Chinese New Year: What to expect from the Year of the Dog?
Feng Shui Consultant and BaZi Master Nikki Bishop gives us her lowdown on the upcoming Lunar New Year and what the Dog means in astrological terms.
MARIE FRANCE ASIA: WHAT DOES THE YEAR OF THE DOG SIGNIFY?
2018 is the Year of the Earth Dog. The Dog is also an earth element, so this combination makes for thick earth. This can be stubborn earth, making decisions and negotiations more challenging. In Chinese astrology, the Dog also contains fire energy, indicating that things can happen suddenly and unexpectedly this year. The dog character in Chinese (戌) represents ‘army’. So, Dog years tend to be years where conflict is present. On a personal level, it’s a year to manage tempers and to control yourself. On the political front it’s likely to indicate that there’s more talk than action going on.
MFA: ANY SPECIFIC AREA THAT THIS YEAR IS GOOD/NOT SO GOOD FOR?
The 5 Yellow Star is in the North this year, so try to keep this direction of your home quiet and inactive, so that you don’t aggravate the sickness star and activate its energy. The 2 Black Sickness Star flies into the West position. The 2 star can also create problems, particularly if your door is in the West. Countries in the West can experience protests and strife this year, particularly in countries with female leaders. The Central position has more auspicious energy this year, making the centre position of your home, town or city good.
MFA: WHAT SHOULD BE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF/BE WARY OF THIS YEAR?
The Dog is a sign of protection, security and friendship, as dogs protect our homes as well as being loyal friends. The Dog is also associated to property, indicating that property prices should hold up well this year. Investments are generally safer in known commodities, rather than digital currencies. There is also the potential for a severe drought in southern regions of the world, such as Africa, whereas other regions, such as the North or North-West can experience severe flooding, landslides or avalanches.
MFA: WHICH ZODIAC ANIMALS ARE COMPATIBLE WITH THE DOG AND HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE YEAR?
The compatible zodiac animals are the Rabbit, Horse and Tiger. This is a particularly good year for the Rabbit. The Rabbit can connect to the energy of the year, making it a good year for networking and connecting to new people, learning a new skill or looking to advance or even change direction in your career. For the Horse, it’s a good year to pursue your dreams, make plans and follow through with action this year. If you want it, you have to go after it, not sit around waiting for it to come to you. The Tiger can also make good progress this year. They should not be afraid to speak up and reveal their talents. They could find themselves more in the spotlight this year, taking to the stage or whatever platform is appropriate to them, but they need to know who to trust, as there will be those who are jealous of their success and seek to cause them a few problems.
MFA: ANY PARTICULAR SIGNS THAT WILL BE AFFECTED BADLY THIS YEAR?
In the Chinese Zodiac the Dragon clashes with the Dog. So, it is the Dragon who is presented with the most challenges to contend with this year. In addition, those born in the following years can find that it is a difficult year for them: 1934, 1943, 1952, 1967, 1976, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2012. For people born in the year of the Dragon or in the years listed above, it is best to avoid risky activities and dangerous places and also take the more conservative line this year. To mitigate this energy a little they can give a blood donation or make a donation to charity. For these people, it is not a good year for making major decisions or big changes in their life, as their decision making is not at its best.
It is, however, important to remember that the animal sign of your year of birth is only one eighth of your Chinese chart, so there may be other aspects of your chart that are far more positive for the year ahead.
Nikki Bishop is a UK-based Ba Zi Master and Feng Shui Consultant offering Ba Zi Readings, Feng Shui Consultations, Auspicious Date Selection and I Ching Readings; as well as being a teacher across many Feng Shui disciplines. For more information, please visit her website.
