Influences for 2008 – the Year of the Earth Rat
WHAT THIS YEAR OF THE RAT MEANS
2008 is the year of the yang Earth Rat, or Wu Zi. Elementally this means there is earth sitting on water, because water is the element that relates to the Rat. You could envisage this as an iceberg with only its tip visible, but much more existing beneath the surface that has yet to emerge. It also implies that we will be challenged to stay grounded without getting carried away. According to the Yi Jing, this year’s hexagram represents growth on top of the ground and indicates happiness and stability, urging us to look forward and prepare for inevitable challenges from our stable position.
The Rat is the first of the twelve animal signs and it is number one in Chinese numerology. This year, one is in the centre of the Lo Shu numerical grid, from which all feng shui and nine Ki astrology formulas are calculated. It follows then that this may be a year of new beginnings, particularly for those whose gua number is one and people born in the year of the Rat.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
A good way to encourage the most fruitful opportunities to come your way is invariably to clear out everything you really don’t need. It is fine to have older possessions that evoke warm feelings and happy memories for you. It is not fine to harbour magazines, papers, post, possessions, including other people’s possessions. Anything that has no positive role in contributing to your well being in 2008 needs to be cleared out fast. Refresh your living and working space daily by opening doors and windows to bring in new vitality. Replace your tired houseplants as well.
From the time perspective of feng shui, energies will shift subtly every year and it is advisable to take precautions, particularly where undesirable energy happens to arrive at important locations of your home or business. This year the most disruptive resonance, called the five yellow star, moves into the South. Place a Salt Water Cure there, The Horse, the animal sign which opposes the Rat, lives in the South as well. So pay cautious attention to the South area of your premises this year. Keep it clean and clear, attractive and welcoming, but please do not attempt to begin disturbing the soil there significantly without contacting me first.
Place a metal Calabash in the Northwest to protect against sickness. Have a touch of red colour in the West to avoid discord. The best area for prosperous opportunity this year is in the East and fresh flowers or three bamboo stems in a clear vase with fresh water will energize it.
MICRO CONSULTATIONS
There are several other advantageous adjustments that can be made this year and I will be happy to assist you with an in-depth micro- reading. Which can usually be carried out by email or post. And if this year involves a property move for you, remember that feng shui has been proved to assist faster sales and successful outcomes. Space cleansing assists in creating a much more pleasing atmosphere and it too speeds up the sales process. Sylvia will be glad to give you more information about that.
With warm wishes for your good fortune, health and happiness in 2008.
Book Review
The Rice Book by Sri Owen ISBN: 07112 22606
Ever since I visited the Eden Project in Cornwall last year,
my recollection of the visit has dwelt on the outstanding
depiction of rice cultivation which provides the staple diet
for much of the world's population. It opened my eyes to the
vital significance of this seemingly modest plant and its
far more varieties than I had ever previously considered or
even bothered to think about. Suddenly rice transcended from
the mundane into the extraordinary.
So I was delighted when I came across this fascinating book.
Sri Owen has produced what is described as a definitive encyclopaedia
of rice, introducing us to its cultural past, its history,
mythology, agriculture, species, cultivation in diverse countries
and circumstances and its nutritional values. The illustrations
are a treasure in themselves as they reveal a visual glimpse
into the rituals of rice production.
Rice is a grass that apparently originated millions of years
ago. There are at least 25 original wild species and just
a single cultivated type from which, through regional and
cultural differences world wide however, has evolved countless
long and short grained sub-species and varieties with various
degrees of stickiness. Botanists first met in 1914 to try
and agree their classification and are still arguing.
Did you realise that each kilo of rice is likely to have
been irrigated by something between 3 - 10,000 litres of water
by the time it is harvested. Traditional rice production is
an ecologist's delight, for the watery environment in which
it grows is also host to a diversity of animals, birds, fish
and micro-organisms.
Rice spirits have become immortalised to the present day
by various cultures, blessing and protecting the crops of
this vital food. There are numerous rice myths, mainly originating
in the Eastern countries, some touching, others amusing. Sri
evidently has a fond appreciation of these esoteric connections,
as she has written in some depth about them in the book
As if this content is not sufficient to attract the reader,
Sri, who is an established regional cookery author, has compiled
a brilliant collection of around 200 splendid rice recipes
from all four corners of the world. many of them deliciously
mouthwatering, easy to follow and tempting to try out. How
would you fancy a dish of Glutinous rice filled with tofu
and carrots, Rice salad, tabbuleh style, Quabili pilaff or
Spinach, sweetcorn and rice savoury pudding, followed by,
say, Black rice sorbet or italian rice cake and all washed
down with a glass or three of cool, clear rice wine.
c Sylvia Bennett
August 2006
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