ANNUAL forecasting of global and economic trends is a sought after topic from metaphysics professionals at the start of every year. Many methods can be utilised for forecasting - some professionals use the BaZi chart of the year, others look at the Flying Stars.
In my view, for a comprehensive approach, it is always best to utilise overlapping methods - that way, one can be certain of a specific pronouncement because more than one source of data is pointing at a conclusion. Accordingly, I typically will utilise BaZi and QiMenDunJia (QMDJ) to ascertain macro trends for global affairs and economic matters. BaZi provides a sense of the elemental energies for the year and also, we can utilise the birthdays of key world leaders to get a good flavour of what the year holds politically and economically. QMDJ allows for more accurate forecasting of outcomes, since it’s original usage is in the Art of War and conflicts.
As always, readers are cautioed that none of this should be regarded as constituting professional investment advice and you are of course, encouraged to conduct your own research as well. In the BaZi chart for the year of the Dog, we can see that the element of Wood is extremely dominant, whilst the element of Metal is trapped within the Dog Earthly Branch. Specifically, Dog is known as the Graveyard of Metal. The element of Water is extremely weak, whilst Fire, specifically Ding Fire, is strong, dare one say, emboldened in 2018, by virtue of a supportive combination within the chart. Finally, Wood is extremely strong in 2018, arguably out of control, as there is no Metal element to keep the Wood in check.
The generic conclusion would be to assume that the strong elements will dominate and the weak elements will perform poorly. But, this fails to appreciate how domination of elements is to be interpreted within an economic context. For example, the element of Wood is dominant in 2018, but is that necessarily therefore the case that Wood industries (education, furniture businesses, timber, agricultural commodities) will perform well? One could argue that domination does not always necessarily equate with financial outcome - it merely suggests that the Wood defined industries will hog the headlines. But for what reasons the headline hogging happens? This requires digging a little deeper.
Beware of barking dog
To determine how the Wood-connected industries will perform well financially, one has to look at the quality of the industry’s wealth element in the 2018 chart. The Wood industry’s wealth is represented by the element of Earth. Coincidentally, Earth is also the element of 2018, since it is the year of the Earth Dog.
Looking at the Wood industry with regards to its financial performance, 2018’s chart contains a solid pillar of Earth in the Year, represented by the pillar Wu Xu. In BaZi imagery, Wu Xu denotes a big craggy mountain, a grand canyon. So since this represents the Wealth element of Wood, it could be argued that Wood sees a giant pile of money in effect. But the problem is, this is a type of Earth that cannot be controlled effectively by Wood. So the effect would be akin to overeating at the buffet table and getting indigestion. How then does this translate in terms of economics and earnings?
Furniture, chipboard manufacturing, education and upstream timber and agricultural sectors will potentially experience the excitement of new markets opening up and investing enthusiasm. There will also be potentially a lot of corporate activity and fund raising activity, which contributes to a sense of exuberance about companies in this sector.
But Wood cannot control the Earth, the wealth be it in the form of income or new capital, cannot be digested. Furthermore, the strength of the Wood element in 2018 is by virtue of strength is from numbers. This denotes popularity, but also intense competition.
So accordingly, one can surmise that education, timber, upstream agriculture and commodities that derive from large trees, as well as the furniture and chipboard sectors will hog the deal flow headlines. These counters will also be popular with investors, who are attracted to the growth possibilities or the opportunity for new markets or virgin ventures. However, the numbers will likely to be pretty rather than profitable, and in the end, it may well be that earnings turn out to be staid and less than stellar.
Who’s the alpha dog?
So which sector looks promising in 2018? The Water element appears to be getting short shrift in the year - there is only a singular Water Stem in the Hour Pillar and the element has little by way of support in the year. However, a number of combinations present in the 2018 BaZi chart act to produce Fire. Fire is the Wealth element for water.
This suggests that the hidden gem of the year is going to be in Water related industries and businesses but it will not be apparent until Q4 of the year, when Water becomes stronger. Water related industries would be logistics, service industries, beverages and tourism (specifically cruises and water parks). International logistics is likely to perform better than regional or domestic logistics businesses. Water-related industries that have government contracts or who have government links are likely to be more profitable than those servicing purely the private sector. As an outlier idea, wind-powered energy maybe something to look at in 2018.
As the Water element is only prominent in the final quarter of the year, most of the progress made in the Water- related industries will probably fly under the radar. Thus, a lack of deal making activity should not be regarded as evidence that nothing is going on.
Doghouse or Buried Bones?
In every annual forecast, we invariably must look at the outcome for the Metal element. This is because Metal represents finance, and thus, is associated with stock markets and currencies. In 2018, Metal is said to enter the Graveyard, which denotes, Metal energy is weak. With it’s position within the Dog, there are arguably two ways to interpret this. If one is to interpret Metal as weak, then all matters associated with the Metal element, such as commodities, gold prices, stock markets and currencies will decline or be depressed. The entry of Metal into the graveyard may also denote a lack of interest in these elements of the economy. Another way to interpret it is that Metal is not weak, but merely hiding within the Dog.
The position of the element of Metal is suggestive that major markets and giants of finance will not be of much interest whilst specialist and exotic currencies as well as gold and precious metals, may remain under the radar or experience little trading or speculative interest. This is because potentially, most of the deals are being done out of sight or in private, or are whale transactions - done between two large parties, with a view to keeping things on the low down. There may be hoarding of specialist metal commodities or high value currencies.
Wag the dog and mind the bitches
When we look at the QMDJ chart of the year, we get a different perspective on the economic and global trends. As the governing Stem of 2018 is Ding Fire, so we look at the East Palace of 2018’s QMDJ chart. Within the East Palace, we find the Moon Deity and the Grain Star. When present in the Scenary Palace, this is a formation known as The Red Phoenix of the Noble Moon. The Moon’s most obvious representation is the female sex. Thus, females will start to gain greater prominence and control in various professional sectors, albeit subtly since the Moon relates to activities that go on behind the scenes. Although the obvious indicator will be that female politicians and leaders will increase in number, since the Moon represents behind the scenes activities and hidden hands, it may not necessarily indicate female politicians necessarily becoming more prominent. Rather, it suggests that female politicians or female personalities will be somehow more influential, but not necessarily be at the forefront.
However, to have a more complete idea of what is going on, we need to look at the Palace and the Door that occupies the Palace. In 2018, the Scenery Door occupies the East Palace - in QMDJ, this is known as the Palace produces the Door, and it is regarded as a unfavourable state of affairs since the Door should always produce the
Palace. The Scenery Door denotes the artificial and manufactured, and typically is used to imply that everything is not as it seems. Coupled with the presence of the Moon, which denotes hidden hands or people operating behind the scenes, suggests that the theme for 2018 will be political theatrics, fake news and backroom dealings. Nothing will truly be as it seems, and the more grandiose the show, the more likely, it’s all for the cameras and the masses.
If we put the theme of ‘All is Not as It Seems’ and ‘Women Power’ into a singular equation, what this means is that in every situation or circumstance, pay attention to the female, specifically one behind the scenes. Or, if there is no female, the true power broker who is exerting soft power. In the United States, all eyes should be on Ivanka Trump, who is perhaps the best example of soft power behind the scenes.
Trending in 2018
Cryptocurrencies will be foremost on the minds of many moving into 2018 given the performance of Bitcoin and other crypto coins in 2017. What does QiMen have to say about cryptocurrencies?
In the practice of QiMen, all objects, relationships and activities can be represented either by a Star, Door or a Deity although ideallly, we want to be able to elucidate a concept as more than one. Due to the relative newness of cryptocurrencies, it is difficult to say for certain which Star, Door or Deity it represents.
For example, if one is of the view that cryptocurrencies are merely speculative devices which lack substance underlying them, then one would look at the Black Tortoise Deity in the NorthWest Palace to represent cryptocurrencies. This is because Black Tortoise is the Deity that is usually put in play when we are trying to forecast the outcome of something that appears to be uncertain, dicey or deceptive. But it is also possible to use the Grain Star which is in the East Palace to represent cryptocurrencies since in 2018 since Grain represents that which has an inherent yet uncrystalised or not yet determined value. Significantly if we look at the East Palace, we also find the Scenery Door and the Moon Deity.
Both these are indicators that cryptocurrencies may be a case of external appearances being much better than the substance at hand but with subtle differences. The Black Tortoise would be the point of reference to take if one assumes cryptocurrencies are tulip investments. By contrast, Grain and the Moon Deity would be the point of reference if the notion is that cryptocurrencies are useful and valuable but their purpose simply needs to be better understood by the market.
The forecast outcome is markedly different, depending on which reference is used. If we use the Black Tortoise as the reference for cryptocurrencies, then there is an indication that a serious market correction is likely to take place in August 2018. The crypto currency may well crash at this point, because the lack of substance becomes evident.
By contrast, if we use the Grain Star and Moon Deity in the East Palace, it will be a case of clarity is attained by the market about cryptocurrencies by July 2018 but major correction may not necessarily occur. Light will be shed, but it is questionable if this will result in a major price change.
2018 will also mark the midterm of Donald Trump’s occupancy of the White House. Talk of impeachment has dogged Trump since the early days of his presidency and he enteres 2018 also with the knowledge that he needs the Republicans to continue to hold the Senate and House of Representatives if he is to achieve his goals and agenda. When using QiMen to forecast such a situation, we use a technique known as Host versus Guest.
In this case, Trump is the incumbent and thus assumes the position of host. The Democrats, who seek to surplant his authority in the Senate and House of Representatives, would be regarded as the guests.
In the 2018 QiMen chart, the Host side has all the favourable stars and Deities, particularly Chief and the Envoy. From a BaZi standpoint, Trump is a Ji Earth born in Summer and his chart is regarded as a unique Super Vibrant chart wherein the addition of more Resource and Friends Stars actually enhances the chart.
2018 is the year of the Earth Dog and thus, rather than being negatively affected by the year, Trump will only be strengthened and emboldened. Although the White House will likely continue to haemorrage staff, his personal popularity is unlikely to be affected.
Meanwhile, the other personality that has been dominating headlines together with Trump should be a little more cautious. He may have a nuclear button on his desk, but Kim Jong Un will find that 2018 is not a good year to sabre rattle. In QiMen, the “bad guy” or any unknown factor is always represented by the Black Tortoise Deity. In the case of North Korea, given that it is generally regarded as a mysterious regime in which little is known about, it definitely fits the bill of a Black Tortoise. The NorthWest Palace contains the Destructor Star, which indicates a great deal of noise (and perhaps a few more missiles) being made by the reclusive regime and it’s dictator in 2018.
This palace however is being aggressively countered by the two Fire elements of Bing and Ding in the East Sector. East is traditionally represented by China. Thus, in 2018, China and the USA will likely align more closely to contain North Korea, although it China to be doing more than the USA. As the Moon Deity is in the East Palace, and the Destructor Star together with a negative Quan Yi formation is in the NorthWest Palace, this could also be interpreted as China utilising soft power or subtle influence in which to forment domestic unrest or rebellion within North Korea as a way of keeping Kim Jong Un’s itchy finger off the nuclear button perhaps.
Datuk Joey Yap is the founder, CEO and master trainer of the Mastery Academy of Chinese Metaphysics.
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