SHANGri-la

OX-picious 2009 ...

2009-02-05T17:51:00.028+08:00

Whilst memories of Wu Zi [戊子] remain fresh and its repercussions can still be felt throughout the usual transition period (21 Dec 2008 - 3 Feb 2009), the incumbent 2009 Ji Chou [己丑] can potentially bring forth ramifications as follows, or their associations:

source of both images untraceable (information appreciated)

1) Continued depletion of wealth resources & strained businesses, leading to tight budget controls, emphases on savings as well as retrenchments incl. axing of top management;
2) Authority figures / leaders being confronted with difficult dilemmas;
3) Stiff competition among trades;
4) Stagnant stocks;
5) Delay, slowing down or cancellation of developments;
6) Sibling rivalries & betrayals, incl. that between long trusted friends or partners, esp. those once regarded as ‘brothers’ or ‘sisters’;
7) Environmental impacts of deforestation, incl. droughts, heat waves, landslides, water shortage or pollution;
8) Seismic activities, eg. earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, possibly resulting in the formation of new craters or plateaus;
9) Collapse of highrise buildings;
10) Fall of flag poles, possibly implying military invasion of nations, overthrowing of existing government, overhaul of established administration, or breaking away from traditions;
11) Demise of prominent figures, ie. politicians, spiritual leaders & movie stars;
12) Theft of precious stones, jewelry or pricey collectibles;
13) Shortage of medicine, possibly in times of an epidemic;
14) Digging into history, traditions, archaeological treasures or graves for commercial gains;
15) Issues involving health-care & insurance monies;
16) Exploitation or endangerment of cats (eg. tigers, lions) and scaled species (eg. monitor lizards, crocodiles, snakes);
17) Demand for gold, diamond or other precious ores;
18) Accidents involving helicopters or alternatively, advancement in helicopter technologies;
19) Issues relating to round fruits with stalk & leaves, eg. mandarin oranges, apples, pears, etc. etc.. Perhaps even golf balls / golfing industry at large, or TV innovations;
20) Health alerts relating to digestive systems (eg. spleen, stomach, intestines), cancers (esp. skin), liver hardening, kidney / gall stones, brain tumors, spinal cord, or insect bites (esp. by spiders, centipedes, scorpions);
21) Recurrences of Mad Cow Disease;
22) Rise of feminine power, esp. of unconventional beauties or women normally considered ugly, as well as heightened awareness of feminist issues;
23) Higher incidence of or news reporting on multiple births, eg. twins, quadruplets, etc.;
24) Canonization of Mother Teresa;
25) Rekindled interests in the evergreen Japanese manga - Doraemon, as well as Chinese Kung Fu icon - Bruce Lee;
26) Uninvited limelight on diamond mines;
27) Middle East warfares;
28) Global terrorist attacks;
29) Economy remains gloom, with more bailouts or borrowings from national reserves (possibly in March); considerable improvement expected only towards end 2009;
30) High profile legal cases.

Besides, for better or for worse, events or people pertinent to the following qualities will be more prone to gaining exposure in 2009:

a) Names with initials ‘S’ & ‘Z’;
b) Numbers ‘2’, ‘5’ & ‘8’, esp. if repeated, eg. 22, 55, 88;
c) English names or Chinese characters relating directly or indirectly to the Earth, Wood & Water elements, eg. Brown, Clayton, Oxley, Rocky, Tiger, Wood, Forrest, Bush, Dragon, Thunder, 田，黄，倪，张，纪，古，富，史，牛，洋，祥，彭，陆，城，菲，梅，谦，宗，李，林，季，沐，陈，霖，森，树，震，龙，雷，友，苟，桦，etc. etc.;
d) Repeated initials or syllables, eg. JJ, AIA, Coca-Cola, Coco, Mama, Baba, etc. etc.;
e) Chinese names with repetitive or only two characters, eg. 陶喆，张震，王菲，阿牛，成龙，晶晶，朋，etc. etc;
f) Countries with abundant lands, deserts, sandy beaches, plateaus, orchards, or rice producing nations, esp. if the padi fields are on terraced terrains.

In terms of trade performance, it is often difficult to pin-point which is more profitable, as profitability really depends much on individual’s business acumen. Nevertheless, there are certain perceivable metaphysical traits which may be taken as an alternative guide when considering decisions. For instance in 2009:

Opportunities are abound for the Wood [木] industries but actual gain is dependent on cross-trade synergy. They include education, printing, arts, publishing, textile, Chinese medicine, furniture, logging, landscaping, agriculture, vegetarian food, etc. etc.. Related colours are green & jade; related forms vertically upright & elongated.

Fire [火] industries may offer some pleasant surprises. They include information technology, internet, electronics, entertainment, lighting, recreation, airline, fashion, automobile, photography, energy (electricity, oil, gas, coal), etc. etc.. Related colours are orange, red, pink, purple or other bright colourful hues; related forms vertically triangular & pyramidal.

Metal [金] industries will maintain performance, eg. legal profession, banking, finance, pharmaceutical research & development, surgery, insurance, jewelry, hardware, gold, silver, precious stone mining, machinery, etc. etc.. Related colours are white, gold, silver, or other shiny metallic hues; related forms circular & spherical.

Water [水] industries will thrive better if founded on cross-trade collaborations. They include tourism, shipping, beverages, sea food, fish farming, aquarium, sex, etc. etc.. Related colours are blue & black; related forms wavy & fluid.

Earth [土] industries are the least prosperous and tend to experience the stiffest competition, eg. construction, property, Feng Shui, cosmetics, food (flour, meat), pottery, hospitality, etc. etc.. Related colours incl. yellow, brown, or other earthen hues; related forms squarish, cuboid & castellated.

Nevertheless, observing the followings may assist you to ride the tides of 2009:

1) Avoid commencing construction / major renovation activities or shifting into new premises in the 6th (07.07.09 - 06.08.09) Sui Po [岁破] and 12th (05.01.10 - 03.02.10) Tai Sui [太岁] solar months;
2) Refrain from carrying out new installations or demolition works at the inauspicious sectors, esp. North (0° ± 22.5°), Northeast 3 (52.5° - 67.5°), East (90° ± 22.5°), Southeast 1 (112.5° - 127.5°), West (270° ± 22.5°), while keeping the subject areas clean & tidy;
3) Avoid sitting with back towards San Sha [三煞] (52.5° - 127.5°);
4) Invest more resources in the favourable trades, exercise caution when dealing with the unfavourable trades;
5) Make use of colours or forms related to the favourable trades, esp. when launching new products or opening new businesses;
6) Be more alert about possible events or the potentialities of things, esp. if your subject business happens to be more sensitive to them;
7) Always remember team efforts is greater than individual strength;
8) Ensure top-down committment;
9) Be humble, ie. ask and you shall be given!
10) Heed the advice of your female partner (if any), or at least consider it.

In addition, you may place the following items to enhance your respective lucks:

Benefactor [贵人] -
“white jade or stone dragon seal” at Southwest 3 (232.5° - 247.5°)
“copper Monkey God statue” at North 2 (352.5° - 7.5°)

Conventional Wealth [正财] -
“pot of gold coins, eg. S$1 coins” at Northwest (315° ± 22.5°)

Windfall Gains [偏财] -
“round tank c/w a gold fish” at Southeast 3 (142.5° - 157.5°)

Romance [桃花] -
“vase of red flowers in water” at South 2 (172.5° - 187.5°)

Academy [文昌] -
“yellow jade Wen Chang pagoda” at South 2 (172.5° - 187.5°)

Now, despite all the doom-sayings, according to Chinese calendars (mapping both solar & lunar), 2009 Year Of The Plantation Ox is regarded as a Double Happiness Year since there will be two Li Chun [立春] (Arrival Of Spring) within one lunar year (ie. 26.01.09 - 13.02.10). Hence it is said, for singles, it is a good time to tie the knot. For marrieds, it is a good time to rejoice in marital bliss. And for all, may love blooms to usher in the double happiness and chase away the looming glooms!

RATata 2008 ...

2009-02-04T17:46:00.021+08:00

Come 0050hrs on 4 Feb 2009, the Mountain Rat (2008 Wu Zi [戊子]) is finally slowing to a halt. In fact, the Plantation Ox (2009 Ji Chou [己丑]) had already begun ploughing its way into our collective experiences since last December, or some argued even earlier coinciding with the downfall of Lehman Brothers.

The 2008 Wu Zi energy was essentially characterized by “mountain on water”. Water being a reflective medium will naturally invert the image of the mountain, thereby implying the progression from peak to valley as the second half of the year arrived. And what trail of upheavals Wu Zi had left behind, what metaphysical potencies it had revealed, what lessons it had enunciated! Amongst its multi-faceted effectuations, one thing emerged prominently was its association with the alphabets ‘M’ & ‘A’- the peak, and ‘W’ & ‘V’ - the valley.

Indeed, some of the most widely remembered events or people in 2008 all bore uncanny resemblances by carrying these initials, eg. the avalanche of troubles caused by the all-important Money, the Chinese tragedies arising out of Melamine in Milk, the onslaught of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, Alan Greenspan being relegated from Maestro to Bubble, BOA’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, the bombing of Marriot Hotel in Islamabad, terrorist attacks at Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, closing of Woolworth’s Superstore, stampede at Wal-Mart, Madoff Investment Securities’ fraud scandal, terror suspect Mas Selamat’s embarrassing escape, billionaire Adolf Merckle’s suicide & his company VEM’s reported loss of three-digit million euros on VW stock, etc. etc..

On a lighter note, Wu Zi also witnessed the Olympic successes of Michael Phelps & his subsequent disgrace from smoking Marijuana, Madonna the Material Girl’s long prophesized divorce, Michael Jackson aka Wacko Jacko’s perpetual legal woes, Dr M‘s (Mahathir Mohamad) political antics, Money Not Enough 2’s mockery of the ERP gantries, the timely release of W - the docudrama on George W Bush, etc. etc..

To an informed eye, perhaps the Batman movie poster revealed it all:

The Dark Knight, courtesy of http://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-34547/Dark_Knight.html, and reminicences of Wu Zi, the Mountain Rat

The 'X' Factor

2008-02-17T22:33:00.010+08:00

Lost, In Transition...

2008-02-06T15:47:00.000+08:00

2007 imploded to a close with Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Whilst the news rocked our mortal world, I woke to the realization that we had again stepped into a period of intense activities and exchanges, transiting from one solar year to another. It typically stretches from Winter Solstice (22 Dec 2007) till the Arrival Of Spring (4 Feb 2008, start of the new solar year). It is a time when the old Qi (energy field) is making its final calls, and the new Qi is forcing itself into the picture. In this case, the Qi’s are none other than Ding Hai (2007 Fire Pig) and Wu Zi (2008 Earth Rat).

Tune in to the news, we will inevitably be treated to an energized array of Ding Hai manifestations, amidst sporadic occurrences pertinent to Wu Zi. Take for instance, tragedy struck when Benazir Bhutto was waving to her supporters from atop her vehicle after an election rally. She was reportedly shot, and later killed by an ensuing suicide bomb. It was reminiscent of the explosive implications of Ding Hai, evident also through the Virginia Tech massacre, Red Mosque siege, Islamic insurgency in the Philippines, etc..

Closer to home in Singapore, a MRT service disruption, worst since it started operation in 1988, stranded some 57,000 commuters in the morning working hours of 22 Jan 2008. And train related issues are one likely outcome of a Si-Hai (Snake-Pig) clash, besides its more adverse materialization by way of accidents, such as the myriad plane crashes and train mishaps throughout 2007. Perhaps, Boeing’s premier of its 787 Dreamliner, decidedly on July 8 ’07, provided an alternative outlet in a celebrative mood. And France ramified by becoming the first country to disclose its UFO files when its national space agency unveiled a website documenting more than 1,600 sightings spanning five decades.

Jay Chou legitimized 2007’s Arrival Of Spring premonitions by winning acclaims for his directorial and acting efforts in “Secret”, just as the inspirational film / book “The Secret” made its way into our local news while apparently attracting worldwide interests. Then, a popularity poll unearthed the new Seven Wonders Of The World, albeit without official recognition from UNESCO.

More enticing to me though, is a YouTube video entitled “Battle At Kruger”. Amongst the multiple feats it garners, what is worthy of mention in the metaphysical sense is its revelation of the potency of Ding Hai. As the principles of the 5-Elements will have it, Ding Hai is a conflicting relationship of Hai (Water) engulfing Ding (Fire). However, hidden within Hai are the attributes Jia (Wood) and Ren (Water), itself the imagery of timber logs floating on water. Ren combines with Ding to yield the element Wood, which produces and hence saves the Fire from extinguishing. Pursuant to the subject video, Ding manifests as the buffalo with two horns, Hai as the lions which are purportedly king of the jungle (because Hai resides in the Qian trigram, which represents kingship). Now, crocodiles floating on water concurs with the imagery conjured by the hidden attributes of Hai. When the crocodiles emerge from the water in a tug-of-war with the preying lions, it manifests the combination of Ren and Ding to become Wood, thereby resurrecting Ding, the buffalo!

(http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2498595717353124774&q=genre%3Anature+is%3Afree)

The video was originally filmed in September 2004, but only uploaded to YouTube in 2007. It is noteworthy that 2007 was a Monkey (Shen) year, which has a relation with Pig (Hai), perhaps the best reason for its gaining attention.

Nonetheless, the message here is clear: Things assuming prominence under the influence of a particular Qi may have taken place much earlier, only to re-surface out of oblivion when the time is right. As the saying goes, what goes round comes round!

On the other hand, 2008 literally started with a ‘bang’, at least for citizens of Malaysia. Their then Health Minister, Dr Chua Soi Lek, made headlines after an indecent exposure in a raunchy video. Dangerous liaisons may have been a dominant trait of Ding Hai, but during this transition period, it definitely also mirrors the likely effects of Wu Zi. As we already know by now, in this respect, Wu Zi is a year littered with threats of video or internet exposure of sexual escapades. Lesson thus learnt: Never the same hotel, never the same room, and reason enough for some, never the same girl! Hong Kong heartthrob Edison Chen will be eager to add another word of advice: Never save on replacing your spoilt laptop…

For better or worst, things associated with the predominant Qi will stand a better chance of gaining prominence during its reign. And often, public persona, esp. political figures and movie stars, tend to be the chosen ones representing it, since their actions and demeanor is subject to scrutiny, will be widely recognized and remembered, and hence, can be conveniently used to characterize an era.

As this transition period does not merely continue the ramifications of the old Qi, but also informs about the imminent new Qi, we revere that the passing of Everest hero Sir Edmund Hillary and Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger have inaugurated the onslaught of Wu Zi, year of the Mountain Rat 2008!

HE Speaks

2007-11-06T20:51:00.000+08:00

Money Talks 2

2007-10-31T11:37:00.000+08:00

Mirror, mirror on the wall, what makes the richest in the world?

For more than a decade, Bill Gates tops Forbes World’s Richest People. Some estimate he makes US$250/sec, that’s an average Joe’s eon hours of work! Gosh, is he alien or is he man? Since he first landed on 1955-10-28 at 10pm, the Orient will decode it as such:

Ba Zi (birth chart) and macro-luck cycles of Bill Gates

Bill’s a Ren (Yang Water) person, born in the 9th, Yang Earth solar month. Superficially, his Water life element appears extremely weak, sitting on Earth elements which will tend to attack it. There is no trace of any supportive root of Water in the Earthly Branches, and no other company amongst the Heavenly Stems. In other words, Bill’s Ren Water is totally alone, its very survival endangered.

On closer scrutiny, there exists a thread of hope: (i) the Wood Year-Stem assists to control the suppressive forces of the Earth Branches; (ii) an immediately adjacent Metal Hour-Stem negotiates the conflict between the Earth Branches and the Ren Water life element. The result is an Earth-Metal-Water-Wood-Fire-Earth productive cycle, which literally breathes life into the chart! This satisfies its first criterion for survival. The second criterion appears in the 10-year macro-luck cycles, which provide him with the much needed Metal and Water elements.

Now, Bill’s Ba Zi displays another interesting phenomenon, that is, all the five elements are present, with the Earth element dominating and forming the entire base structure of the chart. As Earth is often considered catchment or burial ground, the respective elements existing as Heavenly Stems allude to an emergence out of the ground, revealing true natures. The Chinese coins a term for it: Chu Tou (lift up one’s head), implying accomplishment or achievement. The clear distinction between these elements and the Earth catapults Bill’s Ba Zi to a higher stratosphere, where he stands to gain what those elements represent: Metal - status, Wood - creativity, Fire - wealth.

And for Bill, wealth comes in abundance. Why? Because he has three catchments of Fire, the Dogs! Even his Year-Branch, the zodiac sign of Goat, has a hidden root of Fire (wealth). Of course, the nature of his wealth as indicated by the Yang Fire Month-Stem, is that of the unconventional type (Pian Cai), which usually manifests in larger quantities as compared to the conventional type.

It may be worthy to note also that Geng Xu, residing in his Hour Pillar, is a formation known as Kui Gang. Geng is Yang Metal, an element that is critically useful to Bill’s weak Water life element. As the Hour Pillar is a person’s career palace, having a useful element there will tend to favour his career. In Bill’s case, it is further accentuated by the special Kui Gang formation, which manifests as his extraordinary charisma, business savvy and achievements at work.

But aye, I’m just an average Joe aiming for a break. I’ve got no special formation of our legendary Gates, only Water life element though quite unlike that of his Day’s. Oh, perhaps I can keep three dogs to make up for the lack. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps…

Money Talks

2006-10-28T20:50:00.000+08:00

Mirror, mirror on the wall, where lies the riches in one's world?

Lakshmi Mittal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmi_Mittal) is a billionaire industrialist, CEO of the world's largest steel company - Mittal Steel Company NV, and notably the 5th richest man according to Forbes in March 2006. Is he really worth the estimated fortune of US$27.7 billion, by birth?

BaZi (birth chart) of Lakshmi Mittal, w/o time pillar, 1950-06-15

Lakshmi is a Xin (yin metal) person, born in the 5th, yang fire solar month. His metal life element is weak, because the earthly branches are either individually fire elements or together form a partial fire combination (Tiger-Horse) or penalty (Tiger-Snake). And fire attacks metal, eliminating even its dubious root hidden in the Snake. The only obvious assistance the Xin metal has are in the heavenly stems: Geng metal (year-stem) reinforcing the presence of metal, and Ren water (month-stem) as a cooling agent suppressing the inherent inferno. His favourable elements are therefore metal, water and wet earth (Chen - yang earth, Dragon or Chou - yin earth, Ox).

I suspect Lakshmi might have been born in a time which supports his life element, possibly in the yang, wet earth hour between 7:00-8:59am or the metal hours between 3:00-6:59pm. That will have easily explained the tremendous success he enjoys since the hour pillar also represents the career palace. Besides, it will also set forth potentials for a unique condition known as "metal shines in the heat of summer", since the heavenly stems will then remain clean and uncontaminated by other elements, particularly earth.

Nonetheless, I believe the most significant contributing factor lies in his choice of trade: steel production, inevitably a metal industry. Irregardless of Lakshmi's hour of birth, the very nature of his trade already perfectly befits his BaZi and makes up for its apparent weakness in metal.

This may well serve as a case of wise selection against the odds of the givens.

IR Dreaming

2006-10-22T12:29:00.000+08:00

On page 28 of the 21.10.2006 LianHeZaoBao, the IR @ Sentosa bids are appropriately illustrated as such: (i) Genting International - conservative, (ii) Kerzner International - alternative, (iii) Eighth Wonder - gastronomic.

The bids are reportedly being assessed based on four criteria: (1) 45% on tourism appeal, (2) 25% on design merits, (3) 20% on bidder's investments, and (4) 10% on strength of the consortium. While these are tangible aspects that will eventually determine the outcome, I dream of another subliminal aspect playing a stealthy part in the finals. An aspect I affectionately call, the meta-architectonics.

One of the trump cards presented by the bidders is the 'designer', which in the case of Genting International is 'Michael Graves', Kerzner International is 'Frank Gehry', while Eighth Wonder ropes in a surprise, designer of food 'Alain Ducasse'. They are all iconic figures, creating iconic products in their respective fields. The question is: who stands a better chance in producing the winning scheme?

BaZi (birth chart) of Michael Graves, w/o time pillar, 1934-07-09

Much as I personally can't quite appreciate Michael Graves' postmodernist architecture, his use of signifiers in design can be rather amusing at times. It delights me even more from a meta-architectonic perspective.

Graves is a Xin (yin metal) person, born in the 6th, yin earth solar month. The presence of earth element is further accentuated by his year of birth, the Dog (yang earth), and the earthly branch of his day pillar, the Snake (yin fire). Earth for a metal person means resources or memory, and in the case of Graves, a return to historical antiquity for architectural expressions!

If not for the yang wood in the year pillar, this birth chart will have been a typical case of "strong earth burying metal", where achievements can only be imagined. Fortunately for Graves, his macro-luck cycles before 65 years old were also mostly favourable, which probably explained his success in the profession. His 5-year macro-luck cycles from 65-69, 70-74 years old are strong in earth, which is an unfavourable element. Hence in 2003, a Goat (yin earth) year, the last year before he transited into another unfavourable 5-year cycle (70-74), he contracted a spinal infection that left him paralyzed from waist down.

Now aged 72, Graves is still under the influence of the unfavourable 5-year cycle. To make matter worse, 2006 is a fire Dog year, hence extremely strong in earth. Can Graves break out of the earth burden? Can the combination of 2006's Bing fire and his Xin metal bring about the water element in his favour? I doubt so, unless his birth hour supports the transformation.

BaZi (birth chart) of Frank Gehry, w/o time pillar, 1929-02-28

Frank Gehry's BaZi presents a much stronger contender. His life element is Jia (yang wood), born in the 1st, yang wood solar month. He is therefore a very strong wood person, very opioniated, strong willed, principled, and no less hot-tempered. Fire represents his creativity, whilst earth his wealth. 2006 is simply Gehry's year of capitalizing on his creativity to gain wealth, especially when his current macro-luck cycle is also his favourable earth element!

BaZi (birth chart) of Alain Ducasse, w/o time pillar, 1956-09-13

It bemuses me why Eighth Wonder chooses a chef instead of an architect as the fore-front figure for their scheme. Is it a strategic move, surprise wild card of sort? Irregardless, I find it interesting to see how gastronomy fare in this supposed war of architectures.

Alain Ducasse is apparently the youngest of the trio. He is a Gui (yin water) person, born in the 8th, yin metal solar month. 2006-branch, the Dog, combines with the Monkey (year-branch) and Rooster (month-branch) in his BaZi to form very strong metal. It will have been an unfavourable condition, resulting in a bottle-neck impeding the flow of water. The saving grace however is his current yang water macro-luck cycle, which may help resolve the shortcoming. Nonetheless, his overall luck still can't surpass that of Frank Gehry.

If the IR @ Sentosa bid has been a pure architectural competition, I bet Frank Gehry will beat the rest flat. However, there may be more at stake than the 'designers'' individual luck quotient...

Centre Of The World - PostBlog 1

2006-10-19T01:03:00.000+08:00

World Map, courtesy of www.4beachnuts.com/images3/world_map.jpg

The recent Hawaiian earthquake again seemed to re-affirm the geographic reference for the Centre Of The World. It reportedly struck at 7:07am on 15 October, about 11 miles offshore from Hawaii's popular Kona Coast.

Referring to the Period 8 Luo Shu chart for the 9th solar month (see my blog on 2006-10-15), Hawaii falls within the W sector where 1-White base star resides. 5-Yellow annual star has been lurking incognito since the beginning of Bing Xu solar year, but with the arrival of another earth star, the 8-White monthly star, it is finally making its presence felt. The earthquake occurred offshore, seemingly because 1-White is a water star. Fortunately, both 1-White and 8-White are timely, auspicious stars in Period 8, which probably render the earthquake harmless despite measuring 6.6 magnitude on the Ritchter Scale!

Luo Shu chart for Period 8 (2004-2023), 8th solar month 2006

Turning back the clock to the 8th solar month, Southeast Asia appeared to have been mapping out the potentialities of its corresponding sector by way of three widely publicised incidences.

SE sector in the 2006 Luo Shu chart is characterised by the 2-7 combination of early heaven fire. Its previous monthly star was 6-White, representing metal and the Authority, and when co-existing with 2-7, was inevitably under attack (by fire). The world thereby witnessed:

(i) the Thai military coup that ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power;

(ii) criticisms of the Singapore government for its supposed mis-handling of the activist groups during the IMF-World Bank meetings; and

(iii) Malaysia's outcry over MM Lee's remarks on Chinese marginalization in the former country. In this scenario, the Malaysian government may also be seen to have been challenged.

These incidences are definitely not exhaustive. Nonetheless, they are valuable traces of evidence that help piece together our meta-architectonic cartography of the world.

Centre Of The World

2006-10-15T21:04:00.000+08:00

Location of the Centre Of The World has always been a debatable subject in Feng Shui. Its implications are wide, since it is the reference point for making predictions. Some argue that China or Middle Kingdom, where Feng Shui first originated, is the inevitable choice. Others prefer to regard Middle East as the centre, since the region is more characteristic of the element earth, being laden with deserts and rich oil reserves.

Luo Shu chart for Period 8 (2004-2023), 9th solar month 2006

The currrent haze incidences in parts of Southeast Asia seem to support the later. Based on the Luo Shu chart for Period 8 (2004-2023), 2006 sees the 2-Black annual star arriving at the SE sector. In the month of October, which mostly falls within the 9th solar month, SE sector will also experience the much dreaded sickness star 5-Yellow. Now, when 2-5 stars coincide, we can anticipate troubles, may be even disasters.

2-Black is known to physically manifest as clouds or fogs. Combining with base star 7 in the Luo Shu chart, it connotes fire. The phenomenon appears to explain the haze situation.

On a macro-scale, 5-Yellow may bring environmental upsets, eg. heat waves, draughts, earthquakes, typhoons, floods, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, mudflows, etc.. In this Bing Xu (Fire Dog) year, let's hope Mount Merapi in Central Java, Indonesia, do not pose further threats.

Hence, Southeast Asia may jolly well be, as the name implies, right in the SE sector. If this is the case, then Middle East will appear more appropriately located as the Centre Of The World.

Enter The Digital Dragons

2006-10-14T11:27:00.000+08:00

screenshot of http://www.yahoo.com

"YAHOO!" is a classic example riding on the Thunder And Wind Wrestles Each Other formation. "DO YOU YAHOO!?" asks the SE (Wind) sector; and the answer is "YAHOO!", an elatedly exclamatory response! Now, there is no obvious dynamic feature to conjure the said formation, yet action (Thunder) there is, in the form of an imaginary 'Q&A', which literally converts the noun "YAHOO!" to a verb and adjective. I must admit it is a really subtle and innovative way to manifest dynamism / actions.

However, its NW sector spots a gap. Just like a missing NW sector in buildings, it can be detrimental to wealth. Fortunately, it is not excessively big (and it's better to remain as such, or simply close the gap). Nevertheless, its saving grace may perhaps be the last item on the right column - "Yahoo! Pulse", suggesting the pink of health of its financial resources.

screenshot of http://www.youtube.com

Based on the same meta-architectonic principles as "YAHOO!", the SE sector of "YouTube"'s homepage shouts: YouTube Broadcast Yourself - it's blatant proclamation via the Wind! And when a user clicks on any of the listed video thumbnails, it expands to invade the SE sector with sound and action. Its popularity is thence guaranteed.

But its NW sector is an elongated empty white background space. Emptiness invariably is abhorred in the NW sector, but with a right column that ends with "Active Groups", it becomes a positive suggestion of active financial resources. Fortunately, white is the colour connoting metal, which is also the elemental manifestation of NW. Red, connoting fire, will have spelt disaster. Nevertheless, it is still a concern, as it may accidentally surface hidden risks pertinent to its nature of business if future changes to the webpage are in contradiction.

screenshot of http://www.google.com

"Google" on the other hand, assumes a very different architecture, yet still in conformity to meta-architectonic principles. In this case, the Cosmic Trinity is in place, with "Google" as Heaven, the search bar with its accompanying menu as Man, and the bottom texts as Earth. "Google" is rightfully on top, not only because it is the logical location for a web title, but also because it possesses the matching characteristic of Heaven. The most prominent vowel in "Google" has to be the 'o', and 'o' being circular connotes the Qian Gua, which is the trigram representing Heaven. The search bar requires user input, is the interface, is more volatile, and hence represents Man. The base text contains "...Homepage", alluding to home ground, that is the Earth.

screenshot of http://www.mamma.com

In comparison, although "Mamma" appears to have very identical architecture as "Google", it contradicts the Cosmic Trinity because its subtitle reads, "Mamma" is "The Mother Of All Search Engine". And meta-architectonic principles rule: Father is Heaven, Mother is Earth. "Mamma", you are in violation of the higher order! It may help if "Mamma" struts a bit further towards the top right (SW) sector, which according to the Later Heaven BaGua, is where Mother Earth resides.

screenshot of http://www.newscorp.com

"News Corporation" showcases another interesting and innovative meta-architectonic feature. Its logo is a square grid deformed to look like a globe, and at the same time, retains 4 squares in the centre. The number '4' is a numeric manifestation of E, which represents Thunder, and being in the SE sector, it is again the Thunder And Wind Wrestles Each Other formation, but in this case, ambitiously seeking global coverage. The 4 squares itself resembles the Chinese character 'Tian', meaning plantation earth, and it being in SE sector conjures the Ascension hexagram of Wind Rising From The Earth, which implies increasing popularity. Quite interestingly, the moving images of world map in the Man stratum also synchronizes with the potency of another Observation hexagram, that of Wind Traversing The Earth, which favours media coverage, fame, reach or circulation!

corporate logo of http://www.msn.com

"msn" with its iconic 'multi-colour butterfly' logo paints 'a beautiful landscape picture': 'm' & 'n' together represent 'mountains cradling a natural valley', and the 's', 'a river running through it'. The 'multi-colour butterfly' breathes 'life' to an otherwise secluded 'valley', alluding to 'a serene, beautiful scenery of a valley, awaken by the joy & fragrance of the blooms of spring'. But without the 'sun', the 'valley' cannot come alive. And 'sun' there is in the form of 'hotmail' and 'messenger', because 'heat' and 'radiance' connote 'fire', and 'fire' is none other than our mighty 'sun'. I think if "msn" is to re-invent its website along this chain of thought, its performance may well excel beyond its current achievements.

According to some Chinese masters who are well-versed in the metaphysical effects of numbers, the number '0' (being circular like a TaiJi diagram) is a symbol of balanced completeness. It therefore possesses a binding, all-encompassing quality, and is also used frequently for the purpose of amplification. In this light, we can perhaps decipher the meteoric rise of "Google" and "YAHOO!", since both emphasize on the vowel 'o' and also very symbolically accentuate it with a double.

Think about it, "Microsoft" also comes with a double 'o'! "YouTube" begins with a singular, but cleverly introduces another two in its subscript 'Broadcast Yourself'. "LYCOS" and "News Corporation" appear to be in the know too. By the way, "YAHOO!" repeats the omnipotent 'o' six folds in that 'Q&A', with affirmative capital letters and an exclamation mark. Now, is 'kiasu-ism' a Singaporean hang-up or what?

Having said that, I can't imagine if "Google" were to ever partner or even merge with "YAHOO!". It will be the death of internet freedom. The duo literally monopolizes with the all-encompassing 'o''s from beginning till end, well almost, or if "Google" re-brands itself as "Oogle"...

But, come on, vowel 'o' is surely not the one and only available ingredient for cooking up a storm. Really? Yes, because "Alibaba.com" has proven so. The anti-hero here is 'a', coupled with '.com' ('o''s alter-ego in the virtual world) to conquer the 'Dragon' that gave birth to this school of metaphysics. Hey, the 'o''s and 'a''s are the basest form of human survival instincts, isn't it? Little wonder then local architectural practice "WOHA" manages such a remarkable feat within a relatively short time since its inception, and "AOL" seems another likely candidate.

screenshot of http://www.bbc.co.uk

"BBC" apparently has no access to insights about the 'o''s and 'a''s, so much so that the supposed initial 'A' was unwittingly substituted by a 'B'. Well, the wise one always says: if you can't innovate, just follow the rules. And "BBC"'s Heaven (metal) - Man (water) - Earth (metal) tripartite, productive architecture is born.

Feng Shui, Feng Shui...

2006-10-13T22:09:00.000+08:00

I went up to KL about 2 weeks ago, and was checked into this room initially at Parkroyal Kuala Lumpur. Damned, the door was right at the end of the long corridor - 'SHA', bad Feng Shui!

And strange, how on earth did they know I was an architect? But surely that didn't mean I'd enjoy looking at construction sites even while on vacation, right? Suspected my stomach upset might be due to these...

Luckily I managed to request for another room; Got the corridor out of the way, and at least had a better share of life and excitements on the street. The change was really refreshing, and more in-sync with ancient wisdom: if you can't change the Feng Shui, change yourself.

The Fundamental Framework

2006-10-07T18:47:00.000+08:00

Central to the principles of Chinese Metaphysics is the concept of the Cosmic Trinity - Heaven, Earth, Man - as the fundamental framework of the Universe. The Chinese believe that each component of the Cosmic Trinity exerts equal influence on a person's fortunes.

Heaven pre-determines a person's inherent traits or heritage, and is hence fixed. It is considered in two main aspects: (i) Destiny and (ii) Luck.

Destiny is a constant, the givens at the moment of birth, eg. one's innate character, family lineage, race, dialect group, place of birth, time of birth, etc.. These are qualities bestowed upon a person at birth, and are hardly within mortal control. Therefore, there is a saying that Destiny reflects heaven's wills. Some relate it to the religious or perhaps philosophical belief of the past, present and future lives - karma.

Luck is an involuntary variable, which will change with time and thereby bring about a reaction on the givens. The basis of this thinking lies in the notion that space exists relative to time. And man being a creature in this dual realm is subject to the effects of both. Therefore, even if a person is born with a less than ideal set of intrinsic qualities, the factor of time may be able to make up for it. On the contrary, a person born with a desirable set of qualities should not be complacent.

Ancient Chinese developed many sophisticated tools for gauging heaven's wills. One of the widely practised method is the BaZi (or birth chart) analysis.

Earth determines the compatibility between a person and his outer physical environments. It is external to oneself, and therefore can be avoided or modified to suit. Ancient Chinese's solution lies in what is now popularised as Feng Shui.

Contextual influences have profound effects in shaping a person's inner self, and hence his life. The moment a baby is born, it is inevitably being exposed to its surroundings through its senses of touch, sight, sound, emotions and smell. The comforting voices of parents giving it a sense of security whilst adapting to the new world, the sight of physical references helping it map out 3-dimensional spaces, etc.. The shortfall of modern architecture is precisely a lack of sensitivity to such subliminal influences. While Feng Shui is not a fool-proof solution, it does offer a formulaic, time based approach to architecture which is purportedly sensitive to the subtleties of life.

Man is about personal efforts or input. It consists of two aspects: (i) Philanthropy and (ii) Diligence, and is sometimes called inner Feng Shui.

Philanthropy refers to the cultivation of a healthy state of mind through good deeds, which will then bring forth favourable conditions. It is not restricted to merely lending a helping hand to the needy, but rather, has to start from within - oneself and family. For instance, during pregnancy, quit smoking, refrain from alcoholic drinks, listening to soothing music, etc. is philanthropic; husband putting up with the wife's mood swings, talking to the baby is also philanthropic. Because such actions will indirectly contribute to the foetal formation in many ways, some believe even the date and time of birth!

Diligence refers to a person's sheer determination and perseverance in seeing a cause fulfilled. One cannot just sit and wait for things to happen; but instead, has to be proactive and make things happen. This involves also changing personal bad habits and cultivating good ones, eg. quit smoking because it is detrimental to health, etc.. And as man is a product of his historical bondages, diligence entails also the relentless pursuit of wisdom, to break free.

Achieving a favourable Cosmic Trinity is the ideal, but no one can be perfect afterall. Since each aspect carries equal weightage, the strategy is to be in command of two-thirds, so as to gain an upper hand in overcoming life's many challenges.

Glimpses Of The Tiger

2006-10-03T20:21:00.000+08:00

BaZi (birth chart) of Tiger Woods

Sports news in the papers screamed: Tiger Woods made history again! It was apparently another historic accomplishment by a golfing-great of our time. Much as I am completely alien to birdies and eagles, somehow, the name Tiger Woods strikes a chord...

http://www.astrodatabank.com records: 30 Dec 1975, 2250hrs, as the golfer's birth data. In Chinese metaphysics, birth charts can be derived from the solar calendar. The year, month, day and time of birth are organized in vertical pillars, each a composition of a Heavenly Stem (upper character) and an Earthly Branch (lower character). These Chinese characters are actually representations of Yin Yang and the Five Elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water). Together, they are known as Four Pillars or BaZi (eight characters).

Tiger Woods' self element is Geng (yang metal). His Day Pillar (Geng Xu) conforms to a formation called Kui Gang structure. Men possessing such structure usually exude charisma in their actions, and are more attuned to achievements in their respective fields (provided the structure is not being destabilized). Tiger Woods' BaZi exhibits such positive quality.

Wood to a Geng day master also represents wealth. And coincidentally, besides the presence of woods in his BaZi as well as his name, Tiger has also embarked on a professional career that requires constant contact with greenery. Besides, tiger is one-third of the Eastern Wood Combination (tiger-rabbit-dragon), and in itself also represents wood. The name Tiger Woods in light of Chinese idiom alludes to releasing the tiger back to its home ground (woods), where the beast reigns supreme!

Little wonder then that Tiger Woods is already making fortunes since a young age; his BaZi, name and choice of career are simply supportive!

...Tiger Woods...it's just meta-architectonically resonant.

The Hand Of God

2006-09-28T13:26:00.000+08:00

zoom-out / zoom-in aerial images c/w northpoint, courtesy of earth.google.com

Suntec City (http://www.sunteccity.com.sg) is one of the most well known feng shui icon in Singapore. It takes the form of the human left hand opening to the sky. The shorter / broader (18-storey) office tower symbolizes the thumb, the other four taller / slimmer (45-storey) office towers the fingers, the prominently roofed convention and exhibition centre (SSICEC) the wrist, and the fountain plaza a gold ring in the centre of the open palm.

Interestingly, from a macro-perspective, the meta-architectonics of this structure transcends its embodied symbolisms and the physical confines of its land boundaries. As construed in a bird's eye view, the structure is orientated in a NE-SW direction, aligned along the same axis as the financial district of Singapore. Within this extended context, Suntec City is positioned in the NE sector, which according to the Later Heaven 8-Trigrams, can manifest both as hand and mountain; And Suntec City is aptly designed as such.

The open-hand structure also assumes an act of gesture, presumably welcoming the influx of wealth from the financial district, which is characterized by highrise phallic structures. The gold (bronze) ring is itself a manifestation of the Qian trigram, which is a symbol of wealth. The ring may be seen also as a band that gathers and binds the (financial) phalli in the distance, and itself being located on a left (connotating authority) palm, it is supposed to command wealth.

Wealth arriving at the doorsteps of Suntec City is physicalized in terms of traffic flow and water (fountain). The fountain is crucial in transforming the otherwise fluctuating nature of the in-out, surface vehicular traffic pattern into a more certain catch, thus minimizing the escape of wealth through the fingers. The catch is further anchored by the positioning of restaurants around the fountain, where the acts of consumption and assimilation (by human patrons) take place. Internal circulation then takes on an integral, disseminative role in this scheme, much alike human blood circulation. Therefore, mis-management of internal circulation, be it vehicular or human, will undermine the desired meta-architectonic effects. In the same token, an effective integration with the surrounding neighbours will serve to optimize its strength as a city within a city, and ensure a seamless flow of auspicious qi (energies).

Another interesting feature of Suntec City is its capitalization of natural fengshui formation based on the other diagonal (NW-SE) axis. While the hand gestures along a NE-SW axis, the predominant orientation of the buildings (esp. the treasure-chest-like SSICEC) appears to align with the NW-SE axis. This results in a Five Ghosts Carry Treasure formation, with Istana Grounds constituting the mountain (NW) and ECP constituting the water (E), at the respective favourable stars position in Period 8 (2004-2023).

With the surrounding environments set in its favour, Suntec City seems poised to ride on the 20 years of good fortune brought along with Period 8. But alas! Fengshui has taken on a much more dynamic quality than when it was first discovered. Developments in the vicinity of a subject site quite often may upset or compliment its meta-architectonics. Evidently, soon after the official launch of the Esplanade, a support pillar of the fountain was damaged by a fallen crane. And as we all know, the thorny envelopes stand right in the path of gesture of, The Hand Of God!

Virtually Meta-Architectonic

2006-09-26T11:04:00.000+08:00

screenshot of KinetiqBuzz's homepage

Dean's firm specializes in public relations targeting at the youth market. The firm recently launched its website http://www.kinetiqbuzz.com (the 4 cardinal points are read as such: bottom [North], left [East], top [South] & right [West]). Here are some meta-architectonic tips for my friend:

Add some dynamic effect (eg. flash) to OUR SERVICES (top left [SE] corner), to ride on its quality as the Wind, making promotion of the firm's services a breeze;
Introduce some yellow / beige / brown colours for CONTACT US (central right [W] sector) while still keeping the matchbox design, so as to mediate the conflicting relationship of fire burning metal, with earth. This is to ease the firm's negotiation / connection with the media, and prevent conflicts;
Introduce more white / gold / silver & yellow / beige / brown colours for EYE ON BUZZ (bottom right [NW] corner) to enhance wealth. Make the STAMP OF GUARANTEE a complete circle so as to stamp out customer dissatisfactions!
Create something in the shape of a bowl (concave) at the central base [N] sector to contain the outflow of water, which also symbolizes wealth.
Now, the ants (crawling from the bottom left corner) are a real treat for the eyes! I think this is where the gist of the whole meta-architectonics manifests. The eye represents fire, the grey squarish frame with thumbprint in the NE sector - earth, the round iris - metal, the blue - water, and the ants crawling towards the central left [E] sector - wood. This, by the way, is the productive cycle of the five elements! The uncanny thing is that there are 7 ants in total, which is the numeric manifestation of youth, and these ants are moving towards the eastern sector, precisely where activities are anticipated - KINETIC, BUZZ!

So, who says our modern digital age has no place for traditional knowledge?

Meta-Architectonics

2006-09-24T21:12:00.000+08:00

Architectural strategies in our modern societies are essentially western oriented, and predominated by emphases on aesthetics, functionality, contextual responses, socio-political integration, programmatic articulation, etc.. While these are all relevant issues, the intricate symbiotic relationship between habitat and its inhabitants remains intangible. In this respect, the making of modern architecture is still very much an intuitive art.

Chinese metaphysics offers methodologies which may bridge the gap between habitat and its inhabitants. It prescribes a certain uncanny relationship between the two, presumably under the dynamic influence of universal laws, of time or perhaps luck. I call it the meta-architectonics of the dwelling apparatus.

This blog therefore attempts to capture my observation of day-to-day occurrences from a meta-architectonic perspective. My aim is to explore the potential of employing ancient principles of chinese metaphysics as a strategy in architectural making (and thinking) within the modern context, thereby approaching our lost SHANGri-la's.

SHANGri-la

2006-09-23T23:20:00.000+08:00

All of us reside within four walls and a roof, but not many of us can call it home, and even lesser of us know how to make it a home. We say, these people have a house, and yet are homeless.

Some believe home is a notion deep inside the heart, perhaps only one word comes close to it: SHANGri-la, meaning sun and moon in the heart, or simply paradise...