words emily cheng

Feng shui master Raymond Lo reveals what the Year of the Rat promises.

Look around and what do you see? Neon signs, ads for our dear friends Rolex and Louis Vuitton and shopping complexes. Look a little closer and you will also find streets scattered with the burning red incense and miniature red houses believed to ward off bad spirits and protect business. Despite being a metropolis boasting the latest technology and constantly pursuing material wealth, Hong Kong is also a city of tradition and superstition.

According to feng shui master Raymond Lo, “Most Hong Kong people believe in feng shui to some degree. Their adherence to its principles varies just like other local customs and traditions. It is part of growing up in a Chinese culture.”

A professional feng shui advice and destiny consultant since the 1990s, Lo correctly foresaw events such as the resignation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1999 and the break-up of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in 2001. Additionally, “In 2007 I predicted that there would be a big boom in the stock market in the first half of the year and crisis in the US economy in the second half, and that was accurate.”

But how does he go about maintaining this track record of accuracy? Steering away from crystal balls, palm reading, and tarot cards, Lo bases his predictions on the Chinese calendar, which itself rests on the interaction of the five basic elements – metal, fire, wood, earth and water. In his words, “Every year the calendar will provide information about what elements are dominating the world”.

In the new Year of the Rat, the earth element is sitting on top of water. Moreover, the earth element in this year happens to be the ‘yang earth’ which symbolises a mountain – often associated with stability and firmness. Although the earth is usually the conqueror of water, water in the rat year is particularly strong and the earth has no control. So, for Lo, the year will seem stable but in reality there will be a lot of underlying tensions and confrontations.

A look back at history gives us a brief idea of what to expect in much of 2008 and early 2009. As the Chinese calendar is based on a 60-year cycle, it is believed that the social and political atmosphere over this period will be similar to that in the previous yang earth in the rat year. That is, the events of this rat year will reflect those in 1948, the rat year when the confrontation between the USSR and the West intensified, the Arab-Israel war began, the Smuggling into China (Control) Ordinance was passed, and a Cathay Pacific flight from Macau to Hong Kong was hijacked (the first known case of an airliner hijack ever).

The year of the rat, the first of the 12 animal signs, also represents the beginning of a new 12-year cycle. Thus, Lo predicts that this year will bring a new beginning of international relationships and social order – as we have seen in the recent major elections and changes in leadership.

This new cycle also means that 2008 will be the year we finally take the first steps to slow down the acceleration of global warming. Which is just as well because Lo predicts, “In 2008, the Chinese calendar shows earth floating on water, so it means calmness and stability on the surface but such stability is fragile as earth has no foundation in water… This is an image of an iceberg floating around, indicating the melting of polar ice intensifying and more natural disasters caused by global warming.” According to Lo, when translated into the day and time of the Chinese calendar, the collision of the Titanic with a floating iceberg happened on the exact hour of the beginning of the yang earth in the rat year.

In regards to the economy, Lo predicts that this is a year of cooling down after the heated economic atmosphere of 2006 and 2007. In general, he predicts that this new year is a year of stability and calmness in the stock market. With this year being dominated by the water element, money will be flowing for those working in the earth and metal industries (such as mining, computers, skincare, health businesses, hotels) and the property market will most likely be active and profitable. The wood industries (including textiles, publications, forestry and furniture) will also be profitable because wood conquers earth, but such profits will “only be superficial”. The less fortunate industries will include businesses with water and fire elements such as in shipping, finance, energy, electricity, and entertainment.

The rat year is also considered the ‘Flower of Romance’ for those born in the year of the pig, rabbit and goat. The Flower of Romance is also referred to as ‘Peach Blossom’ and will make a person more attractive to the opposite sex, hence greater chances for affairs and relationships. Lo says that this will be positive for people working in the more “glamorous industry such as entertainment, media, public relations and advertising”. However, the ‘Flower of Romance’ may not be positive for all – it may bring clashes or “unfavourable elements” for married people born in the year of the horse. Lo also states, “Yang earth of 2008 is associated with homosexual qualities, so there could be more controversy around this topic or even celebrities getting into trouble caused by [homosexual] scandals.” For instance, famous homosexuals have been born on past days of the yang earth – Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tchaikovsky, George Michael, KD Lang and Rosie O’Donnell.

Professional feng shui and destiny consultant Raymond Lo has appeared on major television stations, including the BBC, CNN and The Discovery Channel find out more at www.raymond-lo.com