The 2nd of January marks the start of the lunations for 2022, this one being the new moon of Capricorn. It also marks something else, that being the start of the Month of the Iron Ox, or ‘The Ox on the Road’. If that sounds familiar, it should – the lunar year drawing to a close has the same name, and that means we have a situation for the lunar month call fu yin in Chinese astrology. That can be either fortunate or auger difficult times, depending. But there is more.
The Ox month is the last month of the lunar year, and it comes during the Capricorn phase in Western astrology. It would be easy to associate the Ox with the bull symbolism of Taurus in Western astrology, and there are similarities. However, the Ox is more associated with Capricornian qualities than Taurean ones – ambition toward financial success, financial acumen, the staid and steady qualities of the Saturnian side of Capricorn and so forth.
Both Taurus and the Ox are earth signs. But in Chinese astrology, Earth is associated with Saturn (the ‘Earth Planet’), whereas in Western astrology, earth as an element is rather generic, and undergirds three signs – Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. In Chinese astrology there are four Earth signs – the Ox, the Dragon, the Sheep/Goat and the Dog. So, the whole idea of the correspondence between the Chinese and Western zodiacs becomes rather blurred and confusing when looking at animals in distinction to signs. When seen in relation to their positions in the months of the year (for the northern hemisphere), however, the correspondences between the animal signs of Chinese astrology and the signs of the Western zodiac become much clearer.
With the preceding in mind, what does it mean that the year ends with the same Month Pillar as the Year Pillar? In BaZi (Chinese astrology) this is a situation known as fu yin, as stated previously. In general, it is seen as a negative influence and will affect situations depending upon where it is found in the Four Pillars. In this instance it is found between the month and the year, as seen below in the red box:
There is more, though. We note that all the Branches are of the Earth element and that three of the four are Oxen, with the Day Pillar being the Dragon. The latter clashes with the Ox Pillars, even though it is considered very fortunate as the Day Pillar. In all, this set of Pillars is extremely stubborn and unmoving. If there is one saving grace in the Chinese chart it is the Day Pillar, with Fire controlling the two fu yin Pillars. Leadership stepping forward here is possible, but it will be a tough road ahead for anyone who does step forward.
In the Western astrology, even though the Sun/Moon conjunction is trine Uranus, otherwise showing unexpected but fortunate turns of events, the new moon is also at the Mars/Saturn midpoint, which speaks of weakness of will, the inability to meet demands and the necessity to overcome illness. The latter point is abundantly clear with the pandemic besetting our Western democracies. This brings us to why considering this month in general is quite important.
On the 10th of this month, just over a week from now, there will be security talks between the US and Russia. It matters little who instigated the talks, but they come on the heels of what the Western press is calling the ‘Russian ultimatum’, issued publicly on 17 Dec 2021. There is nothing vague or implied in the Russian documents. They are a clear statement of what Russia sees as its security interests in Europe. They were initially dismissed out of hand by Western officials. Yet, we are seeing a discussion of them on the 10th. That is anything other than a dismissal of the Russian demands. A discussion between Russia and the NATO forum will follow on the 12th. The West may think it has the upper hand here, but times have changed.
If talks between the Russians, the US and NATO are successful, then two treaties will result, one between the US and Russia and the other between NATO and Russia. Read the proposed treaty. It is quite interesting. The proposed agreement with NATO is also of interest. Before anyone dismisses this as a Russian bluff or political play for domestic politics, the Russians aren’t bluffing. They have had enough of Western meddling along their border. The agreement with NATO would essentially hobble the pact. The treaty with Washington would be a diplomatic defeat for Washington. Neither the treaty nor the agreement will likely be agreed to by the Western powers. It would be a mistake on their part to ignore the Russian concerns, though, putting it mildly.
The talks on the 10th and the 12th will not be in the West’s favour. The talks with NATO on the 12th are only for show, anyway, because Washington is essentially the pilot for NATO. When we look at this month in comparison to the Biden administration’s chart (below), the situation on the 10th becomes rather clear: Washington has run out of options. They either work out some viable agreement with the Russians or the realities of Russian capabilities will become increasingly clear over the coming months. And neither the US nor Europe will like what happens should the latter become the case. Insecurity across the West would be on the rise.
Unfortunately, we can probably expect the collective leadership of the West to double down on their old policies rather than admit defeat. It would be a political defeat, but it would also bring greater security to all parties involved. This, too, will be addressed in the Chinese New Year letter. The West no longer negotiates with the Russia-China-Iran bloc from a position of strength, much as we may like to think otherwise.
What we see in comparing the Biden administration chart with the Ox Month chart, there is again a surfeit of Earth. The Hour Pillar, representing the diplomatic staff and the American people as a whole, shows a classic clash. The Chinese word it thus: “The Horse fears the Ox.” The allies of the US are represented in the Month Pillar, which is fu yin with the Hour Pillar for the month. And finally, we see a surfeit of Earth in the administration chart, with a count of 6 out of a possible 12. Earth (as in Saturn) overpowers everything for the last lunar month of the Year of the Iron Ox.
There is a wider meaning for the Ox, in that it stands to represent certain aspects of oligarchy. The tendency for any Earth animal is to settle, to accumulate, to strive for a position of security and for eminence within that stable place. For the Ox the dynamic just described is amplified. What this month points to is a setback for oligarchs everywhere. With the emergence of multipolarity and win-win treaties, the accumulative power of oligarchy is lessened, which should lead to a better position for the people of the lands affected by said oligarchs. The struggle between the oligarchies across the West and the people of the West is gathering in strength, and will do so for the next few years. It will reach a climactic point this year for the arms industries, and that will have wide implications for the United States especially. But that is another story.
Continuing with the Biden admin chart, we see that the month of the Ox clashes with the Biden administration chart in the Month and the Day (the Day represents Biden himself), and the Month in general has a tendency to drain the energies of the Day Pillar, with Earth being overly strong for the month. No matter what happens, Biden is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the talks on the 10th and the 12th.
If Biden even hints at making some sort of deal with the Russians, even so far as having negotiations with them, it will bring the outrage of the hawks in the Beltway, the MIC (which profits handsomely from tensions with Russia), certain NATO states (notably the 3B+P states – the three Baltics and Poland), and the right wing media will excoriate him as being weak. The liberal media will do in kind, though not to as great an extent.
The other alternative is for Biden to double down on old Washington hawkish policies, which would play well for domestic politics, especially seeing ’22 brings the midterm elections. But that would bring other consequences later, in that the Russians will begin to up the ante on NATO expansion and Washington’s belligerence. If so, then we will likely see a ‘Cuban Missile crisis v. 2.0’ later in the year. Either way, Washington and NATO are going to lose face as a result of the talks beginning on the 10th of this month. The short answer here is that 2022 will come to be known as the true beginning of the multipolar world order. Pax Americana is seeing its end now. This will be fully addressed in the Chinese New Year letter.
There is one more item to outline here, but we take a brief aside and ask: Is the preceding Chinese astrology reflected also in the Western astrology? Answer: Indeed, it is. The Biden administration chart with transits is shown below (bigger):
We see transiting Saturn square the admin Horizon axis: Decisions will have to be made and negotiations will be hard. The administration is under the microscope now and Biden’s numbers are flagging. Transiting Saturn also sits at the admin Mercury/Jupiter midpoint, one which describes negotiations in particular with Saturn: “Inhibitions when trying to make a decision, the display of uncertainty during negotiations. – Breaking off negotiations, saying goodbye, the desire to withdraw from other people, making a journey.”
And then, we see the old and familiar Mars/Neptune that we see in the national chart of the US, squaring each other by transit. From that we will hear all sorts of jingoism from the administration, “negotiating from a position of strength”, talk of “red lines” and then all the usual talk of human rights, American values, democracy and so forth – intransigence for public consumption and the inability to bend and change with circumstances, in other words.
The reason to look at all this is because what has come to a head for the last 20 years between Russia, China and the West is now on the table for resolution, one way or another, and this year. If there is real leadership in Washington and NATO headquarters, treaties and agreements will be signed. The world’s security depends upon these and similar agreements and talks, and that is far from hyperbole.
European security in particular depends on peace between Washington and Moscow. The American MIC, instead, would like nothing better than to keep the alleged threat level high in order to ‘justify’ selling more expensive American weapons to the Europeans, along with all the maintenance costs, which of course, require American personnel for upkeep.
The 3B+P states and Ukraine can sit there and sulk all they like if peace breaks out, but when push comes to shove, they have no say these matters. Their security, too, would be ensured by such agreements. Then, maybe, we can get to the business at hand of saving our own nations instead of supporting the protection racket that is NATO. These talks and the ones to follow will be one of the biggest stories of the year, which is why we bring it up here.
We won’t see anything immediate from these talks, but over time the effects will be clear enough. But here is how you can tell if the talks are being successful and security agreements are at hand: The media will be in hysteria about how Biden is selling out the US and Europe and how Russia is threatening the world with nuclear destruction. Don’t believe a word of it. But there is a little matter we left out. What does fu yin in the Four Pillars actually indicate?
Between the Year and Month Pillars, fu yin indicates loss of inheritance if it is not offset by more powerful, positive factors. We do not see the latter here for this month. The ‘inheritance’ being lost is hegemony and empire. But we regain national sovereignty among nations as a result. There is always a silver lining with these factors. In general, no matter what the Pillars involved, fu yin means realities do not meet expectations (disappointments) and success slips away at the last minute. And there is one more little item to add: The lunar New Year – the Year of the Black Tiger – starts with the same type of fu yin between the Month and Year Pillars. We’ll leave that for the New Year letter. So, from now until the beginning of March we are going to have a very interesting ride. I hope you like roller coasters!
For aficionados of Western astrology, the new moon is at 18:33 UT. Take some time and meditate to get a sense of what lies ahead. And don’t be agitated by what might appear. What is happening now has been necessary and needed for some years now. It was inevitable at some point. At last, that point is in sight.
The new moon takes place at the 13th degree of Capricorn. It is a supermoon and the Moon is out-of-bounds. All things concerning the public and emotional expression are favoured with this full moon, and unexpected opportunities are present. Take these things as seeds for the future. They will bear good fruit. For now, just enjoy the ride. We are on the upswing. Peace is coming.
Featured pic from Destination 360
Peace indeed. Dazzled, per usual.