2018 Year of the Dog
This year constitutes the heavenly stem of Yang Earth and the Earthly Branch of the Dog. This will be a strong Earth year for the Chinese astrological new year. The settled stability of the earth element has come into fruition. The previous two years have been governed by the fire and metal elements creating a tension between the elements as one conquers another.
Earth element is governed by the planet Saturn. Saturn corresponds to the centre and rules late summer by the five-element cycle. Earth represents the colour yellow and the planet Saturn was known as the Yellow Emperor. Generally, the Earth represents stability, practicality and reliability. Because Earth rules the Centre it is stationary and represents immovable things such as property, land and the physical body.
We have for the coming year strong Commanding Pillars known as the “Fai Kong.” Strong Saturnian energies are moving in this year which can cause resistance to change and people in authority may choose to stick to status quo principles making it hard to compromise. The general atmosphere for the year with those born with this Commanding Pillar are very tough in character and natural leaders especially when it falls in the Day Pillar. In the Year Pillar it can represent powerful ancestors. People born in the year of the Dog will have a Star of the Arts also known as a Talent Star. These types of people need a lot of space and time on their own from others to cultivate their talent through hard work. They tend to prefer a quiet and simple life. Many famous artists, philosophers, writers and musicians usually have this Talent Star in their Pillars.
The Dog in Chinese astrological symbolism is the Gateway to the Underworld and is known to rule the occult, death, spirit and religious matters. It is the next animal sign after the Rooster. The Rooster represents the direction of the west and the Dog falls below the horizon after the sun has set. This represents the Dogs passage into the underworld and it is a good time to do psychological work this year. This will happen especially if one sits on a dragon in the House of the Spouse or has a dragon in other positions in the Four Pillars. A clash between the Dragon and the Dog is known as the Net of Heaven and Hell, this aspect can pull us into the underworld cycle revealing our shadow side of the psyche.
Earth rules the flesh and it’s probably best to do psychological work that uses the body to tap into feeling. The great psychologists such Wilhelm Reich and Arthur Janov new that the body is the Shadow and to tap into authentic feeling we need to do therapy that provides a space to express our feeling rather than intellectualising feelings, which can happen when Earth element is imbalanced in our charts. Strong Earth years can give us a tendency to over think and become obsessive with thought.
This is why psychological work such as Primal Therapy http://jamilloncentre.com.au/ can be excellent as well as acupuncture, specifically bleeding methods from Luo channel treatments or Master Tung Bleeding zones for psychological hygiene. Keep an eye out for dates on my upcoming bleeding seminars in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane through Acuneeds Australia.
From a Chinese Medical point of view Earth element rules the stomach and spleen. From Chinese astrological point of view, the Yang Earth heavenly stem represents the stomach and pelvis and the Dog represents the stomach, head, neck and lung. These areas of the body will be vulnerable this year if they are in clash. For those born with an Ox and Goat anywhere in their charts for this year you will need to be careful in the year of the Dog as it will give rise to a Penalty Combination. If this is in your Four Pillars chart you will need to tread with great caution this year as Penalty Combination are nebulous and can indicate hidden disease. I just did a chart analysis of Bruce Dickinson the famous lead singer in Iron Maiden on my youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9qN6Ev7510&t=62s who had this Penalty Combination arise through his Luck Pillars who manifested cancer under this Penalty Combination. His Earth element was favourable so the result after his medical treatment turned out to be favourable and was clear of the cancer.
The Earth element in Chinese metaphysics represents the oxidative process in the body. Penalty Combinations of Earth elements deoxygenate the body residing in hidden toxicity that eventually manifests within the physical body. If this Combination resides in your Four Pillars chart it is wise to do Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga or Martial Art exercises to help oxygenate the body. The Dog is also considered the Grave of Fire which means the fire will be weak for the upcoming year and people with charts that lack fire will need to watch the heart and blood circulation this year.
It is an excellent time to visit your healthcare practitioner to do checkups if these aspects show up within your Chinese astrological chart. Full chart analysis is always beneficial to look forward to the up and coming themes for the year ahead. You can contact me on 0402 087 693 or astropillars@gmail.com with full date of birth, time and place of birth for astrology consultations.
