Chirimoya said:
I think I heard it was the year of the monkey. Does that bode well for the May election?
2003 was the year of the Water Goat. Now in the cycle of twelve animals comes the trickster Monkey. The Monkey is a lively and active animal who enjoys dynamic discussion and competition. He is intelligent, cultivated and eager for knowledge. He's an adaptive, bold, social and alert creature with powerful survival skills. He likes variety and stimulation. He can lose time busying himself in the affairs of others and likes to strike attitudes and play with words. The Chinese character for Monkey is the word 'shen' which is about the quality of constant movement affecting everything around. Monkeys have remarkable energy for all sorts of possibilities with which they can endow any situation.
What can we expect in a Monkey year? Monkey has such a reputation for action, energy, tricks and variety that we can expect to see a lots of shifts in the world this year. Monkey years show much activity behind the scenes where things develop in secret then burst suddenly onto the scene. This can be in the field of politics, social movements, technology and the rulership of countries. Many countries will experience unrest and even dissolution of established rulers this year.
The symbolic picture of the year is yang Wood, the upper element, sitting on top of yang Metal (the Monkey). In the Five Element system, Metal attacks the Wood element and cuts it down, so with Wood sitting on its destroyer Metal, its indicator of disharmony and this may give rise to more international conflict. The yang Wood of the year is like a tall tree with much pride sticking to uncompromising principles. Metal sitting under Wood is like a sword cutting the roots of a tree killing it underneath. This image shows us serious political struggles causing upheaval and the overthrow of governments. Its a year made difficult by lack of compromise and it won't be easy to bring about peaceful settlements of problems.
PREVIOUS MONKEY YEARS
When was the last Wood Monkey year? In 1944 in the middle of World War Two. The D-Day invasion at Normandy began on 6th June with the allied forces set to attack German forces across Europe. In the Mediterranean allied forces landed in Casino and began a push across Italy. The American forces in the Pacific began the invasion of Guam in their first big push against Japanese forces beginning a sweep across Asia and as a result Burma, the Philippines and Vietnam were mostly freed of Japanese forces. It was a dramatic year in the war.
Today the same potential exists. We may see larger terrorist attacks and subsequent campaigns and more dramatic reversals of fortune for many countries and their leaders. In the year of the Monkey events can escalate very quickly as its the nature of the Monkey to push things to extremes. Restlessness, too much scheming or manipulation could be a product of the year and it could be a time of erratic reversals of fortune in all fields. Look especially at the stock market as money is ruled by the Metal element. Look also at big business and the fortunes of international companies across the planet. If you wish to invest this year be cautious.
Medical and scientific breakthroughs are very possible for 2004 as is the change of attitude from people towards leaders and authorities. There could be a big shifting of attitude towards government with people being more concerned in their own personal spiritual development and disillusioned with the promises of politics. A spiritual awakening may be very much part of the year with renewed concern for the environment being a driving force in 2004.
Wood element is the wind in the natural environment so excesses of wind - hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, floods and wildfires could be a feature of the weather. Indeed with Wood and Metal out of balance, the structures of cities (ruled by Metal) could be undermined or damaged by large scale wind-driven weather. Water is the linking element between Metal and Wood in the natural elemental cycle, so much water is needed to bring about a balance. This could mean floods and inundations or it could mean the soothing waters of compromise and co-operation.