Hi everyone, It’s been a while! I finally managed to find some time to write another entry in my blog.I’ve recently encountered yet another one of those serendipitous moments when I realized two of my friends shared the same birthday, just that they have different genders. Being the BaZi practitioner that I am, with their permission, I made a case study out of their charts. The chart you see on the left belongs to my guy friend – he’s my colleague at work actually; the chart on the right belongs to my lady friend whom I met on Tinder a few years back. I’m very grateful that they’ve opened up to me with their personal stories while allowing me to do a case study on them and further hone my craft.
In the previous case study I did saw two charts with similar birthdays, but with a different birth time and gender, whereas this time, everything is similar except for their gender. One would expect the disparity to be of a smaller magnitude, but it turned out otherwise. Do remember that when the genders are different, the Luck Pillars or 大运 would go in opposite directions, and it’ll have an impact on the outcome of one’s life. Let me summarize the differences in the lives of my two friends in point form for clarity’s sake:
Male Chart
– Born into a dysfunctional family
– Holds a regular job
– Father passed away in 2005 in an apparent suicide
Female Chart
– Well-to-do family with a family business
– Currently helping out in the family business
– Parents in a loving relationship
It would be very interesting to observe how the manifestations were reflected on the chart. The logical thing to do would be to look at their 大运 as that is the only aspect of their chart that is different. I won’t go into the technical details and break down the chart, but rather, I wish to point out the sheer importance of someone’s 大运 and how it can affect the manifestations in your life. The saying goes 命好不如运好, and having a good 大运 makes all the difference. There is no doubt that the reason for the stark contrast in their lives is due to their differing 大运s. The nex step to take in our case studies would be to find people with identical charts and genders.
Whenever a client comes to consult me and I point out a particular 大运 to look at for, it’s very hard for them to grasp the significance of it as they’ve not got to experience the effects. I can relate to how important someone’s 大运 is because I’ve seen people’s lives pick-up all of a sudden and everything just goes their way; I’ve personally experienced it as well. Of course, there would be the flip-side where there is a significant downturn as well in some charts as well.
There are a few interesting things I realized in my numerous consultations with clients. Usually, clients who consult me are going through some rough patch as they are in an unfavourable phase, and those that are about to experience an upturn in their 大运 are the ones who are very positive and optimistic, and they understand that sometimes going through a rough patch is so that they can receive the ‘training’ that they need to reach even greater heights in future. On the other hand, clients who do not immediately experience an upturn in their 大运 are the ones who are unable to step out of their negativity or vicious cycle. BaZi can be seen as a description of our inner world, and whatever we put out there into the world from within ourselves, will be returned one way or another. Things do not happen arbitrarily – it is but a constant, endless rendition of ’cause and effect’.
I would always tell my clients that the reason why your next 大运 is good is precisely because your current 大运 is bad, and this phase is to give you the preparation for more responsibilities to come. If you look at nature’s manifestations, Metal can never be forged into a valuable item without Fire; Wood cannot become a piece of art without being carved by Metal; Water can never provide nourishment if not trapped by Earth; Earth cannot be held together without Wood; Fire cannot be controlled in the absence of Water. In BaZi analysis, your Daymaster or 日元 represents you, and how valuable a person you become depends on whether you can survive the trials you go through.
I’d like to share a favourite quote of mine again by Mencius:
孟子曰：「舜發於畎畝之中，傅說舉於版築之閒，膠鬲舉於魚鹽之中，管夷吾舉於士，孫叔敖舉於海，百里奚舉於市。故天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，曾益其所不能。人恆過，然後能改；困於心，衡於慮，而後作；徵於色，發於聲，而後喻。入則無法家拂士，出則無敵國外患者，國恆亡。然後知生於憂患而死於安樂也。」
To summarize, it means if Heavens wants to bestow upon you huge responsibilities, Heavens will test your mettle and let you know how suffering feels like. Once you survive the period of trials and tribulations, people will be able to tell what you’ve been through based on the aura you exude and the way you speak (徵於色，發於聲) which is a pre-requisite for a leader. It also reminds you not to take things for granted especially when things are good (知生於憂患，而死於安樂也)。
A lot of my clients have asked me why can’t they become rich or why can’t they get that promotion at work, and I’d get to them ask themselves if they are truly ready for the opportunity if it were to be presented to them; a lot of people fail to ask themselves if they have the right set of skills and experience for the job, or to put it bluntly, they fail to ask themselves if they deserve what they are looking for.
I mentioned in my previous blog post that one should always approach a BaZi reading with positivity and empowerment. Remember, everyone can transcend their charts as long as they have a heightened level of self-awareness. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you’re unable to change things. Our ancestors developed BaZi so that we can learn to transcend our fate and learn the lessons that we need to learn, but it will take courage, humility, wisdom, and a lot of will-power.
Hope you all enjoyed the article! Do share this on your Facebook if you feel my articles will be of some help to your friends who are going through a rough patch, or if they just happen to be interested in BaZi, feng shui or Chinese metaphysics in general.
I’ll be back with another entry real soon!
– Sean
