How to determine current year is good or bad for you?

In Bazi,  one's natal chart determines the "quality" of the chart.  But it is only part of the destiny pie.  A "good quality" chart still "sucks" if its luck periods do not bring in the elements that the chart needs to prosper.

There are two types of "luck period"-- the "10-years luck" (10YL) and "annual luck" (AL).  10YL is calculated in terms of one's birth month, which is different from person to person.  10YL provides the backdrops or "climate" of one's luck within that 10-years period. 

Annual luck means one's overall luck for current year. In Bazi, everyone shares the same AL.  For example, current year 2017 is ding-you (fire-rooster) year.  Every person in the world is subject to the influences of the same annual luck of ding-you.  If fire and metal are favorable to one's chart, one will enjoy better luck within 2017.  If otherwise, one's luck will be below average.  The important thing about AL is:  Any fortune or misfortune will be triggered by AL because it brings the favorable or unfavorable elements to the chart.

In this post, we will keep it simple by focusing on how annual luck affects your luck:

1.  AL "fan-yin" or "fu-yin" 10YL:  "Fan-yin" means stem clashing stem and branch clashing branch between two pillars.  "Fu-yin" means two identical pillars.  Fan-yin and fu-yin usually are unfavorable to the daymaster (DM) and jinx his/her close relatives.
2.  Strong DM with AL brings in wealth, power and output (cai, guan and shi-shang) elements means favorable fortune for the year.  But if AL brings in resource and/ or peer (yin or bi-jian) elements, it means misfortune for the year.
3.  Weak DM with AL brings in resource and/ or peer (yin and bi-jian) elements means favorable fortune for the year.  But if AL brings in wealth, power and/ or output (cai, guan and shi-shang) elements, it means misfortune for the year.
4.  10YL is favorable with AL brings in zheng-cai (+wealth), zheng-guan (+power), zheng-yin (+resource), shi-shen (-output), and/ or bi-jian (-peer),  means current year fortune will be enhanced even further.  If AL brings in jie-cai (+peer), qi-sha (-power), pian-yin (-resource) and/ or shang-guan (+output), means current year fortune will be mixed with both good and bad fortune.
5.  10YL is unfavorable with AL brings in zheng-cai (+wealth), zheng-guan (+power), zheng-yin (+resource), shi-shen (-output), and/ or bi-jian (-peer),  means current year fortune will have minor fortunes but major mishaps.  If AL brings in jie-cai (+peer), qi-sha (-power), pian-yin (-resource) and/ or shang-guan (+output), means current year fortune will be very bad.
6.  AL stem/ branch combine with day pillar is generally considered good luck for the year.  AL fan-yin  (clashing stems and branches) or fu-yin (identical pillars) day-pillar is generally negative for DM because it affects DM and the spouse palace directly.  Usually this means something going on with marital relationship or personal sickness/ disaster.
7.  The stem and branch of AL are favorable elements ("yong-shen") of the natal chart would imply the year will be auspicious or fortunate.  If unfavorable ("ji-shen"), the year will be below average or unfortunate.

Anyway, the above is a rough guideline for making annual luck interpretations.  You still have to take the whole chart and both luck periods into consideration to make more accurate predictions.

Ken Lai

© 2017 Ken Lai, all rights reserved.

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“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 3 w/ Advanced Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
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“Practical Imperial Qi-Men-Dun-Jia 4G” w/ 12 hr. video
“Professional Imperial QMDJ 4G” w/ 21 hr. video
“EZ QMDJ series: Astrology, Date/Task Selection, Annual Luck/ FS”w/ 3 hr. HD
“EZ QMDJ Advanced Feng Shui” with 4 hr. HD video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui/Blessing” w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp+ 2017 edition” with 18 hr. video
“Advanced Visual Form Feng Shui” w/23 hr. HD video
“Visual Form Feng Shui” w/13 hr. HD video
http://www.kenlaifengshui.com

6 Types of annual luck that can make your life miserable

In Bazi or 4-Pillars, there are six types of annual luck that you should pay close attention to.  It is because major events-- pleasant or unpleasant, are likely to occur within those years.

1.  Violating Grand Duke (日犯岁君)
Grand Duke means the current year pillar "fan-yin" (opposite of) your day-pillar. For example, current year (2015) is yi-wei. Yi-wei is the Grand Duke of the year.  If your day-pillar is ji-chou, you are "violating Grand Duke".  This is inauspicious and stands for disaster, sickness or accidents.

2.  Real Grand Duke (真太岁)

"Real Grand Duke" means the one's year pillar "fu-yin" (is identical to) current year pillar or annual luck.  This will happen once for every individual when he turns 60.  For example, current year (2015) is yi-wei, people who were born in 1955 will have their year-pillar fu-yin to current year.  If  the day-pillar and 10-year luck pillar of this person do not clash, harm or penalize Real Grand Duke,  he will be all right.  If otherwise, disasters or misfortune may strike.  

3.  Day-pillar and Annual luck pillar are identical (日年相齐)
This means day and annual luck pillars are "fu-yin".  If birth hour and annual luck pillar do not clash, penalize or "harm" each other, then the person will be all right.  For people with low quality 4P chart or vicious symbolic stars,  they will likely to suffer mishaps.  For those with high quality charts, they are likely to be promoted and running into good luck.

4.  Annual luck and 10-year-luck pillar are identical (岁运并临)

This means annual luck and 10-years-luck pillars are "fu-yin" or identical. If the stem and branch of these luck pillars are unfavorable, the person will suffer mishaps.  If favorable, double the benefits or blessing.

5.  Annual luck and 10-year-luck pillar are clashing (运岁冲克)

This means annual luck and 10-years-luck pillars are "fan-yin" or clashing. For example, yi-wei annual luck with ji-chou 10-year-luck.  This always stands for losing wealth, accidents or funeral.

6.  10-year-luck period switching to Jia (行运换甲)

This means a gui-water 10-years-luck switching to a jia-wood 10-year-luck.  For example, switching from gui-chou to jia-yin 10-year-luck.  This is especially unfavorable for older people.  Even the ordinary 10-year-luck switching points will likely be the problematic years.

If you want to know more about when good or bad things happen in your bazi chart, you may take my "4P Forecasting Bootcamp" interactive video correspondence course.  Here is the link for more details:
http://isfengshui.blogspot.com/2015/11/4-pillars-forecasting-boot-camp-plus.html

If you want to know if there is any cures or remedies for the above situations, you may  check out my "Destiny and Luck Management with Bazi series".
http://isfengshui.blogspot.com/2015/11/destiny-and-luck-management-basic-bazi.html
http://isfengshui.blogspot.com/2015/11/destiny-and-luck-management-advanced.html

Thank you for reading this message.

Ken Lai

Video Correspondence Courses: (click for details)   
“Applied Bazi: Sickness Forecasting and Management” w/33 hr. HD video 
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 1: Forecasting and Decision Support” w/32 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 2: Basic Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Destiny/Luck Mgmt. 3 w/ Advanced Bazi Therapy w/18 hr. HD video
“Feng Shui Toolbox: Sha-qi, Health/Wealth and Career” w/ 7 hr. HD video
“Period 7/8 FS Toolkit w/ Advanced Flying Star techniques” w/ 6 hr. HD video
“Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
“Practical Imperial Qi-Men-Dun-Jia 4G” w/ 12 hr. video
“Professional Imperial QMDJ 4G” w/ 21 hr. video
“EZ QMDJ series: Astrology, Date/Task Selection, Annual Luck/ FS”w/ 3 hr. HD
“EZ QMDJ Advanced Feng Shui” with 4 hr. HD video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui/Blessing” w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp+ 2017 edition” with 18 hr. video
“Advanced Visual Form Feng Shui” w/23 hr. HD video
“Visual Form Feng Shui” w/13 hr. HD video

http://www.kenlaifengshui.com

Personality, luck and Feng Shui

In 2008, I had blogged about "Grandma's Tou-fu Dessert" and argued that luck is more important than Feng Shui.
http://kenlai.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/grandmas-tou-fu-dessert/

I was in Hong Kong last month and checked out Grandma's Tou-fu dessert again.  She still stays in the same location and as usual, there is a crowd in front of her store.  Her competition across the street was no longer there.  Of course, I had gulped down a few bowls of her tasty and smooth Tou-fu dessert.

Why Grandma does not open more Tou-fu stores?

I had also checked out the top secret green bean soup dessert location near Apliu street of Shum Shui Po district.  Apliu street is the location of Hong Kong's famous flea market for electronics.

A middle-aged woman that people called "Green Bean Lady" sells cups of green bean soup dessert near a pawn-shop on the pavement.  She has no storefront, not even a kiosk or cart.  She has the paper cups with dessert put inside a tin bucket and stands near the pawnshop's building pillar.

Old customer passing by will raise his hand  and she will give him a cup of green bean dessert.  She turns her head around frequently to see if any policeman is coming because she is not licensed to sell prepared food.  Strangers may think she is selling cracks.

She has the best tasting green bean dessert in Hong Kong.  Her "stand" is one of the "must-visit" when I return to Hong Kong.  I had asked her once how come her dessert is so tasty.  Her secret is using traditional stone cookware to prepare the green bean dessert with seaweeds.

(2025 update:  Grandma's Tou-Fu store still operates in the same location since early 2000 with crowds in front of the store. )

A few years ago, I had asked her, "You have a great product.  Why don't you open a shop to sell your green bean dessert and maybe eventually open many branches or do franchising and become filthy rich?"

Green Bean Lady just laughed her head off and replied, "Talk is easy!"

I should have brought Tony Robbins along to give her a motivational talk or simply threw her out from 20000 feet above the sky to build up her confidence.

I have estimated her income from this low profile selling is at best about the income of a laborer.

Obviously, Green Bean Lady is neither in good luck nor in bad luck.  She does not seem to be aggressive or eager to expand her "business".  In other words, her personality affects her risk-taking or business behaviors.

Besides social environment influences, one's personality is primarily "born with" or what we call "pre-heaven".  We may use astrological methods like 4P (Bazi) or ZWDS to analyze one's personality make-up.

Comparing Grandma of Grandma's Tou-fu to Green Bean Lady, we can see the effect of luck and probably personality on risk-taking.  Grandma takes the risk of renting a store and moves around when landlord raises her rent.  Green Bean Lady also sells but does not take the plunge of renting a storefront.  Her marketing style limits her business growth.  Grandma will probably accumulate a sizable wealth eventually.  Green Bean Lady is likely running in circles or staying in the same economic strata.

(Update:  Green Bean Lady had quitted business in around 2020)

What is the morale of this story?  Find a Bazi reader to read your 4P birth chart to see if you are in good luck period and have what it takes to run a business (or take my "4P Bootcamp" video course).



Ken Lai

“Destiny & Luck Management with Bazi- Basic level” w/ 18 hr. video
“Destiny & Luck Management with Bazi- Advanced level” w/ 18 hr. video
“Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
“Practical Imperial Qi-men-Dun-Jia” w/ 11 hr. video
“Advanced Practical Imperial QMDJ” w/ 18 hr. video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui & Blessing” v.2 w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp” with 12 hr. video
http://www.kenlaifengshui.com

"Will trade a kidney for plastic surgery"

 I come across a news report from China with the following heading:

"An extreme ugly Xu-zhou girl wants to sell a kidney for plastic surgery" ( 太醜徐州姑娘擬賣腎整容)

 " Miss Wu-qian (pseudonym) of Jian-su province, a 25 years old Xu-zhou girl, considers her face look  too ugly.  She decides going to Nanjing to sell a kidney for plastic surgery.  Hopefully the operation will change her destiny." (江蘇徐州25歲姑娘吳倩（化名）因自認為相貌過於醜陋，她決定到南京賣腎整容，希望藉此改變命運.)

Miss Wu has complained that she was lost to a pretty job applicant with a potential employer.  The employer even said in front of Wu to the other applicant, "Pretty! You are hired."

Miss Wu apparently does not know organ-selling is illegal in China.  Other than her extreme financing, her reasoning is quite common in both  western and eastern societies.  Improving your physical looks or attraction with bigger boobs, whiter teeth, nose, hips and the likes, will improve your chances in life to get the jobs desired or a rich spouse.  In other words, improve your luck or destiny.

There is some validity on better physical appearance helps attracting opportunities.  But it is not absolute.  There are pretty or handsome people who do not get what they want in life too.  Why?  Everyone is born with different luck cycles!    One may go no where when his/her luck is low.  An ugly person may still get whatever he wants if his luck is on the high side.

Take Miss Wu for example, assuming she got her plastic surgery done,  looks pretty and goes for a job interview.  She may still get rejected for reason like "she is too pretty" because employer's wife worry about potential affair.    This may happen if Miss Wu's current luck is low.

In other words, people should check their current luck cycle before investing in expensive plastic surgery, "think positive" seminars, spiritual retreats, sweat lodge ceremony... and the like.

How do people check their luck cycle?  You may consult a Bazi or 4-Pillars reader or take my Destiny Management courses.  If whatever you do now turns against you and everything goes the other way, chances are your current luck is low.  You should avoid making major decisions and purchases during a low luck period.  However, this is a passive approach to handle low luck.  An active approach is taking the Destiny Management courses.  It helps you to predict both your good and bad luck periods.  It also shows you how to avoid misfortune, enhance your luck and create opportunities with inexpensive items and everyday objects.

Ken Lai

"Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
"Practical Imperial Qi-men-Dun-Jia" w/ 12 hr. video
"Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui & Blessing" v.2 w/ 24 hr video
"Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth" w/ 3 hr. video
"4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp" with 12 hr. video

http://www.kenlaifengshui.com
http://kenlaifengshui.blogspot.com

Questions & Answers on "Feng Shui and 4P"

Below is taken from a message from my “4P Bootcamp” discussion list.

Hi Ken and others,

Student Comment: It appears that feng shui has an influence at least on people’s personality. I observed people living in different areas of the country or world behave differently.

Ken: Yes, there are regional difference in macro Feng Shui which affect not only the personality but also physical appearance of the people there. For example, people born in China’s Soo Zhou and Hang Zhou regions, where water and mountains are pretty, tend to be physically attractive too, not to mention there are many famous scholars and poets born in those areas in the past thousand years or so.

Then we have micro level Feng Shui that affect individual households. From my experience, I found that personal luck is likely to synchronize with Feng Shui . I told people if they feel their current luck is great, then fire the Feng Shui master and just grab a house. It will have good Feng Shui . But if you feel your current luck is low, you need to find a Feng Shui guy to help you. 

Some people intentionally or unintentionally overblow the power of Feng Shui. Feng Shui's basic premise is to live in harmony with nature. Everything else are just by-products. It does not intend to make you rich, to have good relationship, to beat recession or not getting sick. Even His Holiness Delai Lama gets sick from time to time and consults a doctor. The richest man in the world is not a Feng Shui master. In fact, many famous Feng Shui masters in history died poor. What did these mean? One's fate or destiny is more important than Feng Shui, not to mention personal cultivation and behaviors that also affect one's karma and luck.

Student Comment: My question is: does Feng Shui influence one’s luck? 

Ken: Yes, a Hong Kong sifu of mine had found that people with good Feng Shui , when they have traffic accident, their injury will be minimized or not severe. Another study in Taiwan about air-crash victims showed that their house Feng Shui tend to have problem like void line (no qi or energy coming into the house). 

So it seems that the relationship between Feng Shui and 4-Pillars is like this: if personal luck is bad, good Feng Shui will mitigate the negative effect. If one has good luck but his house Feng Shui is bad, the negative effect will not be as severe or mitigated. With bad personal luck and bad Feng Shui — your life will be very challenging. 

There are people who do not believe in San-sha (3-killings) and 5-yellow and dug in those areas and bragged about nothing negative happen. It did not happen YET because their current luck is probably on the high side. 

The negative effect may come a few years later— when your luck is low! Few people can enjoy good luck all the time. 

Some years ago Taiwan’s China Airline had a crash with many of its executives killed on-board. Taiwan Feng Shui masters had traced back that the company had violated San Sha a few years ago when they built their new headquarters. 

Student Comment: For example,  why there are more countries that suffer poverty, famine, and war than developed nations?

Ken: This has to do with the “earth luck” of those regions. It switches according to the lao-shu (post-heaven bagua) theoretically. For example, now is Period 8 and the auspicious region will be NE of any country or NE of the world. 

Student Comment: Does it mean good 4P charts and bad charts are not evenly distributed around the world?

Ken: There is no study done about the distribution of good and bad 4P charts. There are about a few hundred babies born every minute around the world with the same 4P charts. Of course, they will not have same luck and life experience. Different geography and birth environments (including social class background) will affect people with same 4P chart differently. 

There is a 4P story about two babies born at the same time– one was born on a ship and another born in the shop of a blacksmith. The one born on water became a major government official while the blacksmith’s son become a blacksmith. Then someone move this blacksmith son to the capital and study. He became an official too. 

Their natal chart liked water. Temperature adjustment in a 4P chart is very important. Very often, the difference between a rich man and a very rich man is the latter has temperature adjustment.

Student Comment: Majority of people in a 3rd world country are born with bad charts, or the ones with good charts managed to leave the country, or the ones born with good charts will have bad luck as well if they live in a city/country with bad Feng Shui?

Ken: Everything is relative. What’s considered “poor” here may sound like paradise in some other countries. The “poor” in USA still have cable TV and steady supply of food– compare this lifestyle to some third world poor, it is not bad at all. I don’t think majority of people in third world countries born with bad charts, just the ones with “good” charts may suffer less. 

Personally I think your “yun” or luck periods are more important than your Bazi natal chart and Feng Shui . When you are in good luck period, you can pick a house with good Feng Shui with your eyes blindfolded. 

To conclude, 4P interacts with Feng Shui , geography (hot or cold climate), birth environments, your personal choices and perhaps, your past lives too (if you believe in Buddhism). 

Student Comment: I ask this because people are always looking to change aspects of their lives i.e.) better job opportunities, less stressful life, etc. by moving to a different area. But is it really helpful? 

Ken: Yes, if your chart dislikes fire and you live in say, Malaysia (hot area), your luck will be better if you move to Minnesota (cold place). I have tested this out myself!


Ken Lai 

“Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG) w/ 12 hr. video
“Practical Imperial Qi-men-Dun-Jia” w/ 10 hr. video
“Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui & Blessing” v.2 w/ 24 hr video
“Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth” w/ 3 hr. video
“4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp” with 12 hr. video
http://www.kenlaifengshui.com/
http://kenlaifengshui.blogspot.com/

When not to hire a Feng Shui Master

My previous message, "Grandma's Tou-Fu Dessert" is an example of personal luck overtakes the importance of Feng Shui.

In other words, when your luck is high (above average), you do not need a Feng Shui master to choose a site or house for you. You may throw a stone randomly and follow the landing direction of the stone and locate a property.

How do you know your luck is high or low? It is much easier to tell that your luck is low-- shortage of money, running into obstacles all the time, relationship problems, sickness, accidents or even death. If this were the case, you defintely need a Feng Shui master to help you. But chances are, you may pick a lousy master that makes your Feng Shui worse than before soliciting his/ her help. So you need to find someone who is proven and not just "famous".

When everything goes your way, money is not a problem for you, good health and you look forward to live your next day, you probably are in "above average" luck. You may pretty much close your eyes and pick a property and still enjoy good Feng Shui.

When you feel life is boring (or have time to think that your life is boring), it means you have a stable life and NOT in bad luck.

Very often people think their good luck will last forever. The lucky ones may have 10- 20 years of continuous good luck. Most will have short periods of 1 to 2 years good luck. It is difficult to achieve anything significant with short luck duration (as in annual lucks). You need at least one good 10-year luck to prosper. In Bazi or 4-Pillars, everyone shares the same annual luck but not 10-year lucks. 10-year lucks are determined by one's birth day and birth hour.

In Asia, it is common that a Feng Shui practitioner also knows Bazi reading. It is a routine to read the Bazi of a potential client before taking up a Feng Shui job. A practioner with integrity may turn down a FS assignment if he/she finds client's problem is due to destiny and not FS.


Ken Lai

"Practical Date-Selection Methods (incl. XKDG)w/ 12 hr. video
"Practical Imperial Qi-men-Dun-Jia" w/ 10 hr. video
"Daoist Talismans for Feng Shui & Blessing" w/ 12 hr video
"Practical Door Feng Shui for Wealth" w/ 3 hr. video
"4-Pillars Forecasting Bootcamp" with 12 hr. video

http://www.kenlaifengshui.com/
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