So officially today, we Enter the Rooster.

Or do we?

I am not yet convinced that what we are seeing (especially in the USA under Trump) represents the Rooster. Rather, this is the vestiges of the Bing Shen finally showing its true colours (with some intermingling of the emerging Rooster).

I have always taken the view that the transitionary period when energies change over is the time in which to observe matters closely. Thus the year end and the start of the year will often provide indicators as to which energies are dominant (i.e.: flagging energies of the previous year, incoming energies of the new year with great aggression)

As we enter 壬寅 month, the impact of the Monkey will show itself This is because this month represents a Fan Yin with 丙申 and thus, we should expect more things to boil over (especially given that the same time last year was relatively quiet, a hold over of the Goat未 year). I will expect the Monkey to have one last big bang in Dragon month (the final surge of the Water Frame 申子辰 combination) before we move into Rooster proper in May 2017. So the themes of 2017’s chart will continue to dominate for a while longer, possibly till Dragon month 2017.

I generally don’t take the view that we break up the influence of a given Annual Pillar as per some academic opinions. For example, there are some who take the view that the Stem influences the first 6 months (or first half of a Luck Pillar in the case of a BaZi) and the Branch influences the last 6 months (or 2nd half of a 10 year Luck Pillar).

However, I think that we WILL see until April 2017 a very strong influence of Ding Fire though, together with the surge effects of the Water Frame combination from the Monkey. I explain. This is because Monkey clashing with Tiger produces Ding Fire. Ding also happens to be the Stem for 2017. In the months of Feb, March, April, Wood is strong and Ding Fire loves Wood. So Ding will dominate in the initial quarter of 2017, with an underlying tone of strong Water.

As soon as we get to May 2017, Metal will begin to inch it’s way into the equation, especially as that is the first month that the Metal Frame 巳酉丑 comes into play. However, because we then zoom into a very strong two Fire months during the summer of 2017, we will see the fight for elemental dominance between Metal and Fire come into play then – recall, this was the theme of 2016’s chart. So whilst the water aspect of the Monkey year will dissipate (look for La Nina to dial back, and some El Nino elements to come back into play), the conflicts arising out of Metal and Fire dueling will peak.

Once we clip over into the Autumn months, that is when Rooster will truly be at it’s full cluck and Monkey will leave the scene.

Next post:How then do we interpret this dynamic flow and mix of energies?