This is going to be a random gallivant through the whole Covid19 landscape…and I’ve realised probably my first article of the year. That resolution to write more is seriously falling off the to-do list. I will endeavour I suppose to do better. This article is going to cover a whole bunch of reflections on Covid19 in connection to the year of Geng Zi but also, what has been printed by the reams about people’s psychological and economic concerns.

Important disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor an epidemiologist nor do I claim to be either. This discussion is purely within the context of what the slightly above average lay person would be able to have on Covid if they read the legitimate news information (Reuters, AFP, fact-based publications – no, Twitter is not the news, nor is WhatsApp forwards). I am an expert on Metaphysics, not on viruses. This discussion here should not be viewed or cited as a reason to ignore what WHO or local health authorities say. It’s purely a contextual discussion of a current affair within the theoretical confines of Metaphysics. Do not cite my article as a reason not to wear a mask or to decide Covid does not exist or do stupid things.

Understanding the meaning of Geng Zi

As the pandemic built up to its peak point, I often was asked this question: hey, did you guys (meaning astrologers, fortune tellers, metaphysics people) forecast this?

By extension the implication is – if you did, amagad, let me fall at your feet great one. And if you didn’t well – what kind of fortune teller are you?

So I’m going to go out on a limb and say this: I don’t think anyone in the Chinese Metaphysics world forecasted this (I’m leaving of forecasters of other denominations because I simply don’t read their forecasts so therefore cannot speak for them).

Wait you might say – but so and said ‘illness’ and so and so said ‘great change’ and so and so said something about the next coming. Yeah, I too watched the film 2012.

So this is what i tell people about reading forecasts (this standard applies to my forecasts posted here too).

Firstly, if a forecast didn’t say ‘PLAGUE’ or ‘PANDEMIC‘ then it doesn’t count. Illness, great upheaval, immense change, sudden change, unexpected events – these do not count. So any fortune teller/destiny analyst/ metaphysics pro who used the above word specifically, gets an A+ for their forecasting skill. But if you didn’t say that exactly, then yeah, missed it.  And I am pretty sure most of us didn’t use those words.

Secondly, if there is some herald that it was to be expected on the basis that Period 9 is coming and thus we can expect ‘great change’, again, see point above. No plague, no pandemic, no ‘death by pneumonia will increase’ – DOES NOT COUNT.

However, before it is concluded that therefore metaphysics pros know naught – I often point out to people that Metaphysics and BaZi is a system of modelling, like all predictive models. You’ve got to work out the algorithm before you can figure out how to predict something. And whilst it is possible that it’s written in some text somewhere what the model in BaZi for ‘plague’ looks like, it’s also important to remember that BaZi and Chinese Metaphysics operates in a universe of an absolute monarch. There was always the Emperor as a reference point. So you’d look at the Emperor’s chart rather than say the annual chart as a reference. The annual chart and reading the annual chart as a basis for forecasting therefore is arguably a very  new development in the world of Metaphysics.

However, perhaps a useful reference point is to look at the year in which SARS hit and to see if there is anything that can tell us what the elemental model for ‘plague’ looks like.

Here’s the chart for 2002 (the year in which SARS hit).

 

 

This is the chart for 2019

 

This is the chart for 2020

 

Is there a model for ‘plague’ or ‘pandemic’?

We need to look at the charts for 2002 and 2003 as well as 2019 and 2020 because in both instances, the problem straddles 2 years. In SARS, it started in 2002 but reached its peak in 2003. With Covid, it started in 2019, but reached its peak in 2020.

Commonalities between SARS and COVID19 charts:

• Strong wood in 2002, 2003 and also in 2019 (note that we are using a common element here which is the point of time the disease was on the radar vs when the disease significantly spreads). Wood counters Metal which co-relates to a respiratory ailment as far as health is related since Metal is lungs. indeed in 2002, the year chart had no Metal at all.
• Rat and Pig in play – Sars began during November 2002, which is a Pig month, Covid started in Dec 2019, but in a Pig year.
• Presence of Gui in both instances – Gui Mao in 2002 as the Day of the Year chart Gui Wei as the year pillar in 2003 (which is when SARS hit its peak), Geng Zi in 2020
• Strong presence of Ren in the initial years (interesting coincidence, the major super spreader of SARS was a fishmonger – which we associate with Pig).

The closest we can have to a model therefore is Water as a common element, weak Metal and strong Wood. But as we can see, there’s no real glaringly obvious model that we can apply which clearly says “PLAGUE” or “PANDEMIC”

Interpreting Covid19 as Rat or Pig…or Water?

There is some validity to the debate about whether Covid19 is a Rat or a Pig phenomenon.

On the one hand, the origins of the pandemic are in the year of the Pig (ignoring the Rat month for now) and the initial spread of the disease was a seafood market (Pig is considered ‘Oyster’ in BaZi imagery – it is water, with something with a shell inside). And the primary spread of the disease was facilitated by travel which we would associate with the stars of Snake, Pig, Tiger, Monkey as these are the travelling stars. So in that equation, Pig re-appears again.

However, if we look at Geng Zi as a pillar, this would be the closest we associate visually to the medical illness of pneumonia since Geng Zi is the image of metal over-whelmed by water or rendered ineffective by ‘water’. Geng is usually associated with the lungs or the chest area. Meanwhile, Zi, which in effect contains pure Gui Water, can be associated with droplets or aerosols (which Covid19 is thought to be) and also, an ‘invisible enemy’, which is what Covid is often termed because asymptomatic people are often impossible to detect but can be spreading the illness. If we think of a virus as a clever, mutating organism that plays hide and seek in the body, this is the epitome of Gui Water, which has an ‘escape artist’ quality about it. Remember, Gui’s most fundamental need is ‘FREEDOM’…and that is what a virus wants. Freedom to continue to exist and it will do whatever it takes to attain that. Just like the cloud that Gui represents, you cannot pin down a virus – it’s an evolving enemy just like the shape of clouds keep moving.

Much earlier when I was having this conversation with some fellow metaphysicians, I posited excluding the Rat because the Rat is a Peach Blossom Star and this would imply spread that is linked to ‘Peach Blossom’ type activities (HIV for example is an infectious disease that you can definitively link to Peach Blossom since it originally spread through sexual activities). However, six months down the line and one is seeing links to the 2nd wave to ‘parties’, we can see the Rat definitely showing it’s face here (Peach Blossom of course implies ‘sexy time’ but can also mean activities where people can a little relaxed like bars, parties).

Disclaimer: none of this is to imply any moralistic interpretation to such activities. We are discussing metaphysics  in which we do not provide judgment of good or bad, just what it is.

Interestingly, we are seeing new medical research suggesting that Covid19 is perhaps not a respiratory ailment but a vascular disease because of the number of cases wherein the patients have had vascular incidents like strokes or experience vascular problems such as swelling and reddened skin as blood vessels go into over-drive. Conjunctivitis is also considered one of the probable symptoms of Covid19. One of the other developments associated with Covid19 is ‘cytokine storm’ – this is where the immune system over-reacts and begins to attack the body’s organs in an attempt to repel the virus invader.

These developments would tip Covid19’s metaphysical identity towards the Rat because Horse-Rat is what we often associate with strokes and aneurysm and blood pressure problems, all which are vascular in nature. Horse-Rat is also the indicator of problems related to eyes.  If we think of the immune system, it is typically associated with Water because hormones and blood are liquid and circulate the body. Gui is also ‘Storm’ (think of clouds collecting in the sky…)

Now, Geng Zi by nature as a pillar is essentially Cytokine Storm because

a) Geng = Warrior. Body’s defence mechanism can be interpreted as its warriors/army.

b) Zi = Hurting Officer to Geng. Generally speaking, we associate Hurting Officer with a measure of aggression (different from 7k aggression). But typically, people who are Hurting Officers are quick to get into a rage or fight back. Geng doesn’t use Gui well – in fact, it doesn’t know how to use Water effectively. Thus, when it does attempt to use Water, this tends to backfire.

So what conclusion do we come to then?

We must remember that Pig and Rat have a relationship with each other. Firstly, both  belong to the Winter season. And significantly both grow Wood. Wood of course counters Metal (lungs), and in 2019 we have Wood strengthened and 2020 we have a weak Metal in the form of Geng Zi because Water drowns Geng (but note, does not have the same effect on Xin).

Secondly, Pig and Rat, as representations of Ren and Gui respectively, are in effect inter-changeable in quality and nature. Ren is Gui, Gui is Ren. Gui is the disease, Ren is the pandemic is one way of interpreting Covid 19 because we do not associate Gui with a ‘wave’ but we certainly associate Ren with waves.  But also, when Gui collects, it becomes Ren.  Interestingly, the latest Covid19 outbreak in Beijing has been a seafood market again (and ostensibly but as of now unproven link to salmon!) which implies the Pig/Ren Water is a player here.

Geng Zi: Hysteria?

Again, let me state clearly. I am by no means saying that Covid19 is not a real disease, not a real pandemic, or even implying that it does not exist. Reminder and restatement: we are discussing the Covid19 pandemic within the context of metaphysics. It’s a discussion people. Don’t use my words to justify any oddball opinions.

During the early stages of the pandemic, there was a lot of genuine discussion as to whether or not governments over-reacted. Governments that locked down vigorously were labelled as alarmist, and the advocates of lockdown, masking, social distancing were variously considered either extremists or making a mountain out of a molehill. The countries that didn’t do it were labelled either ‘brave’ (think: Sweden) or privately insane. And now that the second wave is potentially upon a few countries, we are seeing reactions to people not wearing masks (think the USA) that somewhat borders on the incomprehensible.

I want to posit something here about Geng Zi and that is that this pillar fundamentally represents borderline hysterical reactions (and let me be clear, that goes both ways). If one was to simplify the idea of Geng Zi, it would be this: everybody wants/thinks they’re a hero.

Geng Zi is Geng seated on it’s Hurting Officer. Except this Hurting Officer is rather inconsistent and flaky. Indeed, it’s a Hurting Officer with no real principles – a rebel’s rebel if you like (since the notion is that Hurting Officers DO have principles – just different ones from the norm). Geng Zi is someone spitting in your face. Those kinds of heroes.

But, it also represents heroes who long for their moment. By convention, Geng is not interested in making a point – they just want the guts and glory. Along comes Geng Zi, who doesn’t just want guts and glory, but they want to make a point too. They want some attention too (Hurting Officer, in it’s most simplistic form, seeks to draw attention). Think about it – before Covid19, did anybody even know what epidemiologists did? Did you know there was this thing called a virologist? Or that the CDC actually had people who’s jobs was to catch bats in caves and test them for funky diseases? (Virus hunters). Most people didn’t even know what a pandemic was.

Period 8 can perhaps arguably be defined as the time in which the geeks inherited the earth. Well, in 2020, for this shining moment in time, the epidemiologists inherited the earth. And they are not about to give up their moment under the spotlight. (one also should remember that epidemiologists in theory live for pandemics because that’s the only time they can actually study their subject in real time…and pandemics don’t come along all that often).

In modern times, there are few “Geng” like professions any more. So what is the closest to a medical warrior? The epidemiologists, the virologist – these are suddenly the generals to the government of the day. They are the ones fighting the ‘war’. The epidemiologist is the geeked out version of a modern day general, in the same way, hackers are the cyber generals of the future.

So I’m going to be a little contentious and say: some measure of the attention that has been driven by Covid19 is Geng Zi at work.  There’s a smidgen of hysteria in the air that’s lingered over the whole covid19 pandemic. Statistically, Covid19 is less deadly than say ebola or MERS (both which have a higher mortality rate). However, it is also deadlier than the common flu or cold, especially if not taken seriously.

What we are seeing around the world is Geng Zi insisting on being heard.  Geng Zi is being heard across two voices: the epidemiologists enjoying their moment in the sun and of course, the rugged individualists in some countries who feel that they should not be made to stay at home, wear a mask or socially distance. Both these groups are playing into the hysteria of the moment – the epidemiologists in demanding extremely high and arguably difficult to maintain compliance requirements (rebelling against in some people’s minds, convention or common sense or plain economics)  and the people who think Covid is just ‘the flu’ (it’s not obviously). In both instances, extreme reactions are being justified.

Containment of the problem: Wu Earth.

Without a doubt, if we define the nature of the pandemic as a Water issue (be it Gui or Ren), Wu earth is the answer. Gui combines with Wu, and Ren likes the control of Wu. Neither likes Ji.

Wu of course, is Mountain. Mountain denotes stillness. It is Yin at it’s most fundamental.

The WEF website has a beautiful series of photo compositions that show the world in lockdown, as does Architectural Digest.

LOCKDOWN = WU EARTH.

Silence, Stillness, Isolation, Staying In – these are all represented by the mountain.

Social distancing – well, mountains don’t stay close to each other do they? Again, the probable solution to the Gui/Ren problem that has been posited as the definition of ‘pandemic’.

In Part 2, I will discuss how we interpret the ‘new normal’ through the lens of BaZi.