(170) Fortunes in the Year of Black Dragon

By Janet Shin

A new year has dawned. In most text messages I received last weekend, people were talking about the Year of the Black Dragon.

A gimmick is hidden in this kind of description. As once explained, there is nothing numinous in this such as with the white tiger or golden pig. They are just combinations of the five elements and zodiac signs. The five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water have their own symbolic colors for the 10 heavenly stems and they are joined with 12 branch zodiac signs to signify yearly energy.

So imparting a special meaning to each year with mythical fortune and giving people an illusion of luck if they carry black dragon charms are just groundless promotions.

According to a sexagenary cycle, the heavenly stems and earthly branches create 60 combinations. Therefore the year of “im-jin,” or the black dragon, repeats every sixty years. Likewise, others have come and will come again every sixty years.

In Korean history, many years of the black dragon were during wars. In 1232, King Gojong of the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) transferred the nation’s capital to Ganghwa, northwest of Incheon, to fight against the invasion of the Mongolian army. In 1592, another black dragon year during the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), the Japanese army invaded the south coast of the Korean Peninsula and the Imjin War broke out, also known as Hideyoshi’s invasions of Korea. The Korean War (1950-1953), which embroiled the nation, was also in the black dragon year of 1952.

Looking at some media coverage promoting New Year’s fortunes and the black dragon and making news with the first babies born right after midnight on Jan. 1, I could not suppress a wry smile. It is true that the new fiscal year starts on Jan. 1. But strictly speaking, if we are to talk about the year of the dragon, it will not begin until the lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 23 this time. So, when it comes to the babies who were born on Jan. 1, they are not actually of the dragon year but still of the rabbit.

People may close the past year and think about their plans for the new year as the official calendar changes as of Jan. 1. They do visit me to read their New Year’s fortune. But if there is a specific event that requires a precise answer, we have to confirm whether it falls before or after the lunar New Year. Otherwise it may lead to dissimilar readings.

A young man, wanted me to read his saju last week. He was curious about his fortunes for 2012 and especially wanted to know the result of an important examination for promotion.

He is a prospective government official, who has been an excellent student since his school days and passed the Public Administration Examination. Now he is up for an early promotion test.

The three yang wood elements in the heavenly stems of his saju explain how competent he is. The water elements in the year and time branches are his knowledge stars and the metal in the day branch indicates his authority.

In 2012, the outcome of his test may go wrong by the clash of two earth elements between his month branch and 2012’s branch.

At this time of the year, we need to see the fortune of both 2011 and 2012. The examination is on Jan. 7, which still falls in 2011’s Year of the Rabbit and the result will be announced afterwards. This has two implications. Although the result will not be satisfactory, the test itself will still be significant for his future career.

Here is another saju of a woman, who plans to open an English institute in 2012. She asked if the business would be profitable.

Her money star (wood element in the month branch) clashes with the metal element in the year pillar. Moreover, since 2011 was of a wood element, I could read financial difficulty and personal agony last year. 2012 will bring different a energy of expression and a new contract to her life, so it is her destiny to launch her own business.

It seems like she already had someone read her saju and heard that her money star is damaged, so she is going to register the institute under her sister’s name.

What matters is that she signs the contract on January 4, which still falls in 2011. I advised her to postpone the contract after the lunar New Year’s Day if possible. By doing that, she is able to avoid any potential financial trouble.

Information: Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny?” For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea.com, contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of “Learning Four Pillars.”