The steady Earth Ox ambled in to celebrate the start of an ‘ox-picious’ Year on the 1st day of the Chinese lunar calendar, which falls on January 26 this year, even as the Rat scurried off after wreaking havoc on the world over the last 12 months. This marks the commencement of the 15-day Spring Festival, which is typically celebrated with great fanfare by many Chinese and much of Asia to usher in a happy, prosperous and lucky new year.
In addition, the 7th day of the annual Spring festival is often regarded as everyone’s birthday when family and friends will gather to feast and enjoy the tossing of delectable “yusheng” – a raw fish salad dish with auspicious connotations only served during the Chinese New Year festivities.
The Ox belongs to the earth element and it is the second of the 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac. So the industrious Ox represents the construction and building phase after a new beginning of a 12-year cycle, according to Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo’s 2009 predictions.
Moving from a tenuous 2008 to a tenacious year ahead, feng shui experts have predicted that the Year of the Ox will be much more stable than the prior Rat year though 2009 still looks very ‘un-bullish‘ for the global economy. Traditionally the Ox conjures an image of patience, strength, sense of duty and hard work, while the Rat brings to mind a capricious nature, innovation and craftiness.
Business-wise, industries associated with the Wood element including fashion, textiles, publications, media and environmental protection, will fare well next year because wood thrives on earth. The less favorable sectors in 2009 relate to the Water and Metal elements which include shipping, transport, spa, automobiles and banking. It will be a year of investment in the metal industries comprising engineering, computer and high-tech.
To choose an auspicious date to commence work for your business and kick off a great start to the Ox Year, you might be interested to refer to this online calculation which is based on the individual’s “Eight Characters Feng Shui chart“. Yours truly is a rabbit and my auspicious start is on 31 Jan. Til then folks, & Gong Xi Fa Cai.
