Introducing Maru

Again, another unrelated post but Maru the Scottish Fold cat residing in Japan is now a viral hit on Youtube. You must check out why!

Blessings and all the best,
Corey

The Mythical Tale of Pangu and Nuwa - Part III

... And here is the third, and last, installment of the charming tale of Pangu and Nuwa. Have a great read.

Incidentally I'd like to apologize for not blogging as much as I liked lately - it's because I've come down with the flu! It's really nothing serious (it's not synonymous with a particular oinking animal), but as flus are wont to be it debilitates one's body to such a level that all I want to do is just hide under my duvet and sleep. I feel much better today, and thus this blog post. Enjoy!

With the creations of humankind by the mother goddess Nuwa and the life lessons by her partner Fushi, people were equipped to lead a civilized existence. For some time they lived in relative comfort and enjoyed security.

But one day, there came an unexpected arrival of the god of water Gonggong and the god of fire Zhurong into the realm of the universe.

Both gods came and, as suddenly as their arrival, they began to commence a bitter fight. Not one soul knew the reason behind the fight nor when it began, but before long the battle turned fiercer than ever, with a rage that consumed the boundaries of heaven and spilt into the world of humans.

The battle was endless and spanned more than a few days. Finally, victory was achieved by Zhurong, the god of fire. Gonggong was defeated and, as the loser, felt extreme shame. He refused to face his other god-comrades and instead decided to end his life by suicide.

Gonggong chose a most unfortunate way to end his life, by butting his head forcefully into a mountain, or one of the ‘pillars’ that supported the universe. He did little harm to his head (he was a god, after all) but his head-butt caused a great deal of damage to the mountain, or pillar of the universe. A huge piece of jagged rock crashed downwards to crush a corner of the earth whereas the heavens supported by the ‘pillar’ came tumbling down, leaving a gaping hole in the blue arch of the sky.

Huge crevasses gaped in the shattered earth, some releasing leaping flames, others gushing with water from unknown depths which flooded vast areas of land and turned them into a sea. Thousands of people drowned, and thousands more could do nothing more than to look on desperately as the tongues of flame burned their houses and crops.

Nuwa, the creator and mother goddess, could hardly keep still and see the terrible devastation of the earth as well as the endangerment of her children. Therefore as fast s she could, Nuwa began repairing all the damages caused by the god-fight.

To do so, she carefully selected many pebbles colored with the five primary colors out of the riverbeds of the Yellow River and the Yangzte River. She gathered these pebbles together and melted them together in a heavenly forge. With this mass of melted rock Nuwa mended the sky so that it remained once more as a whole.

As a precautionary step to ensure that the heavens would not topple again Nuwa made use of an immortal tortoise. With a tortoise’s blessing, she used its four legs as a means of support within the four points of the compass. Nuwa also burned reeds from beside the river, and used the ashes to stuff up great gaping crevasses. This forced back the flooding water and the rivers and seas gained equilibrium.

The goddess mother was not one to forsake her children’s bereaved emotions, and to help them forget the terrible argument and heal the emotional wounds, Nuwa created an instrument from reeds.

She chose thirteen different lengths of reed, bound them together and arranged them in the shape of a bird’s tail. When one blows upon this instrument, the reed pipes would give off a clear, melodious sound. The songs from the instrument calmed everyone’s hearts and gave peace at a time of turmoil.

Nuwa may be all-powerful, but unfortunately she could not do anything about the fallen mountain pillar. As it landed on the northeast corner of the land, this accident caused this particular area to remain much lower in level than the rest.

That is why all the rivers and streams in China tend to flow eastwards, pouring their waters into the great ocean that formed in the hollow east of the land. If you look at a map of China, you will see that all the major rivers still to this day flow eastwards to the sea.

Blessings and all the best, Corey

BaZi Chinese Astrology Reading for Michael Jackson - Part II

Let's continue with the BaZi Chinese Astrology analysis into the character and 'mind' of Michael Jackson. Previously, i covered his Day Element which plays a huge part in one's personality makeup but makes up only a slice of the entire figurative BaZi 'pie'.

There are so many other pointers to consider when reading into one's Chinese Astrology, such as Clashes, Useful Gods and corresponding elements that can either build up to fortify one's Day Pillar, or attack the foundation of one's BaZi to weaken one's overall prospects.

In BaZi terminology, each minute, hour, day, month and year plays huge significance in terms of one's Luck prospects. For Michael Jackson, he was born in the hour of the Horse, the day of the Tiger, the month of the Monkey and year of the Dog. This formation creates a 'clash' due to the incompatibility of the Tiger and the Monkey.

This clash represents Michael Jackson's projection regarding his private life, whereby he was rarely at peace even within the confines of his house. The clash of the Monkey and Tiger also denotes to tireless traveling.

As we all know by now, Michael Jackson spent a huge part of his earlier life on the road, and later on as a father he took his children to numerous extended trips across the globe.

As mentioned, Michael Jackson was born in the hour of the Horse. The Horse, in turn, is represented by the element of Fire. The Fire element is a central player in Michael Jackson's overall Chinese Astrology since it represents happiness, joy and fulfillment.

His early twenties were represented by a BaZi cycle that enhances his Fire element. Thus during this stage in his life, he gained intense worldwide popularity as well as amassed a great deal of wealth. He was in his element, so to speak, becoming the brilliant and groundbreaking performer and artist that he was world-famous for. His music and distinctive style pioneered the movement of pop music during this time in his life.

(As an aside, Michael Jackson was born in the month of August. During this particular period, the Metal element is strong and potent. The Metal element happens to be very helpful to the Wu Earth person because Earth 'creates' Metal. Thus, Michael Jackson was born in a favorable month that guarantees creativity, freedom of expression, strong artistic skills and confidence. )



By his early thirties, his Fire element experienced an imbalance due to a clash with the Rat animal. The years ahead then saw his otherwise remarkable achievements go down a twisted path of weirdness, for lack of a better word. Michael Jackson earned the derisive nickname 'Wacko Jacko' during these years.

As he sojourned into his forties, Michael Jackson's run of Wealth luck reached its end due to his Fire element being 'broken' by certain clashes and formations in his chart. His entire being was being besieged by unhappiness and bad experiences, such as the notorious court proceedings for the allegations of child molestation.

He was also constantly dogged by gossipmongers, backstabbers and less than stellar album sales. He was caught in a downward spiral, yet by this time he was just too eccentric or stubborn to stop himself.

I will let you ponder on this part of Michael Jackson's Life Path analysis, and will soon blog again for Part III regarding the state of Michael Jackson before and during his death.

Blessings, all the best, and R.I.P Michael,
Corey

Completely off-topic

... But if you are a cat lover like me, you will probably love this site!

The Mythical Tale of Pangu and Nuwa - Part II

... On to part II of the fascinating tale of Pangu and Nuwa.

(Later, people would comment on Nuwa’s humans and note that those she made using her own hands were lucky, well-endowed and blessed, whereas those formed by the shaking of the cane-stick became poor unfortunate souls.)

Having created her very own battalion of men and women, Nuwa instituted the concept of marriage to allow her people to procreate and extend the human race without any more assistance from her.

One may assume that Nuwa the mother goddess was all alone in the world when she began creating humans, but in actual fact she had a companion who shared her half-human, half-dragon hybrid form. His name was Fushi and his gift to mankind was fire.

The stories related to the origins of Fushi are varied, but a major portion of the sources claim that he was the son or brother of the Thunder God. Because this was so, he was able to bestow fire to humans.

Before fire came into being on earth, humans could only witness the fiery spectacle in the form of lightning. Fushi taught the humans how to harness fire for their own use, and with the power of manipulating fire in the humans’ hands, they were able to cook their food when previously they had to make do with hard-to-digest raw meats.

Fire also gave humans the upper hand during hunting expeditions, since animals were very fearful of the flames.

Aside from the gift of fire, Fushi also taught the people on the many uses of rope. With infinite care he gave lessons on how to weave nets to catch fish in the sea and river.

Fushi was also a patron master of the spiritual arts for the humans, teaching divination methods, clairvoyance and other spiritual practices to anyone who was willing to learn. Fushi pioneered the hexagram, or written symbols consisting of solid and broken lines to symbolize the eight elements of the planet.

Each of these hexagrams consist of three short lines, and permutations of these lines stood for different arrangements of heaven, earth, water, fire, mountain, thunder, wind and river. When used in combination, these symbols take oracular meanings that can be interpreted through a manual of divination.

This manual is world famous today, and all people from all walks of life make use of it. Back then, the tome was known as the Yijing (I-Ching), or the Book of Changes.

Because times were hard and primitive to the extreme, Fushi’s gift of divination was well received and many people depended on the Yijing to foretell various favorable and unfavorable forthcoming events such as demystifying affairs of state, prescribing medication for illnesses and more.

Thus the names of Nuwa and Fushi are often interlinked with antiquarian works of literature, and they were commonly depicted as the friends and saviors of early mankind.

Alternative stories pertaining to the origins of Nuwa and Fushi are still in existence. In one tale, Nuwa and Fushi are depicted as fellow siblings, whereas another depicts them as a married couple. Yet another particularly fascinating story tells of a mighty flood that flushed all humans off the earth save for a young boy and girl pair called Nuwa and Fushi. Both survived by floating atop a large gourd. When this flood subsided, Nuwa and Fushi married and beget children to recreate the lineage of humans on earth.

Whichever the tale one chooses to follow, one aspect maintains the common ground which is of Nuwa and Fushi as the original co-creators of mankind today, as well as both becoming our earliest teachers.

BaZi Chinese Astrology Reading for Michael Jackson - Part I

I have been thinking of Michael Jackson's untimely passing with a heavy heart since I heard the bad news. To my readers who are serious die-hard fans of Michael Jackson, do remain strong, think good thoughts and pray for his bereaved family.

(Incidentallty, my favorite picture of him is the one on the right - oddly enough, it was actually taken in a courtroom!)

These past few days I had been thinking of doing a basic BaZi Four Pillars of Destiny reading regarding his Life Path. For those of you who are not in the know-how of metaphysical lingo, this means a plotting of Michael Jackson's Chinese Astrological chart to discover his Self, his Life Path and the state of his death. This is a Chinese Astrological reading of Michael Jackson, derived from BaZi.

First off, let's start with his Day Pillar, or the very basic analysis of his personality.

Michael Jackson is a Wu Earth person. Wu Earth is Yang Earth and is symbolized by huge earth-driven natural formations such as boulders, mountains and hills. As can be imagined, Wu Earth people are generally endowed with length of bone, meaning a tall physique. Michael Jackson certainly possesses a tall albeit lean frame.

Wu Earth people possess a strong sense of responsibility towards family and friends. Therefore throughout their lives they project a rock-solid and dependable stance. They are, simply put, the type you would unhesitatingly lean on for help, assistance, encouragement or to gain strength from.

Wu Earth people are also known as utter perfectionists and are driven by sky-high ambition. Indeed, they would rather exert themselves by pushing themselves to the limit to reach their goal rather than settle for anything less than the best.

Aside from this, Wu Earth people are true to their word and for most of the time, they’re also quite shrewd when it comes to money matters. They have the capacity to choose great investments. In other words, Michael Jackson would have made an excellent banker if he weren’t such a consummate performer-artist.

Those who are Wu Earth in nature are usually slow starters. They are prone to hesitate and procrastinate, and they find that starting off a new venture of project as very tedious prospects indeed. Though this is the case, once they get over the initial hurdle they can progress quite well.

Wu Earth people are famous for being secretive. They do not disclose inside information easily, and tend to keep their innermost thoughts to themselves. In fact, they find it next to impossible to confess their deepest feelings to others aside from the rare choice friend that they explicitly trust. But, that said, even close friends may not have been aware of what Michael Jackson’s true thoughts, feelings and ideas were throughout his entire life.

Wu Earth people project an aura of mystery to others. They are also emotionally driven in nature, meaning that their actions in life are mostly derived from their hearts and less to do with rationale or logic.

Michael Jackson, much like all Wu Earth persons, is a social creature. Wu Earth people have strong communication skills and network effortlessly. They have a huge circle of friends ranging the spectrum of society. But in a paradoxical way Wu Earth people are also loners and deep in their hearts they ‘want to be alone’, to paraphrase the famous quote by Greta Garbo.

Wu Earth people are naturally drawn to obscure and eccentric topics such as spirituality, paranormal phenomenon, mythology and folklore, metaphysical subjects and beyond.

Wu Earth people are very susceptible to pettiness, gossip and backbiting. Indeed, we all know by now that Michael Jackson was plagued by these types of instances on an extreme level. Though this is the case, for most of the time these types of negativities are superficial in nature and have no serious or lasting effects to the tough Wu Earth individual.

Sometimes, Wu Earth people second-guess themselves due to feeling disoriented, confused or just plain stressed. They also perceive themselves to be oftentimes bullied by those who have power or authority or by family members and peers. More often than not these types of issues are disproportionately magnified by the harassed Wu Earth person. This is indeed a clue to Michael Jackson’s estrangement with his father and certain family members.

Generally speaking, Wu Earth people need a strong shock to the system or near catastrophic failure before they achieve real and true success in life.

I will continue to go deeper into his BaZi chart in my next post, so do stay tuned. Those of you who are intrigued by BaZi, you may plot your very own Chinese Astrology chart by using our free BaZi Calculator.

Blessings and all the best,
Corey

Flying Stars Alert for July 7 to August 6 2009

Central – 9 Purple
This July, the auspicious Future Wealth star #9 Purple is aligned in the Central Palace, making this location the second best location for the month! If you are keen to augment your income in the long run, or even strengthen your children’s future prospects, do make full use of this area by conducting your activities, work- or play-related, here! You will be enjoying plenty of good ‘future’ luck this way!

North – 5 Yellow
The most inauspicious area of the month, the North palace is visited by both the monthly and annual star #5 Yellow, also known as the ominous Accident star. If you make use of this area, you can be sure that you or other dwellers of the home is in for some slip-ups, accidents and other bodily injuries! The best way to keep safe from the #5 Yellow is to avoid the North altogether this month.

If you sleep in this area, or can’t help but to use the North on a daily basis, you can weaken the Earth element of this nasty-star by using Metal cures. Metal cures are simply a Feng Shui term for metal décor pieces made of brass, silver and other base metals. Use protective pagoda metal cures – you’ll see better improvements this way.

Southwest – 6 White
The benevolent #6 White, being a very positive and Yang star, is a good to tap into if you are keen in climbing the corporate (or even social!) ladder. This area is best used for business or social meetings and get-togethers, though it’s not such an ideal place for sleep at the moment.

Make use of the Wealth God Cai Shen in the Southwest this month to strengthen its luck. Remember, place your venerable statues on an elevated height!

Northwest – 1 White
The benevolent Family star #1 White has flown in the Northwest palace for the month as well as the year, making this location fertile ground for some great family harmony! Conduct most of your family related activities in the central area of your home this month for the best effects – you will begin to see a wonderful sense of harmony and camaraderie between dwellers this way. Those who live with friends should also make use of the Northwest area.

Northeast – 3 Jade
The Northeast Palace is afflicted this month (and year!) by the Argument Star #3 Jade. If your central space is taken up by a convergence area such as a dining room or living room, this will mean plenty of in-house brawls and fights that may even lead to permanent enmity between those living under one roof.

Weaken the effects of this anger-mismanagement star by simply using the color red! Red represents the crucial Fire element that can weaken the Wood element of this star. To cure, decorate your Northeast location with a red lampshade or a red carpet.

You can also use incense burners – the smoke wafting from these will summon up the Fire element very well to weaken the effects of this fight-happy star.

South – 4 Green
The famed Romance and Academic star, #4 Green, is in the South Palace this month and the double effects will be of most use to those who are seeking potential partners or academics who are in the midst of exams and papers.

To enhance your love or education luck, simply conduct most of your activities in this location! Utilizing the Water element is also a great idea in strengthening the effects of the #4 Green – decorate this area with a fish tank or a desktop fountain.

You can read the entire Flying Stars forecast by clicking here.

Blessings and all the best,
Corey