2012: A YEAR OF FIRE AND CHANGE

Strap yourself in: 2012 is going to be a fast and sometimes rough ride – but not without reward. In Chinese astrology, we are entering the year of the dragon, and those who know how to master the beast will achieve what they want. Precision thinking and action are emphasized this year, and the adage “be careful what you wish for” takes on new importance. The dragon is all about swift transformation.

The dragon embodies knowledge, wisdom and power, and the ability to both destroy and create. Dragons breathe fire, ice and poison, all fearsome means of destruction. The fire energy is especially potent, and dragon energy can lay waste to a landscape in life in nothing flat. The destruction, however, is a fast track to change. The ashes fertilize new growth.

This energy of dramatic destruction followed by creation will characterize the year. To benefit from dragon energy, it is important to be clear and focused about what needs to go and what needs to come in. Let go of whatever you no longer need and pursue the things you want to manifest in your life. Spend time daily in meditation to set and visualize goals, then follow through with action. Fire energy is intense, so persevere, even when the going gets tough.

Above all, apply your knowledge, wisdom and power with discretion. Dragon energy will ultimately destroy blind and misplaced ambition, but it serves those who choose the high road.

by Leading expert on the paranormal, Rosemary Ellen Guiley at http://www.visionaryliving.com,

Dragon Graphic above from http://www.deviantart.com

~~~~~~

... and the dragon is in the details...

Chinese New Year is a Time of New Beginnings and Intentions

A Chinese proverb states that all creations are reborn on New Year’s Day, providing hope and energy for good things to come into your life.

Chinese New Year is a 15-day celebration, beginning on the second lunar new moon following winter solstice. The festivities begin on January 23rd, 2012 and end two weeks later with the full moon and Lantern Festival on Feb. 7th*.

Today, Chinese New Year is the most widely celebrated festival of the Chinese calendar. In China, it is known as “Spring Festival”, heralding the start of a new cycle both in the earth and in human affairs. There are many customs and traditions associated with this occasion. While some may seem odd to us in the West, they are steeped in ancient logic and custom.

In a nutshell, everything associated with New Years day should represent good fortune. It is especially auspicious to be with people you love and who bring you joy. Be careful with your actions, be selective of what you eat and be mindful of what you say on this day to ensure good fortune. For single people good fortune may mean love and romance; for others it may mean good grades, increased prosperity, a job, better health, or improvement in existing relationships. As you prepare for this holiday, think of the changes that you want to make in your life, then let the power of the new moon, and the New Year, make them happen.

To help you find your good fortune for 2012 I have put together the following guide to some of the Chinese New Year’s celebrations and customs.

The days leading up to the Chinese New Year are busy with preparation. The countdown begins on January 17th with the Kitchen God or God of the Stove ritual. The Kitchen God is a domestic deity, who reports yearly to the Jade Emperor (the mythical ruler of the heavens). The Kitchen God is represented by a paper image and is hung throughout the year near the family’s stove. Long considered the soul of the Chinese family, the stove is where all is seen and heard. About a week before Chinese New Year at a special family dinner, the Kitchen God is taken down and burned so that his report can be taken to the heavens. To encourage a good report, some families will smear his mouth with honey hoping to sweeten his tongue. When New Years arrives, a new Kitchen God is posted to replace the old one for another year of observation.

The following week is then very busy with settling old debts, buying new clothes (particularly new shoes), getting a haircut (but be careful—salons in Hong Kong traditionally charge twice as much starting 30 days before Chinese New Year!), cleaning house, enjoying year-end dinners with colleagues, giving out lucky red packets, and preparing traditional holiday foods. Lucky slogan banners are written and hung, especially on the front door. Many people may purchase bamboo, or blooming trees (much like we have a Christmas tree), because flowers denote fruit and wealth.

Cleaning the home is serious business. It starts with cleansing out stale energy; this means going through cupboards and closets, disposing of unwanted items, and arranging remaining contents neatly. All the rooms of the house should get a good clean. In many homes in China effort is made to sweep the whole house with a broom, hence sweeping away the old energy. This cleaning must be completed by New Years Eve; the broom and cleaning supplies are then hidden till after New Year’s Day, as sweeping on New Year’s Day could sweep out the good, new energy. (Note: very few modern families follow all the cleaning traditions.)

Before January 23rd 2012

While some of these traditions are specific to China, many can be adapted to the same effect:

• Give your home a thorough spring-cleaning. Clear away the clutter and mess to welcome in new Qi for the New Year.
• Decorate your home with auspicious symbols.
• Decorate with bright red (happiness) and gold and orange (wealth and happiness).
• Decorate with fresh flowers. Plum blossoms, peach blossoms and water lilies are considered particularly auspicious.
• Purchase red banners or couplets with prosperous New Year wishes and blessings and symbols of good fortune.
• Get your haircut and buy new clothes, preferably in red, for a brand new you when the New Year arrives!
• Pay up all your bills and begin with a clean slate. DO NOT start the year laden with debt!
• Clear up old disputes and arguments, start the New Year with moving forward.
• Prepare food. Chinese New Year’s Day is not a day for work. It is a day to eat food especially prepared for the day, often with names which mean good luck, fortune and plenty of money. Ideally, vegetarian food is taken on the first day of the New Year, and the most traditional dish is “Loh Hon Jai”, or Buddha’s Delight, a casserole prepared from a host of dried and fresh ingredients, most of them with names that have auspicious associations.Some auspicious foods for the New Years Eve and New Year’s Day feasts and their symbolic association are
  o Fish – abundance (typically served on New Year’s eve)
  o Long grain rice – long life
  o Oranges/mandarins – gold plus good health and long life.
  o Oysters – prosperous business; “good things”
  o Peaches – longevity
  o Pineapple – prosperity
  o Pomegranates – children
  o Sticky rice balls – gold
  o Noodles – longevity ( they should not be cut)
  o Chinese New Year and prosperous cakes, (they look like golden nuggets.)
  o Persimmons – happiness and wealth
  o Tangerines with leaves intact – long lasting relationships, fruitful and multiply as in having children.)
  o Circular candy tray – candy for sweet, circular for togetherness.)
  o Lettuce – fresh new money
  o Celery – perseverance and the capacity for hard work
  o Dried seaweed, known as “faat choy” – increasing wealth

On the Eve of Chinese New Year January 22nd

• Get together with close family members for a “reunion” dinner. A big, delicious dinner creates good luck for the family throughout the year. It also keeps the family close together.
• Pay respect to ancestors including household gods. Acknowledge the presence of ancestors because they are responsible for the fortunes of future generations.
• At the stroke of midnight, it is customary to use firecrackers to engage in pot banging to scare away evil and old energies by sound. Open windows and doors to allow the old year to leave and the New Year to enter. Celebrate with lots of noise and merry-making!
• Watch the words you use; use sweet words and avoid foul language. Talk about your future and dreams, focus on positive thoughts.

On New Year Day January 23rd

Many festive celebrations follow all day long.
 

• Start the New Year with new, bright-colored clothes, especially auspicious red! One’s appearance and attitude today is believed to set the tone for the rest of the year. Dressing all in black or white is a not considered auspicious.
• Ensure your first taste of the day is something sweet so that the year will bring you much good news.
• Greet everyone with kind words and happy wishes as this is thought to bring in a year of Peace. Be careful not to curse or gossip. The Cantonese greet each other with “Gung Hei Fat Choy” which means “Congratulations! Your Wealth Increases!” Or “Sun Neen Fai Loh”, which means simply, “Happy New Year!”.
• Never cry or complain on New Year’s Day. It is believed that if you cry or complain on this day.. that it is an negative omen of what’s to come for the rest of the year. It is best to not gossip, argue with or malign anyone today, (really, isn’t it best to be like that every day?). The focus of today is upon the future, so engage in thoughts and activities of what you would like to see happen and remain positive.
• Keep all doors and windows open throughout the day to allow the new luck to fill your home. Keep every part of your home well lit to ensure maximum luck!
• Don’t sweep the floor, remove garbage or use scissors or get your hair cut today! This signifies sweeping or cutting away your good fortune. Some would go so far as to not wash their hair today; this may be washing away their good luck for the year.
• This is a day of celebration and visiting, paying respect to ancestors. This is not a day to work. Factories and workplaces in China to this day remain closed for the two week period of Chinese New Year’s.
• Many Chinese will be giving offerings to the God of Happiness; in the West you might be more comfortable practicing Gratitude. Create a place in your home with flowers and beautiful things as an altar to symbolize all that you are grateful for.
• Give two Lai See (Red Envelope with money enclosed) to each child. Because happiness comes in twos, do not give just one. This is the way of passing good luck to the next generation. (In some Chinese communities, all married folks give Red Envelopes to all the unmarried children they know and meet during the New Year period. This can be quite a change and a burden for newly married couples!]
• New Years Day is traditionally a Vegetarian Day, signifying no killing on the first day of the New Year

On The 2nd Day January 24th
Pay your respects to your elders and ancestors. Visit your in-laws. (Strictly, speaking, on the first day a family visits the father’s parents; on the second day, the mother’s parents.) It is customary for the son in-law to give the father in-law a present. This invokes the luck of previous generations for the married couple. Married daughters visit their parents and give presents to them and Red Envelopes to the unmarried brothers and sisters.

On The 3rd Day January 25th
This is a day to stay home and relax. However, floors may be swept today to make room for the new. It is felt that quarrels, disputes and controversy is likely to occur if you meet with relatives or friends. Further, there is a superstition that if you see someone on the third day that you did not meet on the first or second day, then you will tend to have bad relations with that person all year.

On The 5th Day January 27th
Today is traditionally a day where the weather indicates the upcoming year’s fortune. Stores and business open again for the first time in the New Year. Bosses will give Red Envelopes filled with money to the staff. The 5th day is also considered a good day to put out your new wealth vase for the year.

On The 6th Day January 28th
The 6th day is as well a lucky day to visit relatives and friends. Bring some mandarin oranges; oranges are considered an auspicious gift to give at New Years.

On The 15th Day Full Moon February 7th
The 15th day is the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day known as Lanterns’ Festival. This is the first day of the Full Moon. Lanterns are hung to symbolize the light and warmth of spring. Many years ago yams would be eaten on this day by the peasants of China. They are sweet and it was believed that eating yams satisfies the soul and prevents it from leaving life to join the ancestors. The Lanterns are considered signposts for the ancestral spirits to guide them home for the lunar celebrations. It is considered that today the God of Destiny rises to fulfill desires, and the Goddess of Sea is ready to accept wishes. Offerings are tossed into the river.

Single women go to the river and throw mandarin oranges with the hope of finding a good husband. Fragrance of apples is offered for wives. Longans are offered for descendants (Longans are a type of fruit, similar to Lychee). Red dates are offered for all things good. Pebbles are offered for a house and Coins are offered for Treasures.

These are some of the customs and rituals that are practiced by millions of Asian people.

It is my sincere wish that you have fun with these rituals and customs, and I wish you all the very best for a healthy and prosperous 2012

These are some of the customs and rituals practiced by millions of Asian people. Have fun—make them your own! I wish you all the very best for a healthy and prosperous 2012.

Gung Hei Fat Choy!

by Marlyna Los, 604 339 8878.
More insights and articles at http://www.fengshuiconsulting.info, marlyna@fengshuiconsulting.info

Seminars and Talks - http://www.fengshuiconsulting.info/feng-shui/seminars-and-talks/