck during this dog year, you should look to wear something red for most of the year – a red bracelet, red underwear, red socks – as red is seen to drive away bad luck.  But for Donald Trump, that likely will not be enough.  That is because Trump is a Fire Dog, and fire and earth clash.  According to Feng Shui Master Thierry Chow, “The elements are too much fire [in Trump] and too much earth [in 2018], so that’s going to be causing him imbalance in his fortune.” According to Chow, expect Trump’s fiery rhetoric to bring about “real problems” and tangible consequences.  Chow didn’t say if that also includes his tweets.

Trump aside, the question still remains – what about your horoscope for the year?  That is dependent on how your birth sign deals with the Earth Dog. Check out your personal horoscope here (note you may have to do a Bazi test to determine the strength of your birth year element.  You can do that here).

But no matter what the future may hold, may you spend Friday ringing in the new year with family, good friends and delicious food!  To our Chinese friends who celebrate the new year,新年快乐 (sin knee-an k-why le)!

Happy New Year!

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, February 4, 2016

Happy Year of the Monkey!

If last year’s Year of the Sheep was a little too sleepy for you, have no worries because Monday, February 8 ushers in the more exciting, flamboyant, roller-coaster ride known as Year of the Monkey.

For those born under the monkey sign, you are considered clever, energetic, playful, rarely embarrassed and the life of the party. With the desire to lead, sometimes the monkey can be self-centered and bossy, and at times arrogant. Monkeys always believe that they are right. Which can be dangerous as such a winning personality can often convince others to follow along even if it isn’t the best idea. But with a monkey, you will always have a lot of fun. Some famous monkeys: Julius Cesar, Danny De Vito, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Hanks, Delta Burke, Will Smith, Eleanor Roosevelt and Leonardo Da Vinci. Maybe not all party animals but certainly influential.

2016 – the Fire Monkey!

But what does the Year of the Monkey mean for the world at large? To understand that, we need to understand a little bit more about Chinese astrology, or what Feng Shui master Raymond Lo has called a “fascinatingly accurate system.” The year’s animal sign only tells us so much. What also matters is the internal “element sign” of the animal and how it matches up with the element for that year. Each one of the 12 zodiac animals has an internal element from the five Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal and water). For monkeys, the internal element is always metal. But each year also consists of an element. 2016 is fire. Hence, 2016 is known as the Fire Monkey.

And here in lies the rub. According to Raymond Lo, fire, the element for 2016, and metal, the internal element of the monkey, are in conflict, so 2016 will be no barrel of monkeys. Instead, expect international conflicts and clashes, but not to the level of 2014 and 2015. Because fire sitting on metal is also considered a “setting sun,” bringing optimism and warmth, expect conflicts to peter out quickly and end with successful treaties and agreements.

Happy New Year!

How will you do this year?  Check out your personal horoscope here (note you may have to do a Bazi test to determine the strength of your birth year element.  You can do that here – note that birth date is entered day-month-year). But at the very least, to ensure that the good luck of the New Year stays with you all year, here are some things to avoid on February 8 and the 15 days after, when the “Spring Festival” is ultimately concluded with the Lantern Festival: avoid sweeping (to avoid sweeping away your good luck), no collection of debts, avoid borrowing money (if you start the year borrowing money, you will be doing that all year long), do not use scissors or knives on the first day, don’t do laundry and never chop wood.

So to all our East Asian friends, we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! For our Chinese friends: Xin Nian Kuai Le! (pronounced Sin Nee-an Kuai Le!). To kids in New York City’s public schools, enjoy your first (hopefully of many) Lunar New Years off!

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, February 17, 2015

Happy Lunar New Year!

On Thursday, the world says goodbye to year of the horse and welcomes year of the…..what? Is it a sheep? A ram? A goat? For this Lunar New Year, it’s okay to be confused. And walking down the streets of Chinatown does not make things any clearer. Fuzzy stuffed sheep abound, as do cute little billy goat statutes and the occasional muscular ram. What in heaven’s name is going on with this Lunar New Year?

The confusion stems from the Chinese word used to describe the upcoming year – 羊 (yáng). Each of the animals – the sheep, the goat, the ram – use this character in its name. In Chinese, sheep is 绵羊 (mián yáng), literally meaning “soft, horned, hoofed animal;” goat is 山羊 (shān yáng), a “mountain, horned, hoofed animal;” and ram is 公羊 (gōng yáng), meaning a “male, horned, hoofed animal.” For sure if you go into a Chinese restaurant and order a dish of yang, it will be lamb meat. But the same doesn’t hold true for the Lunar New Year. Does yang mean sheep, goat or ram?

In Vietnam, a country that also celebrates the Lunar New Year (known there as Tet), they dispensed with this

Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram? You decide!

problem a long time ago, declaring the zodiac sign a goat. But in China, the debate still rages. While many feng shui experts declare that goat is the more fitting translation (because of the “horns” that appear a top the character yáng), the attributes given to a person born under the Yang sign resemble a sheep: kind, polite, creative, filial, timid in nature, and sensitive.

It is these sheep-like characteristics that have caused couples in China to delay having a baby for a year. For those couples who get one bite at the apple, they do not want their only child to be a “follower.” As a result, the Chinese state-run media has launched a campaign encouraging couples to have sheep babies. CCTV ran a segment entitled “Hardly a Terrible Sign if People like Bruce Willis and Whoopi are Sheep.” Others listed, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner (both sheep!). Unclear if this will do the trick.

What’s so bad about being a sheep? These guys are fun!

But at any rate, year of the sheep, with its more docile personality, should be a bit calmer than last year’s horse. As every year is on its own five element cycle (wood, fire, earth. metal, water), this year is year of the Wood Sheep, However, each zodiac animal is associated with its own element – here, sheep’s intrinsic element is earth. Unfortunately, according to feng shui master Raymond Lo, wood – 2015’s element – conquers earth – the sheep’s internal element. Thus, the two are in a destructive relationship causing disharmony, but given the nature of the sheep, while 2015 will be filled with conflicts, these conflicts will be easily resolved through compromises.

But what Year of the Sheep has in store for you depends on YOUR sign. How will you do this year?  Check out your personal horoscope here (note you may have to do a Bazi test to determine the strength of your birth year element.  You can do that here – note that birth date is entered day-month-year).

To all of our friends who celebrate the Lunar New Year, may you have a healthy, happy and prosperous Year of the Sheep!

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, January 29, 2014

Welcome to the Year of the Wood Horse!

Volcanoes, earthquakes, record high temperature.  Are you ready for Year of the Horse?  The horse might look like a gentle beast, but in the Chinese zodiac, it is full of fire and it is that fire that will make the new year a tumultuous, fun-filled ride.

After two years of reptiles – dragon followed by snake – the Chinese zodiac is back to the more fuzzy animals and the horse is one of China’s favorite.  People born in year of the horse are often prized – charming and intelligent, they are often the life of the party.  Oprah Winfrey, Joe Biden – both horses.  But they can also be strong-willed, refusing to be corralled or dominated.  Mike Tyson is a horse.

What makes 2014 a little bit bumpy is the fact that horse’s internal element – fire – is at odds with the year element – wood.  Every zodiac animal has one of the five elements – wood, water, metal, earth or fire.  But every year has its own element and this year’s is wood.  But fire burns wood, making international tensions – think Syria, South China seas, the Olympics – downright combustible.

But a lot of how the year will pan out for the individual will depend on your own sign.  How will you do?  Check out your personal horoscope here (note you may have to do a Bazi test to determine the strength of your birth year element.  You can do that here – note that birth date is entered day-month-year).

At any rate, your year won’t be worse than Justin Bieber’s.  According to Hong Kong feng shui master Alion Yeo, Bieber will have a very negative year. ” There will be times where he will not be able to control himself” Yeo told the AFP.

Whatever the year may bring you, we wish all of our lunar new year-celebrating friends a happy and healthy new year!

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By Elizabeth M. Lynch, January 22, 2012

Happy Lunar New Year!

The metal rabbit did not disappoint in its tumultuous nature.  With the rabbit’s fixed element – wood – doing constant battle with 2011’s year-element, metal, the mid-east uprisings, the fall of governments, the Fukushima disaster, and the Occupy Wall Street movement should not have come as a surprise.

But come Monday, we say goodbye to the metal rabbit for another 60 years and welcome the water dragon.  For the first time in many years, the animal’s fixed element – here wood – is not in conflict with the year-element, water.  In fact, water nourishes wood, doubling the impact of any events set to occur in 2012 – both good and bad.

While the dragon is an auspicious sign, signifying power and fortune, it is also a volatile one.  As a result, 2012 will be a transformative year, with major and powerful shifts in the world.  At this stage it is unclear if these shifts will be good or bad, but with the water dragon, they will happen (although in the last year of the water dragon, 1952, nothing big really happened unless you consider the coronation of Queen Elizabeth a big deal).

How will you do this year?  Check out your personal horoscope here (note you may have to do a Bazi test to determine the strength of your birth year element.  You can do that here).

The only think that we perhaps know for certain is that birthrates will rise in Chinese countries.  Because of the auspicious nature of the dragon and the fact that, given its celestial nature, it has long represented the emperor, many couples seek to have a baby born in the dragon year.  In China, when you only get one bite at the apple in having a baby, why not try to make it a dragon baby!

At any rate, have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year no matter your sign!

恭喜发财！

(Gong Xi Fa Cai – pronounced gong see fa tsai)