(26) Fortune Forecast for 2009: Year of gi-chuk (cow)
By Janet Shin
The 60-year cycle of ten celestial stems and the 12 zodiac signs are combined to denote years in the cycle, which has been mentioned in previous articles. As the 10 stems circulate in the gap, eul, byeing, jeong, mu, gi, gyeong, sin, im and gye sequence and the 12 branches circulate as ja, chuk, in, myo, jin, sa, o, mi, sin, yu, sul and hae, the first 60-year combination is gap-ja, the second is eul-chuk and so on. The 60th year in the cycle is gye-hae.
For example, the year 2008 was mu-ja and 2009 is gi-chuk. Lunar New Year's Day is Jan. 26, which will be the actual start of the gi-chuk year in terms of the 60 year cycle. In sending out the old year and greeting the new one, it is interesting to review what was forecasted by fortune tellers for 2008 (mu-ja) at this time last year and what is being forecast for the coming new year (gi-chuk). Did they anticipate the financial crisis and global economy recession in 2008? Did they foretell the change of leadership in U.S. government? To make it simple, between optimistic and pessimistic, what was their major forecas
Jan 15, 2009