Chinese zodiac: the Year of the Yin Fire Rooster starting on 28 January 2017. Top feng shui tips for 2017.

Yin Fire 丁 酉 鷄 Rooster Jan 28, 2017 – Feb 15, 2018

Characteristics of the Rooster sign

People born in the Year of the Rooster have many excellent characteristics, such as being honest, bright, communicative and ambitious. They like to be independent and don’t like to rely on others. They get enthusiastic about new things, but can soon become indifferent. This means they need to have enough resilence, perseverance and patience to follow through their plans. People born in the Year of the Rooster are deep thinkers and are quite observant. They tend to see things in black and white – which in turn can make them perfectionists which can make them appear arrogant. Rooster people make loyal and devoted friends. The Rooster is the tenth of the twelve animal symbols in the Chinese zodiac and is the only bird included in the Chinese zodiac.

Tap into Rooster traits

In 2017, the Rooster Year – no matter which Chinese animal you are – you can benefit by tapping into Rooster traits, characteristics and strengths such as precision and clarity as well as independence, capability, warm-heartedness, self-respect, quick-mindedness while avoiding its weaknesses such as: impatience, criticism, eccentricity, narrow-mindedness and selfishness. Since roosters are ready to spring into action, are very precise and are against any entropy – embrace new rejuvenation trends such as negentropy or syntropy (see the glossary of those terms at the end of this blog).

Rooster years

1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Find your Chinese animal sign

2017 the Rooster year – the wake-up year – for new beginnings 

Last year (the year of the monkey) was quite a dramatic year, full of interesting and unexpected surprises and events. 2016 could be summarised as a ‘divisive’ year on many levels – politically, socially, economically and religiously. 2017, the Year of the Rooster could be summarised as the ‘wake up’ year. Roosters wake up early in the morning to rouse everyone into action with their enthusiasm. Not just one creature or person but everyone so the call to action is for a group effort. Waking up well, after a good night sleep is the most fundamental step for a good day (see below about sleep). Collaboration is the key in 2017, as well as precision and clarity which are fundamental characteristics of a rooster year. Group and business collaboration and business contracts could flourish this year as long as there is clear communication. According to Chinese astrologers, family and love should also trend in 2017, as it’s a year to clear up any misunderstandings and renew family relationships.

Science will flourish in 2017. Judging from the sales of the tickets for science shows (e.g. see Brian Cox) – science has renewed its importance for new discoveries and bridging social and cultural divisions. Science has become a new religion. Following the etymology of religion – according to Cicero it comes from relegere (to read anew) and according to Lactantius it comes from religare (to bind) – science has a chance to do both. In the very divided social and political landscape of today, science has a new role to fulfil, since it is not meant to be partisan.

Knowing what you want to happen over the next 12 months is essential for a successful year.  But please note that the last few years could be characterised as years of shaping and reshaping our realities so that anything can happen – in the true sense of the yin and yang of things where everything is in a constant state of flux. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t plan (see the points below).

“Life is about creating yourself.”

According to Chinese astrology, it will be a year of facing up to all aspects of life on this planet. If humanity gets its priorities and values right – 2017 could be a transformational year. Many things are working and many things need to be sorted out. People, planet and profit should be our focus and values (not the other way around). The ecology and weather might dominate the news (see the colour of the year below). On the personal side of things, it’s the year to create yourself, following perennial wisdom that life is not about discovering yourself – life is really about creating yourself. (By the way, if you don’t know who you are – try BigMind mediation)

How to achieve goals in 2017 (and keep your New Year resolution): ask yourself a question

Research suggests, that instead of telling yourself to change your behaviour or achieve a goal – it’s better to ask yourself a question. So instead of ‘I’ll exercise in 2017’ you’ll get better results by asking ‘will I exercise in 2017?’. It’s called the ‘question-behaviour effect,’ where asking questions regarding a particular subject will influence future decisions. Asking a simple question will also prompt a psychological response (yes/no), which will influence later behaviours. Dr Eric R. Spangenberg, of the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine said, “We found the effect is strongest when questions are used to encourage behaviour with personal and socially accepted norms, such as eating healthy foods or volunteering,” The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology last year and the effect was found to influence behaviour more than six months later, after the study was completed.

Create a bagua vision board for 2017

Vision boards (also called mood boards) are motivational tools that many successful people swear by (Victoria Beckham, Kelly Hoppen, Oprah Winfrey among many). The difference between generic vision boards and the bagua vision board is that the bagua vision board has fixed spaces for different aspects of your life. See below.

Check your personal feng shui astrology bagua for 2017

1) First check what your feng shui star element (ming gua /ba zhai) is on the chart below

This star chart is derived from the following calculation: add all the digits of the date of your birth until you end up with one digit and then subtract that number from 11. For example,  if you were born in 1989, 1+9+8+9=27 and then 2+7 = 9  and then 11-9=2, so 2 is your star number, and in 2017 your star is in the travel area of the bagua making it a particularly good year to travel, making new friends and philanthropic activities. If your star number is 9 – then 2017 is good for focusing on your wealth and prosperity.

2) Check the bagua feng shui 2017 chart below and notice which house of the bagua your star element sits in this year. This should be your focus for 2017. For example, if your bagua number is 9, then your feng shui star is in the house of wealth this year – so focus on your finances and prosperity. You can also place a money plant or a photo of Koi carp in the wealth area of your home or living room or in your workplace.

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to clarify what you want to manifest in 2017. Print out this bagua feng shui 2017 planner and write down what you want and what you’re willing to do feng shui-wise in your home or workplace this year.

Remember, feng shui = intention + energy + ritual. A good time to start something new is during a new moon phase. Usually, you have about 8 hours to 3 days from the time the new moon starts to visualise what you want. Check the moon phases calendar for each month for your location. Also, each sign of the zodiac has one day a year when your new moon is the most potent. More on how to make your new moon work for you

Mercury retrograde

During the year 2017, Mercury goes retrograde four times and during these times one should be careful:
Dec 19, 2016 to Jan 8, 2017 From earth sign Capricorn to fire-sign Sagittarius
April 9 to May 3, 2017 From earth sign Taurus, to fire-sign Aries
August 12 to Sept 5, 2017 From earth sign Virgo, ends in fire-sign Leo
December 3 to December 22, 2017 During fire sign Sagittarius

Clarify your values for 2017

If the key values for humanity are people, planet, profit, and (in that order) – what are your values? Write down a brand new list of your values for 2017. What is important to you in 2017? Research suggests that values are key to our behaviour and our behaviour shapes our destiny. Write down a list of the five topmost important values for you, in order of importance plus another five which are important as well. My values for 2017 are longevity and health, love, harmony, peace and prosperity.

The colours for 2017: red and kale

Since it’s a yin fire rooster year, the colour red which signifies the element fire – is one choice. But be careful not to overdo it. Red colours are very powerful and potent – but too much of it can cause aggravation and overstimulation and accelerate things too rapidly. The supporting colour (in the cycle of 5 elements) is green. According to Pantone, kale is the colour of 2017 or greenery if you like. The green colour is also the colour of new beginnings. “There’s a growing desire to reconnect with Nature and what is real and find ways to disconnect from technology. We need a break. We need to stop and breathe,”  and “(Greenery) is about unity and community – connecting to oneself and others and a higher purpose, Nature.” said Laurie Pressman, the Pantone Color Institute’s vice president.

Spending time in nature as a way of balancing our busy lives will become even more important in the coming year. The biophilia effect is about connecting with nature and benefitting from its rejuvenating effects. Short of contact with nature, surround yourself with plants, ferns (they naturally ionise air) and images of beautiful landscapes and gardens.

Get a new doormat

One of the easiest ways to change the energy of your home is to change the doormat. Find a new doormat that represents your values or what you want or just get one in the colours of the year 2017 i.e. red or kale/green. It will also influence how you feel and relate to the external business world at the beginning of your day.

Get your clocks in order and learn to manage your time

Make sure that all your clocks work well. Time has become a major commodity. (‘Time’ is the most used word in English.) Become efficient and learn skills to manage your time better. Once you have clarity about your key values and priorities, managing time becomes much easier. And make sure that you have time to do nothing and smell flowers along the way…

Sleep well – wake up well

If there is one feng shui advice that will definitely change your energy and your life is to sleep well so you wake up fully alert, full of energy and with a zest for life. To begin your day well is going to be a trend. Your bedroom is the most important room in your house. It doesn’t matter much what kind of feng shui you have in the rest of your home, if you don’t sleep well, so make sure you:
(1) Check for any electro-smog and geopathic stress since electro-stress is now the biggest concern of feng shui enthusiasts;
(2) Sleep in total darkness (even one photon of light can disturb your melatonin production and you may not go into deep sleep, etc and so does electro-stress so switch off the wifi router for the night).
(3) If possible, sleep with your head pointing towards north to align yourself with the magnetic field of the Earth. Research suggests that many animals align themselves north-south.
(4) Negative ions have been shown to improve sleep, mental alertness and wellbeing – so getting a negative ion generator (especially if you live in a polluted city) is recommended. Look after your sleep and your day will work extremely well.

Classical feng shui tips for 2017

Classical feng shui suggests placing a small metal wind chime in the south part of the house to protect negative energies coming from that direction in 2017. If a small wind chime is not appropriate there, you can use a pendulum clock or something metallic or reflective in that area and it will do the job.  If things get out of control this year – get grounded, or practice earthing or have regular baths with epsom or magnesium salts – the element of earth will drain the rooster’s fire element (according to the five element cycle).

Celebrate the New Year – do something new

The easiest way to celebrate a new beginning is to wear something brand new and do something brand new (visit a new gallery, travel to a new place, go to a new restaurant, get a new wallet if wealth is important to you, start eating something new and healthy, develop a new habit such as speed reading, etc). Research suggests that whenever you do something new – your body releases dopamine which is a hormone responsible for motivation and success.

Summary of the top tips for 2017

• Think new beginnings, know what you want and plan to do new things in 2017
• Sleep well so you can wake up well and have a great beginning to your day
• Refresh the feng shui of your home and workplace: get new things such as plants (ferns), doormats, negative ionisers, etc
• Embrace negentropy and fractality as new aspects of life (maybe get a few fractal images and hang them in your kitchen)
• Spend more time in nature to benefit from biophilia effect to reduce stress (and while you’re there practice mindfulness and coherent breathing).

Glossary

Entropy is the tendency towards disorder, dispersion, fragmentation, wear and tear, acidity, lower metabolism, low cell voltage and telomere chromosomes breaking down. It is what eventually impairs mood, motivation, mindfulness, motor skills, weakens all body functions and quickens ageing. In short, entropy leads to death.
Negentropy, the reverse of entropy, is centripetal, life creating and re-ordering, and helps to reverse disease, the ageing process and re-charges every cell of the body. Life is considered negentropic because it takes things in a less ordered state, such as food, and turns them into things in a more orderly state, such as cells, body tissues and organs. The centripetal, conjugate and fractal (therefore Negentropic) electromagnetic fields accelerate life and all living systems, gather new molecules into phase and get things back into coherence and order. In short, negentropy is rejuvenation.

A few ways to boost your negentropy:

1) coherent breathing has been shown to enhance your HRV (heart rate variability) – get the iTHRVE app that will teach you how to breathe in a coherent way
2) spending time in nature (biophilia effect) will connect you with the fractality of nature
3) visiting healing Ravne tunnels of the pyramid complex in Visoko, Bosnia will allow your body to rejuvenate naturally away from environmental stressors or any other power places or sacred healing sites
4) eating live organic fractal foods such will recalibrate your body
5) experiencing the Theraphi device negentropic field will definitely reboot your self-healing capacities