Feng shui portends Megawati's chance as president
By Mauro Rahardjo
BANDUNG (JP): In feng shui, an individual's rise to leader of a country is simply accounted for in terms of the interaction between the five earthly elements -- water, fire, wood, metal and earth. Most political events that involve the leaders of countries are explained in a number of books on feng shui.
Over the past fifteen years, more and more women have become the leaders of countries. This phenomenon is very interesting and a number of explanations have been put forward. Feng shui offers its own reason why the world is seeing an increasing number of women leaders.
The interaction between the five elements follows the cycles of birth and destruction. The cycle of birth says Water nourishes Wood, Wood lights Fire, Fire produces Earth, Earth contains Metal and Metal transforms into Water. The cycle of destruction states Water puts out Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal cuts Wood, Wood treads on Earth, and Earth absorbs Water.
One becomes a leader when his self-element is surrounded by other elements which destroy it. Thus Mao Tse-tung was destined to become a leader because his self-element, Fire, was surrounded by Water. Water which destroys Fire is found in his Luck Pillar. Iraq's Saddam Husein has lead his country since his self-element, Wood, was surrounded by Metal, an element which cuts Wood, in his Luck Pillar. John Major was appointed prime minister of the United Kingdom when his self-element, Metal, was surrounded by Fire.
The Hsia Calendar
The Hsia calendar divides time into nine ages, each lasting for 20 years. Each 20-year age makes up one period, so it takes 180 years to complete a full cycle. Each period is assigned to a number, from one to nine.
The year 1999 belongs to the Lower Period of Age seven, which runs from 1984 to 2003. In feng shui, the number seven symbolizes many aspect of life, including Direction (West); Object (gold and metal); Occupation (entertainment, fortunetelling and spiritual matters); Action (speaking, sex, demolition and rebuilding); and Person (young girl and female). Most interesting is that number seven symbolizes girl or female, and during this period -- 1984 to the present -- when many women leaders have emerged in the world. This is shown in their Luck Pillars.
The Luck Pillar consists of four columns: Hour, Day, Month and Year. Since each column has two elements -- the heavenly stem and the earthly branch -- a person's pillar consists of eight elements. A person's self-element is found in the heavenly stem of the Day Pillar, and the concept of self-element "surrounded" by other elements is shown in the table of one's Luck Pillar derived from the Hsia calendar. As already mentioned, it is determined that a man or a woman will be the leader of a country when their self-element is surrounded by elements which destroy it. An individual's self-element is indicated by their birth date and shown in their Day Pillar. These elements are obtained from the Hsia calendar, a lunar calendar known as the Calendar of a Thousand Years.
Therefore, it is important to look at a person's Luck Pillar. However, since day, month and year change in time, the elements also change time, and therefore, a complete analysis requires the consideration of those elements which appear in time and in the individual's Luck Pillar, which complies with the Hsia calendar.
Women leaders
To obtain feng shui explanation of why women become leaders of countries, two prominent figures have been selected as illustrations. They are former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and former Philippine president Corazon Aquino.
The Day Pillar represents the self-element. The following table A shows Thatcher's self-element is Metal. Her self-element is surrounded by Fire, and since Fire destroys Metal, Thatcher was born a leader. People possessing such a star configuration are good leaders who possess charisma.
Being a Metal person born in the autumn when Metal is in its prosperous phase, Thatcher's Metal is strong. The major breakthrough in her political career occurred in 1975 when she was elected to lead the Conservative Party. Not by coincidence, 1975 was a Wood year, which generates Fire. When Thatcher turned 54, she had just entered her Luck Pillar of Wood, and in May -- a month of Fire -- 1979, she was elected prime minister of Britain.
Now let's take a look at Aquino's Luck Pillar in table B. She is also a Metal person, born in December when Water is most prosperous. In her Luck Pillar, there are many Water elements since Water is produced by Metal. Thus, her Metal is exhausted and her self-element is a weak Metal.
Unlike Thatcher, Aquino does not have the Fire element in her Luck Pillar and thus she was not born a leader. In her Luck Pillar, there are many Water elements. Water is produced by Metal, and in feng shui it symbolizes her intelligence and aspirations. In fact, Aquino is an excellent speaker. However, she also has many Wood elements in her Luck Pillar, and since Wood produces Fire, her role as a country leader was hidden, which is why the time dimension played an important role for Aquino.
The murder of Benigno Aquino in 1983 inspired her to continue her husband's struggle, and in 1985 Aquino bravely challenged Marcos in the presidential election. Because 1985 was a year of Earth and Wood, and since Earth produces Metal, it represented supports for Aquino. Also, Wood produces Fire, which lead Aquino into becoming the leader of the country.
On Feb. 25, 1986, she was installed as president of the Philippines. As the Hsia calendar indicates, February 1986 was a month of Fire over Metal -- representing Aquino's destiny to be a leader -- and the 25th was a day of Wood over Fire. Fire is the element which leads a Metal person into becoming a leader. Corazon Aquino changed herself from a housewife into the country's president.
Megawati's chances
Now, the question is of Megawati's chances to become president in 1999. If she does become president, does feng shui offer an explanation?
Megawati's self-element, as seen on table C, is Fire sitting on Metal. She was born in January (no data on her hour of birth), when Water is at its full strength, which weakened her Fire. Since Earth elements surrounded her Fire, and Earth exhausts Fire energy, her self-element is weak Fire. In her Luck Pillar, Earth and Metal surround Megawati's self-element. Earth symbolizes her aspirations and intelligence, and Metal symbolize her wealth.
A Fire woman becomes a leader when Water elements surround her. However, in Megawati's Luck Pillar no Water elements are found. Thus, similar to Aquino, Megawati's chance for leadership is more based on the situation, i.e. the time dimension. Nevertheless, observing her Day Pillar, Fire sits on Metal, which can produce Water, making it possible that her talent for leadership is hidden.
Now, 1999 is the Year of the Rabbit (Wood) and Earth. Wood is the element that nourishes Fire, and it represents support. Hence, Megawati has much support, which was shown in the recent general election. However, Earth absorbs Water, the element which makes a Fire woman a leader, and therefore it is understandable that many parties have questioned Megawati's ability to become president.
Looking at the elements in November, when the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly will meet to elect the president, we find -Wood over +Water. Wood gives support to Fire, so Megawati has this necessary element, and Water is the element which favors her for the presidency.
The next two years, 2000 and 2001, will fall on Metal, and 2002 and 2003 will fall on Water. Metal produces Water, the element which makes a Fire woman a leader. Megawati's likelihood of being a leader over the next four years is thus increased.
Table: A. Luck Pillar of Margaret Thatcher: Heavenly STEM (HOUR: Metal; DAY: Fire; MONTH: Wood; YEAR:), Earthly BRANCH (HOUR: ?; DAY: Fire; MONTH: Earth; YEAR: Earth) B. Luck Pillar of Corazon Aquino: Heavently STEM (HOUR: Metal; DAY: Metal; MONTH: Water; YEAR: Water), Earthly BRANCH (HOUR: Wood; DAY: Wood; MONTH: Earth; YEAR: Metal) C. Luck Pillar of Megawati, born Jan. 23, 1946: Heavenly STEM (HOUR: ?; DAY: Fire; MONTH: Earth; YEAR: Wood), Earthly BRANCH (HOUR: ?; DAY: Metal; MONTH: Earth; YEAR: Metal)
-- The writer is a feng shui consultant
Table A: Luck Pillar of Margaret Thatcher:
HOUR DAY MONTH YEAR
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Heavenly STEM ? Metal Fire Wood
Earthly BRANCH ? Fire Earth Earth
Table B: Luck Pillar of Corazon Aquino:
HOUR DAY MONTH YEAR
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Heavenly STEM Metal Metal Water Water
Earthly BRANCH Wood Wood Earth Metal
Table C: Luck Pillar of Megawati, born Jan. 23, 1946:
HOUR DAY MONTH YEAR
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Heavenly STEM ? Fire Earth Wood
Earthly BRANCH ? Metal Earth Metal