This should be a given, and it should be needless of me to say, but I have nothing against people suffering from mental ailments. A part of me will always feel sad for people who suffer from them, and I know I will always be helpless. I am not equipped to deal with them, let alone ‘help’ them.
That said, I seem to encounter such people so often that I feel compelled to talk about them – at least from an astrology point of view.
If I were a psychologist, psychiatrist, coach, therapist, or whatever – the narrative in my head would have been very different. Alas, I am an astrologer, and part of me will always feel that people are born the way they are. It is unfortunate, but such is life. There is no explanation for why people like Mitchell Ong or Woo May Hoe exist.
For those who’ve yet to come across the news, here it is:
Perhaps let me put it this way, and forgive me if this isn’t the best way to put it: We are all ‘mentally ill’ in some ways, but the extent of it is different for all of us. Our minds and souls all have something imbalanced and dysfunctional that marks our ‘mental illness. The further we stray from the Aristotelian Golden Mean, the more tumultuous our lives become. Someone’s obsession with love and romance may be their ‘mental illness’; someone’s relentless pursuit of wealth may be their ‘mental illness’; and perhaps my incessant need to curse, swear, and be irreverent is my ‘mental illness’.
I’ve always been fascinated with the human mind. It’s the very thing that makes everything beautiful about humanity possible, but it’s also the very thing that shows us the opposite and worst of humanity.
Common sense tells us that no one wants to be born with such ailments, but it happens.
A quote that has always stuck with me is, “Mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility.”
I initially wanted to write this post with sheer irreverence and make fun of the person in this case study, but I was reminded that it is not their fault. But that shouldn’t exonerate them from the harm they have caused, and I don’t think it gives them a free pass to do whatever they wish, especially when they’re aware of what they’re doing.
“Mental illness is not your fault, but it is your responsibility.”
I’ve had a few brushes with people who suffer from mental ailments. For some reason, they love claiming that they are special, the Chosen Ones, and are blessed with special abilities. A close look, and you’ll know that’s not the case. In fact, all of them have messed up, tumultuous lives filled with drama brought upon by their own thoughts and actions. When called out, they twist the narrative and play the victim.
I’ll be the first to admit that they are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deal with. As much as I’d like to say it’s their fault – it isn’t because I don’t think anyone would choose to be born that way. It is what it is – that’s reality. Some of these people did cause me inconvenience, harm, and even distress. Looking back, I ask myself, “Should I hate or detest them?” To be perfectly candid, I am still furious with some of these people, but their existence also reminds me that I should be very grateful for a functioning mind and soul, which I feel is one of the greatest blessings one can have.
Some Opening Thoughts
I’ve written briefly about what the definition of “evil” means and astrology’s take on it. What exactly is astrology’s definition of “evil”?
The lack of virtue, in itself, is bad enough. But when virtue is taken to the extreme, it can also become corrupt. I’ve explained this countless times in various forms: the Golden Mean, the Middle Path, and the Yin and Yang.
Most of us would have heard of Woo May Hoe by now and the heinous things she did. When I think of her and some of the people I crossed paths with, I ask myself, “Are they evil?”. If I were to go with the definition of a virtue losing its balance, yes, you could argue that these people are evil regardless of whether they are conscious of what they are doing or not. The point is – that the way they think and act is dysfunctional, and some form of balance and harmony are lost.
Woo May Hoe no doubt wanted what all of us wanted. Material comfort, feeling emotionally safe, validated, and perhaps feeling close to divinity. Alas, there was no worst way for her to get there.
If I wanted to be shallow and superficial about my thoughts and commentary on this topic, I would simply just wish for people like Woo May Hoe and those who have harmed me to suffer and perish while giving justice to the people they have harmed. But no, I shall not be shallow or superficial.
Again, it is extremely tempting to go full apes*** in this article and make fun of this woman and the people who have wronged me, but I would be disrespecting those who suffer from mental ailments and are trying to overcome them and lead happy, fulfilling lives.
Let’s get to the case study before I digress too much.
Woo May Hoe’s Astrological Charts
You might be wondering how I got hold of her birthday. I’ll just say what I always say: I can be very resourceful.
Of course, I’d be looking out for signs of mental illness while reverse engineering her birth time.
BaZi Breakdown
Interestingly, the signs of her having a bit of a warped mind already stand out from her birth date alone if we were to use BaZi. Here are the signs:
- The first trait that stands out is the 午午自刑。
- The second trait is the Yang Metal 庚金 on her Year Stem and the state of it.
I will not go into the significance of the above two traits as that would be revealing my secrets. Sue me.
Now, Woo May Hoe was arrested in 2020, which was the year she moved into her new 10-Year Phase of 丙子。2020 itself was also a 庚子 year. The two 子 Waters in both her 10-Year Phase Pillar (大运) and Annual Phase Pillar (流年) clashes with the two 午 Fires in her chart.
It is this very 子午冲 that resulted in her being arrested. This is on top of 丙 Fire harming 庚 Metal, which is the most important element in her chart also known as the “Useful God” or 用神 when we conduct a thorough BaZi analysis.
Before anyone concludes that a simple 子午冲 means getting into trouble with the law, may I remind you that I hold back a lot of hidden details and meaning when I write these case studies. You probably would have seen a 子午冲 appear in your BaZi chart at some point, but you’re denied the chance of free lodging and food (jail, for the slow ones).
But in the spirit of reminding everyone that I study hard and know my stuff, let’s give you a teaser:
- Please remember that the Stems and Branches, at the end of the day, are all nominal markers in the cosmos. They hold a lot more meaning than they appear. 午 Fire here is not simply Fire, not a metaphorical, ethereal horse that your dead grandmother wished she could ride like a pony.
- 午 Fire here holds 羊刃 and 白虎。 It gets clashed. Go figure.
- The next question is, what does 子 mean in this case, then?
Her getting arrested in 2020 was as sure as my ass bleeding and burning when I take a shit on a Monday morning after a Sichuan Mala hotpot on Sunday. And for trivia’s sake: I’m more of a ‘ma‘ person than a ‘la‘ person.
Signs In Her Zi Wei Dou Shu Chart
Zi Wei Dou Shu was not as useful this time although some of the traits that showed up were uncanny.
Similarly, the first step is to look out for signs of a twisted mind and legal trouble. The only chart that made sense was the 酉时 (5pm to 7pm) chart due to her 福德宫’s 化忌 going into her 疾厄宫 and clash with her 父母宫 and her 10-Year Phase 化忌 landing in her natal 父母宫 clashing with her 10-Year Phase 命宫。
父母宫 and 疾厄宫 form what we call 父疾线, which we often use to assess whether one gets into trouble with the law, and her 10-Year Phase 化忌 overlapping her natal 化忌 is a huge sign of this.
The signs of mental illness are a lot harder to see in her Zi Wei Dou Shu chart, although it definitely still has to do with her 命宫，福德宫，疾厄宫，as well as 父母宫。
Now, the birth time I reverse-engineered is indeed correct, I should be seeing very similar signs in her Western astrological chart. Let’s take a look now.
Western Astrology’s Take On Things
I enjoyed breaking her psyche down using Western astrology the most, and I’m starting to get really fond of Western astrology because of how versatile and in-depth it can be.
Traditionally, we would focus on the Moon and Mercury since the Moon represents our emotions and Mercury represents our mind. Most people new to astrology don’t really put a lot of weight on Mercury, which is a huge mistake. It is our very minds and intellect, for without, we won’t be able to execute our other functions effectively.
I’ve come across charts of people who have schizophrenia, and their Moon and Mercury are usually weakly placed and afflicted. We would sometimes look at the 6th House and 12th House as well as the 6th House, which governs illnesses, and the 12th House, which governs our subconscious. I would sometimes use the 5th House too for hints because it’s the 6th House from the 12th House using derived Houses, so the 5th House can give hints about possible mental ailments and addictions.
I was initially a bit more thrown off by the Western chart because her Moon is domiciled in Cancer, and we would regard it as well-placed. Her Mercury also doesn’t seem to have any issues at first blush because the charts of mentally ill people I’ve seen before had their Mercury in Pisces and it’s usually afflicted by a malefic.
Now, a closer look reveals a few things:
- The most salient sign that stands out first is that her Saturn conjuncts her Mercury in Taurus. In itself, this wouldn’t seem like much because most people would interpret this as mental focus or solemnity and pessimism at most. However, the point is that her Saturn and Mercury are in Taurus, meaning Venus is its depositor.
- Ah! A new term for my readers. The “depositor” governs the planet that happens to occupy its sign. Venus rules Taurus, so Venus governs Saturn and Mercury. Venus is in Cancer, so the Moon is the depositor, but the Moon is already in its own ruling sign, so the Moon is the “final depositor” and holds a special place in the chain of meaning in the planets involved. The chain of events will end of with the Moon.
- Now, Moon and Venus are in the 8th House, and we can see that our dear Mars resides in the 8th House with them as well. Mars rules the 5th House, and if you refer to what I said, the 5th House can sometimes reveal ailments related to the mind. Mars is in Fall in Cancer. Because Mars is a nocturnal (nighttime)malefic, its presence is particularly harmful since this chart is still considered a diurnal chart (daytime). Mars is aggression, it takes from others and conquers.
- The combination of her 6th House planets, the 6th House depositor’s being in the 8th House, and a malefic that rules the 5th House does stand out to me as an issue. Even Chiron is in her 5th House. Basic knowledge of the Houses also tells us that the 6th and 8th Houses are inauspicious Houses. 6th House governs health and it does affect mental health since Mercury is in there. The 8th House governs our hidden and darker sides and has similar themes to the 12th House governing karma and our subconscious. The 8th House can represent “death”, but a metaphorical one in which we experience intense transformations, which is why the 8th House traditionally belongs to Scorpio.
- Now, the fascinating thing is that if you look at the 12th House in the above chart, assuming some room for error in the birth time, her 12th House can either be ruled by Venus or Mars because her 12th House can either Libra or Scorpio. Libra rules Venus, and Scorpio rules Mars – and we will be back in the 8th House again. This link between her 8th and 12th House is a perpetual theme in her chart and it doesn’t sit well with me, and it’s as though her subconscious goes through different iterations of metaphorical death and rebirth. By the way, the 8th House also represents other people’s assets, and this is someone who cheated others of more than $7 million.
- The one final thing that fascinates me, and it’s something I usually overlook, is her outer planets and their effects. Her Neptune conjuncts her Ascendant, and Neptune governs idealism, dreams, fantasy, spirituality, mysticism, creativity, and divinity to name a few things. Her Neptune Trines her Moon and opposes her Mercury. The Neptune opposition Mercury, arguably, can represent mental fog and deception.
- There are some other tiny signs to note, such as Jupiter squaring her Moon, being in Via Combusta, and being in a sign where Venus is also the depositor. Jupiter is in Libra which Venus.
- Her arrest in 2020 was, interestingly, her Saturn-square-Saturn event, which also squared her Mercury shortly. Her followers file police reports on her. Saturn rules her 3rd House of friends and Mercury rules her 11th House of community.
Confused? Great.
I’ve spent the later part of 2023 writing about spirituality, it’s narcissistic sides, and how my industry, for some reason, is enticing for people similar to Woo May Hoe to venture into.
I think the saddest part of this whole incident is not Woo May Hoe’s mental illness and psychosis. There are plenty of people out there who like to claim they have gifts such as prophetic dreams, like as though they are God’s favourite child.
The saddest part of this whole saga is knowing that there are people out there who are so vulnerable and lost, that they would actually literally eat faeces just to please this unfortunate product of nature.
The same saying goes: Do not give away your power and autonomy. Our job as astrologers is never to make people feel like they lost their power and autonomy over their lives. Spirituality also doesn’t have to be about special powers and psychic abilities.
Living well IS spirituality.
– Sean
