Why is the 7th Day of the 7th Lunar Month Called '七夕'?

I won't repeat the information can be easily found about the Qi Xi Festival (7th Evening Festival). We know about the romance between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, but some may not know that both are actually literal stars in the Northern Sky. Cowherd is Altair, and the Weaver Girl is Vega. They are separated by the Milky Way, and the star that serves as the bridge between both is Deneb. 

These 3 stars form what is called 'The Summer Triangle'. Altair is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila; Vega is the brightest in Lyra; Deneb is the brightest in Cygnus. All these are Greek names derived from Ptolemy (100 - 170 AD) & his predecessor, Hipparchus (190 - 120 BC), and Western astrology has adopted these Greek names.

If you are looking for a technical explanation, this youtube video is a good guide:

There are actually alternative Chinese names given to these Greek names as Chinese astrology largely developed independently from other forms. 

[Note: There was a brief period when Buddhist monk 一行 (Yi Xing) (683 - 727 AD) & Tang Dynasty Taoist alchemist 張果老 (Zhang Guo Lao) (601 - 735 AD) introduced 七政四馀 (7 Governors & 4 Residuals) to China. 七政四馀 is a mix of Chinese & Vedic astrology. It is believed that 紫薇斗数 evolved from 七政四馀.]

河鼓二 is Altair; 织女一 is Vega; 天津四 is Deneb.

All 3 stars are part of Chinese lunar mansions, which are simply another way of interpreting the shapes and patterns of the asterisms / constellations in the Northern Sky. 

 河鼓二 (Altair) is from 牛宿 (Ox mansion).

 织女一 (Vega) is also from 牛宿 (Ox mansion).

 天津四 (Deneb) is from 女宿 (Girl mansion).

Ox & Girl are located close to Capricorn and Aquarius, and the discrepancy is due to the angluar 'tilt' of the Earth's axis so that the Moon would traverse at a slightly different path from the solar ecliptic plane. This is an orbital inclination of 5.14 degrees.

The position of the Moon is different from year to year on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. The reason is because it takes 27.3 days to revolve around the Earth. Currently the Moon is at 13 Scorpio. After sidereal adjustment, it is at 17 Libra. The Moon can be at Ox / Girl / Capricorn / Aquarius but only by coincidence. 

If you watch the above youtube video, you will notice that The Summer Triangle is always very close to the zenith in the Northern Sky during the month of August. This is true in August 2020, and it is also true in August 2025, which roughly coincides with the 7th lunar month. So the Chinese people knew that Ox & Girl would literally take centre stage during this time period, and dedicated one day to commemorate the occasion. I believe they chose the 7th day arbitrarily. 

Do take note. While 'Girl' (including Deneb) is generally auspicious, 'Ox' (including Altair & Vega) is considered inauspicious. Their presence in the centre of the Northern Sky should not be literally interpreted as a favourable day for romantic encounters.  

That being said, practising spirituality is best thing to do for the entire 7th lunar month, regardless of which Day Master you belong to in Bazi. Hence, 七夕贡案, or the Qixi Tribute, is a favourable ritual which involves the act of praying to the 7th Sister or the 7 Goddesses for romance luck & good 'weaving' abilities which, in modern days, can refer to any sort of technical skill involving the hands.

Surprisingly, the 7th day of the 7th lunar month is also the birthday of 魁星 or 魁斗星君 (Kui Dou Xing Jun), a deity who governs all academic / literary pursuits. One can pray to this deity on this day for wisdom in preparing for the exams.

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Why Is the 7th Month Called the 'Ghost' Month?

Today marks the 5th day of the 7th Lunar Month, which is also called the 'Ghost Month'. But what is the logic behind it? This is actually related to Feng Shui, the Chinese art of arranging living and working spaces.

The above diagram shows the '鬼门线' or 'line of the Ghost Doors', which passes through the North East 艮 (Gen) & South West 坤 (Kun) sectors of any flat. These are considered inauspicious positions. It is not recommended to build doors that open towards these directions. It is also not recommended for these sectors to be master bedrooms, kitchens, or have office / working tables. These sectors should remain static and movements should be minimised. 

These directions / sectors also indicate certain periods that are part of one entire year when the Sun revolves virtually around the Earth. In 奇门遁甲 (Qi Men Dun Jia), 死门 (Death Door) in its natal position resides in the 坤 (Kun) sector.

If you are able to read Chinese, the above picture actually mentions that the Death Door appears TWICE, one in the Kun palace and the other in the central 5 palace. According to '转宫法' (the Rotating Palace method), the central palace must remain empty, so the Death Door is 'pushed' into the Kun palace. So it's a double whammy. Death appears twice in Kun. Even if you subscribe to '飞宫法' (the Flying Palace method), Death Door appearing once is already bad enough.

Among all the doors, the Death Door in QMDJ is considered the most inauspicious. In the QMDJ sequence, the Fear Door is always followed by the Death Door, but the irony is, the Fear Door should not be feared as much as the Death Door. Perhaps there is a lesson to all this. Once you don't fear Death and accept the lessons that Death has to teach you, the Fear Door no longer needs to be feared. 

The Death Door (Kun) is represented by a time frame: from 立秋 until 秋分, which lasts 3 solar terms, from 申 Shen to the middle of 酉 You month if you use the Earthly Branches to calculate. This time period almost always coincides with the 7th lunar month, but its duration lasts longer - roughly 45 days - instead of roughly 30 days in a lunar month. 

We cannot immediately see that the Death Door in 坤 is related to 7th month as QMDJ uses 8 palaces. If we use the 12-palace theory, it becomes obvious.

There are 十二地支 or 12 Earthly Branches. If we count from the Earthly Branch 寅 Yin, 申 Shen is number 7. (Notice the similarity between 坤 & 申.) If we count from the Heavenly Stem 甲 Jia, 庚 Geng is also number 7. Regardless of which day master we belong to, we are told that 七杀 - the 7 Killing star - must be handled with care. Both stems are always of similar polarity and one fiercely attacks the other. That's why 7K is always associated with death.

There is an inauspicious QMDJ formation called '五不遇时' (5 Must Not Meet the Hour) and it is actually related to the 7 Killings Star. If you count the heavenly stems from 1 to 7, there are 5 heavenly stems in between. Based on Bazi, if the day master meets its 7K star at the hour stem, '五不遇时' is activated. It is recommended NOT to engage in any important activity as all consequences will be negative.

In 大六壬 (Da Liu Ren), the term '官鬼' (Officer Ghost) can be seen in 三传 (the 3 Transfers).  '官' is Direct Officer in Bazi. '鬼' is the 7 Killings star.

Conclusion: There is no need to be afraid of the 7 Killings star or the Ghost month but you do need to take certain precautions, especially if you are a weak 甲 Jia Day Master (based on Bazi) and 庚 Geng appears somewhere in your chart, particularly in the Hour Pillar. Keep a low profile. Practise spirituality. Do good deeds. 

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We Must Evolve Part 3

My last example is based on 紫微斗數 (Zi Wei Dou Shu). Ancient texts mention that 天同 (Tian Tong) or Heavenly Child, will be more beneficial for females than males. 

The reason is, the Tian Tong star is a passive, peach blossom star that has a tendency to be lazy and depend on benefactors to get by. She loves to play (like a child). For those who have never heard of this star, think of her as a more innocent, introverted version of the Greek Aphrodite. Tian Tong is milder, purer, naïve and optimistic, adopting a happy-go-lucky outlook. She is also known as a star of blessing and metaphysics, and a female with this star in her Life palace is said to prosper her husband. In other words, in a patriarchal society, she is the perfect wife.

On the other hand, if a male has Tian Tong in his Life palace, he will find it very hard to adapt as this star has ‘feminine’ traits. Men in the past were expected to rule their households, exhibit leadership qualities, be ambitious, capable and actively work hard. If a man has this star in a patriarchal society, he will be under pressure to be someone he is not. Conversely, a female with 紫微 (Zi Wei), or Emperor, and 杀破狼 (Sha-Po-Lang) in her Life palace will also be under the opposite pressure to be someone she is not. 

Our society must be better than that. We must allow a person to be who he or she really is.

In the olden days, women accept their lot in life despite their charts showing great potential. Take a female Tian Tong again for example. She has the fortune of marrying a rich and powerful general during the Han dynasty, who dotes on her and gives her everything she wants. She doesn’t need to do any household chores because the maidservant(s) do everything. Every day, she wakes up, puts on make-up, looks pretty and says a few endearing words to her husband. Then her husband happily goes to work. She has nothing left to do, so she goes shopping to buy clothes and cosmetics that make her look even more beautiful. When she reaches home, she reads some poetry while waiting for her husband. He comes home, and she gets ready to have a romantic evening with him after dinner. Rinse and repeat the next day. 

You can’t really blame her. She may not be really happy or fulfilled, but what to do? Many Tian Tong women are content to live in a patriarchal society because it allows them to be lazy and there is no need to prove themselves. They still get by, whether they do anything or not. So why do anything? 

Fast forward till today. Modern men are no longer so willing to pamper their wives. This is actually a good thing for women. They step up as they no longer have the excuse that they are Tian Tongs to justify their laziness. You don’t work, you won’t eat.

Some modern Tian Tongs, both male and female, tend to be more passive though. There are, however, other Tian Tongs who are successful and highly driven business owners. They understand their charts well, and find a way to evolve using their decade / annual luck.

Conclusion: We modern men may feel slightly insecure, even threatened by women who are more ambitious and competitive nowadays. But perhaps we can look at the issue another way. We men can, at last, be lazy and take the back seat without being criticised for not ‘being a man’. Let women have the right to take the initiative of inviting us out. Allow them to buy us dinner and stuff. And other more expensive things.

Another example: those of us who have more artistic traits can pursue our interests without our traditionally-inclined family members pointing fingers at us. Challenge them a bit. Who says that we men cannot be good at the languages and humanities? And who says that women cannot be good at maths and science too?

Gender stereotypes in the past restrict both men and women from what they want to be and who they are supposed to be. Our modern society corrects that. You have the freedom to choose. With the freedom comes the responsibility. (I know this is such a cheesy, cliché, overused Spiderman statement.) Men in the past were believed to be superior and had to work doubly hard to prove their superiority. Now this burden is gone. Men, pat yourselves on the back and congratulate yourselves. Everyone is on equal footing now. We are free to work hard, free to take a break, free to be competitive, free to be lazy.  

We rest to recuperate - and evolve - to go the longer distance. 

Laziness is not always a bad thing.

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We Must Evolve Part 2

「你们喃呒师傅负责超度先人，我们殡仪经纪负责超度活人.」

You priests transcend departed souls; we undertakers transcend their loved ones.

「不止死人要超渡，生人也需要破地狱，生人都有好多地狱.」

Not only do the dead need to transcend hell; the living need to break free too.

Being alive can be hell. 

I accidentally chanced upon ‘The Last Dance’, a 2024 Cantonese blockbuster featuring an elderly Taoist priest in Hong Kong who was estranged from his children. It featured some themes including sibling rivalry, the clash of faiths between the older & younger generation and the deeply-rooted discrimination of the religious patriarchy against the feminine. There was also a 50-year-old protagonist who had no choice but to drastically switch careers from being a wedding planner to a funeral planner. The struggles he had to overcome, the compromises he had to make, the new things he had to learn, all struck me deeply. 

There are a lot of old hierarchal religious structures that remain patriarchal till today, not just in Taoism but also in many other religions including Hinduism, Islam & Christianity. Some churches continue to insist that women should not speak in a church but remain submissive (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). Other churches play down the Bible verses and allow women to speak, but forbid them from becoming pastors. These regulations prevent women from expressing their faith confidently and contributing freely to the world.

God knows we need more women to step up, not just in the religious and spiritual spheres of influence, but also political, entrepreneurial and social. We men have messed up enough in many of these departments, especially political. 2 world wars and countless other conflicts including the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine have all been started by mainly men. Why not give women a chance?

I don’t want to come across as a male-hater. Yes, there are some evil women out there, and more than a few good men. All I’m saying is that we need to give good people more opportunities to shine, regardless of whether they are male or female.   

In astrology, all signs have a balanced mix between the masculine and feminine. For Western, 6 signs are masculine, 6 signs are feminine. For Chinese, there are 10 Heavenly Stems – 5 Yang, 5 Yin – and 12 Earthly Branches – 6 Yang, 6 Yin. All signs, stems and branches alternate between positive & negative. There is no superior sign or inferior sign. 

[There is one small exception in 奇門遁甲 (Qi Men Dun Jia), but the Heavenly Stem ‘Jia’ is not restricted to males only. ‘Jia’ can represent both male & female genders in a QMDJ chart. Some may contend that the 'Jia' being the first is evidence that the masculine is superior. But a deeper understanding of QMDJ will tell you that the system is not really meant to promote a patriarchal society but to protect what 'Jia' represents. It has nothing to do with masculinity.]

All signs exhibit the duality of human nature. We all need a balance of positive & negative in our lives.

I suspect this might be the main reason why we see a greater number of females who are either themselves astrologers or astrology enthusiasts. Some of them may have become disillusioned by the rigid patriarchy of mainstream religions. When they see the fair balance between the astrological signs, they intuitively know that this is what real spirituality should be like.

There is one small problem though. Even though all forms and branches of astrology imply there should be equality between genders, the earliest ancient astrologers were male.

Western astrology actually has its roots in Babylonian, Persian, Egyptian and arguably Vedic astrology, which in ancient times could only be understood by males who were educated enough. Chinese astrology largely developed on its own, but for a short period of time did try to incorporate Vedic astrology into its system. Similarly, the court astrologers in China were predominantly male, and even though Taoism’s central idea was the fair balance between Yin and Yang, women & their status took the back seat for a long time until only a century ago. 

 

This may surprise you, but there are some aspects in astrological interpretation that are also influenced by the patriarchy. For example, for Bazi, some ancient texts state that natives with all 4 Yang pillars are good, and natives with all 4 Yin pillars are evil. Others claim that a female with strong 7 Killing stars (七杀星) should not get married because she is a loose woman who kind of sleeps around and will either curse or dominate her husband. (In most ancient cultures, wives must submit to their husbands.) But there is no mention that she would have strong leadership skills or become an official because females by default were not even given a chance to go to school no matter how good their Bazi chart is. How can they be good leaders or officials if they are not even educated? 

There is a limit to what Bazi can see. If you are born a female in a patriarchal society, no matter how good your chart is, your chances are limited unless you move to another country that can give you more chances.    

I say this as a male. We must evolve and be better than this. Giving women equal opportunities motivates them to prove themselves. We men in turn will not take our own opportunities for granted, and will work harder to compete with the women who are given equal standing. The end result is a better society and a more efficient economy which benefits from healthy competition. 

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We Must Evolve Part 1

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. 

It has been found difficult; and left untried." 

~~ G.K. Chesterton from 'What's Wrong With the World'

If Christianity has not been tried as much as it has been found wanting, then the same can be said about astrology, perhaps more so.

For mainstream, orthodox Christianity, everything you know about the religion is already either found in the scriptures or in tradition. Nothing more needs to be known. What you know just needs to be practised.

In astrology, there are 2 general schools of thought. The first is the traditional, closed one: we no longer need more stars beyond Saturn. What we have is enough to make accurate predictions. The second is the modern, open one: there are so many stars in the solar system and beyond. The universe is constantly expanding. Our knowledge is limited. We need to constantly learn and evolve to adjust to the changes we see around us.     

I am more sympathetic of the latter. To evolve, we must remain open.

Uranus, Neptune & Pluto are relatively new planets. There is still much research required to analyse how important these planets are and whether they really rule the signs they claim to rule.

When Uranus was discovered, Western astrologers knew that the age of Aquarius is imminent, so they conveniently matched Uranus to a new age of innovation, science & technology. 

When Neptune was discovered, they were surprised, but managed to match Pisces with it since it is the age that precedes Aquarius and we are not even sure if we have reached the end of the Pisces age yet.  

When Pluto was discovered, I think everyone was stumped. They could have matched Aries with it because it follows the natural anti-clockwise sequence and is also associated with violence and destruction. But instead, they chose the other sign that Mars rules: Scorpio. Is this arbitrary? Maybe not. I've come up with a reason behind it, but it is my theory only. I have not come across this theory in any book I read. It is just the result of my deep reflection.

As you can see in the above diagram, Scorpio always trines Pisces and squares Aquarius. Its aspect with Pisces is smoother, easier to manifest and positive. However, its aspect with Aquarius is challenging, harder to manifest and negative. 

In other words, Scorpio tries to 'quicken' Pisces to spirituality, universal compassion and intuition, represented by the age of Christianity and the concept of 'Fishers of Men'. On the other hand, it tries to 'impede' Aquarius, slowing down the Innovation of Science & Technology.

I personally think there is an important message here. If we don't have the moral fortitude to deal with weapons of mass destruction, it is better not to develop them further.

The 3 outer planets warn us of the dangers, as well as the hopes, of the present age and the age to come.

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Uranus, Neptune & Pluto

Should Uranus, Neptune & Pluto be included and considered in a chart? In my opinion, yes. I want to respectfully put forth my opinion out here without in any way discrediting so many Vedic astrologers who make accurate predictions without these 3 planets. 

Even among Western astrologers, most consider these 'outer' planets as less important than the 7 classical 'inner' planets. I am referring to Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn. The main reason is, these planets are much further away from Earth, so they exert a far less gravitational as well as astrological influence on us.

My acceptance of these 3 planets in a birth chart is based on my subjective, anecdotal experiences with them. Transits of these planets in my natal chart had caused significant turbulence in my personal life, to put it mildly. I fell extremely ill during the time when Pluto just reached my 12th house of Self-Undoing, which is opposite the 6th house of Health. It also formed many aspects with many other planets, and was considered a dangerous time. But I didn't know it because it happened during my younger days when I was still a Christian and wasn't supposed to believe in these things. It was only many years later in retrospect - when I was more open-minded about such things - that I checked my own Western chart, compared it with the time of the accident, and realised I could have avoided this had I learnt astrology sooner.

Without considering Pluto, it is still possible to predict the time of the accident - with the Moon, Mars and Saturn forming aspects too. But it will be harder to infer. 

I agree with most Western astrologers here. The (primary) inner planets are related to the conscious, material and physical aspects of reality. The (secondary) outer planets are related to the subconscious, the hidden, the innovative and spiritual aspects of reality. The primary is important; but the secondary is not necessarily less important. It depends on the chart. Uranus rules Aquarius, Neptune rules Pisces, Pluto rules Scorpio. If these 3 planets form strong aspects with other planets & ASC / MC / virtual points in your natal chart, they will manifest more easily. Also, if any of the planets & ASC / MC / virtual points feature prominently in these 3 signs in your natal chart, the 3 planets will also manifest more easily. Transiting luck will trigger off the events.

PS: This last portion is for beginners, but also for advanced astrologers who want to re-learn or are open-minded about considering these planets in their analysis. Here I will compile some info from some online articles about these 3 planets:

Uranus - innovation, sudden change, revolution, science & technology

https://www.skyscript.co.uk/uranus.html

The discovery of Uranus is attributed to William Herschel, who first saw it on 13 March 1781 when trying out a new telescope. Its most striking feature is the T-square involving Uranus opposite Mars and Saturn, squared by the Sun. One may say that the Sun brought the new planet to light, and Saturn brought it down to earth. The Uranus-Saturn cycle is associated with the natural sciences and Herschel had been born at a previous opposition. There does seem to be something inhuman about this T-square; the fact that the Moon, Venus, and Mercury are all unaspected makes it worse. The chart can be read as the nativity for the age of scientism: intellect (Uranus in Gemini) without feelings (Moon and Venus) or reason (Mercury), compounded with arrogance (Saturn-Mars-Uranus).

The discovery of Uranus has often been connected with both the American and French revolutions, and aviation. 

The Greek name Ouranos refers to the sky. We recall the myth of Ouranos' castration and deposition by his son Kronos (Saturn). Robert Chandler ('Uranus and Prometheus', Astrological Journal, vol. 38, no. 1) has pointed out that the myth is actually shown in the discovery chart: Saturn opposing Uranus with the aid of Mars (surgery).

Earlier astrologers did not rely on the mythological associations of the name to determine the nature of Uranus. When John Varley and John Corfield did that at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was by observing its effects in nativities.

Neptune: intuition, dreams, illusion, spirituality

https://www.skyscript.co.uk/neptune.html

In the chart for the discovery of Neptune, we find the planet in conjunction with Saturn and in the sign and terms of Saturn: it takes a lot of Saturn to bring Neptune down to earth. This conjunction seems very characteristic of the Victorian age: hard working and capable, but often unable to find the balance between the materialistic and the visionary.

The Saturn-Neptune cycle commencing at the discovery has been particularly significant for communism. In 1848 the Communist Manifesto was published (and Europe was swept by a series of particularly romantic and inept revolutions), while subsequent conjunctions marked both the Russian revolution and collapse of European communism.

Neptune is also associated with both cults and the occult, and some striking events in this connection followed its discovery. In 1847 a Chinese clerk decided that he was the son of God, founded the Taiping cult, and attempted to conquer China; whilst in America, the Mormons set out for Utah to create their theocratic community. In 1848 the Fox sisters produced the poltergeist manifestations that led to the spiritualist movement; even if they were frauds, that too is Neptunian.

Pluto: the hidden truths & aspects of life, profound change, destruction, rebirth, catalyst for deep personal & societal shifts, confronting deepest fears, insecurities, ultimately leading to transformation & regeneration

https://www.skyscript.co.uk/pluto.html

The search was started by Percival Lowell in 1877 and continued on and off until Clyde Tombaugh found the planet in 1930. The reason for the long delay was that they had been looking for a much brighter object - a planet several times larger than the Earth.

Lowell's nativity (7.30 a.m. LT, 13 March 1855, Boston Mass.) responded to the discovery, transiting Pluto opposing his tenth house Moon. It is interesting that the two planets with which Lowell was chiefly concerned, Pluto and Mars, were both unaspected in his nativity: was he trying to fill a personal void? 

It is perhaps typical that Pluto should conceal himself in his twelfth house, though he is in conjunction with the East Quarter*. The fourth harmonic chart, indicating how he will manifest in worldly affairs, shows a striking T-square: Pluto in opposition to a Venus-Neptune conjunction, squared by Mars.

(*Eastern Quarter refers to the 10th, 11th & 12th houses in traditional Western astrology.)

The Four Quadrants of the Chart in Traditional Astrology | Anthony Louis – Astrology & Tarot Blog

As with the other new planets, the discovery chart presaged and responded to appropriate events. Thus one of the rulerships of Pluto is atomic energy. In 1932, Cockcroft and Walton split the atom. At the end of 1942 nuclear fusion was achieved, with transiting Pluto opposing radical Mars in the discovery chart. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, transiting Saturn opposed radical Pluto.

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The Precession of the Equinoxes

This post would be very technical and dry. But I write this in case advanced learners come across this post. I also welcome already successful and professional astrologers to hear my point of view. Yes, this is my 2 cents worth - actually cheaper than that since it is literally free. But this doesn't mean it isn't valuable to me. I have spent a long time pondering about whether I should pursue Vedic astrology or continue going deeper into Western. For the time being, I will focus on Western because it resonates with me more now. I might go deeper into Vedic in the near future if fate allows.

It saddens me to see a minority of Vedic astrologers criticising Western astrologers for not adjusting their charts according to the 'precession of the equinoxes' to monitor the literal positions of the planets.   

It saddens me further to see a minority of Western astrologers countering with why their ancient counterparts have not included Uranus, Neptune and Pluto in their readings.

I will address the former issue in this post and leave the latter issue for another time.

In case there are beginners here, let me explain the precession of the equinoxes. This is best done with youtube videos because it is very hard to use words to describe a 3D picture. Just watch the video below. It will help you visualise what this entire thing is about:

I thought this video was hilarious at the end. So let me summarise. The Tropical year tracks the seasons of our planet accurately, but the Sidereal year tracks the exact position of the Sun in the zodiac accurately. The tropical year is a bit shorter than the sidereal year. So as the years go by, the Tropical zero degree Aries will lag further and further behind the Sidereal zero degree Aries. So after some time, Tropical Aries 0 will be at Sidereal Pisces 29, 28, 27 etc. Currently, the Ayanamsa, or the angular difference, is 24 degrees. So this means that if my Western sun sign is Scorpio 24, my Vedic will be Scorpio 0. No problem there. But what if my Western sun sign shifts to 23 Scorpio? In other words, what if I was born one day before or earlier? Then for Vedic, I will become a Libra 29 or further back. 

So which chart is correct? My short answer: both. It depends on which perspective you want to take.

I know quite a few Vedic astrologers who achieve a high level of accuracy in predictions. Similarly I have seen Western astrologers come to the same conclusions without adjusting to precession. Yes, it is possible to arrive at the same conclusion using different methods.

Western astrology not only includes the 3 outer planets, but also incorporates 12 astrological or precession ages to 'compensate' for the lack of adjustment. This adds another layer of meaning to a Western chart. For example, we are now reaching the end of the Pisces age and the start of the Aquarius age. So the sign Aquarius as well as its rulers Uranus & Saturn will be more prominent in every chart. Some Vedic astrologers also consider Uranus & the Age of Aquarius as part of their analysis.

On the other hand, Vedic (& also Chinese) astrology uses the lunar mansions and planetary periods to deepen their analysis. Vedic astrologers also use Divisional Charts, which advanced Western astrologers call Harmonic Charts. Different names, same thing.

So my conclusion: why don't we respect and learn from each other instead of criticising our differences? The world will be a so much better place if we do that.

Of course, if you are already a very successful astrologer, there is nothing wrong with promoting your school of thought. When your students or clients ask you why you subscribe to this school instead of that school, you may end up explaining and defending your point of view, which naturally requires you to point out weaknesses in other schools of thought. There is nothing wrong with that. Insisting on your point of view while respecting other points of view can be a very hard balance to strike. 

If you go overboard, your lack of respect may backfire. If you say your point of view is just as valid as others, your customers and clients might as well go to your competitors. If you respect others too much, they may climb over your head. This is the sadness of human nature. We must be better than that. Take the higher road. 

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Should You Pursue a Psychic Calling?

My short answer: No. I differentiate between developing intuitive abilities and psychic abilities. Everyone has some level of intuitive ability. Developing intuitive ability is fine. If you already have a high level of natural intuitive ability, yes it is possible to make the 'jump'. But not every person can or is supposed to make the jump. How do you know if you should make the jump? There will be a synchronicity of events that show you the way. If there is no synchronicity, don't force it.

Most psychics will tell you that they would rather not have the calling. The greater the calling, the more severe the consequences of avoiding it. Most will also tell you that if you don’t have the calling, don’t pursue it. It is not as glamorous and awe-inspiring as you think it is. Just live your own life. Really. Just go.

 

Edgar Cayce once said that the purpose of life is not to become psychic, but to be a more spiritual and loving person. This is in line with what the Bible says. One may eagerly desire spiritual gifts, but one must pursue love. (1 Corinthians 14:1)

For psychic ability, you must have the call, and you must be chosen. What’s the difference? Jesus said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 24:14) 

What does this mean? Let’s say I give you a call. You may not hear it, so you ignore it. Or maybe you hear it, but you still ignore it. For both cases, I can’t establish a connection with you. But let’s say you heard the call and picked it up. You accept my call. We have a connection. After some time, we form a relationship, or a contract. I choose you. That's how it works. 

Recently I watched a youtube video depicting a Chinese medium who dared to punch 'Kuan Yin Ma', or the Goddess of Mercy:

Moral of the story: Don't say things like 'I challenge you one-on-one.' And obviously, don't punch 'anyone', or 'anything'. You're literally asking for it. If you want to escape a call, just pretend that nothing happened and very quietly walk away. I'm not encouraging you to escape though. We all know what happened to Jonah. 

Talk to it nicely. In some cases, it is actually possible to do a bit of negotiation and come to a compromise. Sometimes, but not always. 

Different spirits have different ways of establishing connections. Some are harsh, some are gentle. This doesn’t mean the harsh ones are bad and the gentle ones are good. Sometimes it’s the other way round. You need discernment in this area. There are also hierarchies. You need to know who you are forming a connection with.

The 7th lunar month is coming. According to the Chinese, the spiritual gates will open and entities of all sorts will be released into the world – for one month. We are advised to stay indoors at night and also encouraged to pray to our ancestors with peace offerings. If you start seeing things during 7th month, it doesn’t mean you’re psychic. If some of these things follow you home, it doesn’t mean you’re psychic either. This is a period when the line between the physical and spiritual realm becomes very thin. Anyone could encounter these things.

If you are a psychic, can you consult me? Yes you can. I will show you the general pattern of your life. If your current situation is far worse than what your luck cycle shows, it is likely that you are escaping the calling. You have to start embracing the call. If you have already embraced the call but are encountering another problem, knowing your luck cycles will help you identify the problem. After that, you should communicate with your own Higher Power to help you resolve this problem. You may consult other mediums and psychics to help you communicate, but at the end of the day you have to be the one responsible to make peace with it. The ultimate person who is going to save you is you.

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The Calling of a Psychic Part 3

This is the current chart of the moment:

I prayed that God would bless my efforts.

I can only do this much.

I mentioned 4 reasons why a psychic is chosen: birth chart, powerful ancestors, good heart, crucial times. The list is not exhaustive. 

But how does a psychic know that he or she is chosen? What are the signs? I will mention 2. This list is also definitely not exhaustive.

The first indication of a psychic in the making is that he or she receives a call, usually at a very young age. (From this point on, I will use the masculine, but females are just as capable of receiving the psychic call, perhaps even more so.) The call may come in the form of dreams and visions. He may dream of a particular spirit, god, or guardian angel. Or he may be given visions or hear important prophetic messages. Or he may be able to see spiritual entities with his own physical eyes.

Children at a younger age are more able to see these things. As they grow older, usually their spiritual sensitivity disappears. But there will be a small minority of people who grow up and continue to have the ability to sense spirits or their messages. Some may suppress their abilities in order to function normally in this physical world, but the abilities resurface many years later due to a ‘trigger’. 

This ‘trigger’ is the second indication of a psychic in the making. It usually comes in the form of very intense suffering. If the psychic resists the call, the ‘spirits’ use the ‘last resort’ to get his attention. The native may suffer from an unknown illness, meet with various accidents, move from job to job, face bankruptcy, be misunderstood by friends and family, or all of the above. He will experience very bad luck in whatever he does, for a prolonged period of time. Birth charts have good or bad luck cycles. The native may be running a good luck cycle, yet all these bad things are still happening to him, one after another. So he has no choice but to address the issue. This is similar to the '黑令旗' example. 

When the psychic finally wakes up to accept his calling and aligns himself with it, all the bad luck suddenly disappears. This doesn’t happen to anyone. It only happens to very few people.

Do take note. Just because you have bad luck for a prolonged period of time doesn't automatically mean you are psychic. In fact most people who experience bad luck for a long time are not psychics. They bring the bad karma upon themselves, they do bad deeds, they don't put in enough effort to change their lives. Or as mentioned, someone might have placed a curse, but these cases are few and far between.

There are very few real psychics in the world, and many false ones. I am not psychic, and have never claimed to be one. I am an astrologer, and a consultant. My work mainly focuses on natural skills related to cognition, logic, counselling. Once in a while, I do have intuitive 'flashes' but they don't come that often. Edgar Cayce is different.

In May 1889, when Cayce was 12 years old, an angel visited him and asked him what he wanted. He replied that he wanted to help people, especially sick children. The angel said his wish was granted. When he became a young adult, he was struck with an unknown illness. He lost his voice for no reason, and got it back only after hypnosis. He moved from job to job. He tried his hand at photography, but his shop was burned down – twice. He finally filed for bankruptcy. At the end of his rope, Cayce finally embraced his calling, working for long hours, channelling his Higher Power and healing people one by one. It must have taken a toll on him as he died at age 67. 

Mediums need to take care of their bodies due to the incompatibility between the ‘heavier’ physical constitution and the ‘lighter’ spiritual realm. That’s why many Buddhists and Hindus are vegetarian. It makes their bodies more spiritually receptive. 

Cayce never charged for his readings. He survived through the generous donations of people whom he helped. He never took advantage of his fame to gain glory for himself. His sole purpose was to help people, and remained humble because he knew the person who did all the wonderful work wasn’t him. Some of his readings and predictions were wrong. Sceptics criticised him severely, but his accurate readings far outweigh his inaccurate ones.

Consider a Biblical example: the sign of Jonah. He resisted the call of God in his life. Instead of going east to preach in Nineveh, he boarded a ship to escape west. God sent a tsunami. The sailors performed divination and realised that it was Jonah’s fault. After throwing him overboard, the seas immediately became calm and a whale swallowed Jonah for 3 days.

After the whale spewed him out, he repented and preached against Nineveh. He predicted Nineveh’s destruction, but in the end God spared the city, rendering Jonah’s prediction inaccurate. Jonah became angry at God. 

Remember that Jonah’s inaccurate prediction did not make him a false prophet, just as Edgar Cayce’s wrong predictions did not discredit him. The issue is deeper than that. Wrong predictions can actually serve a greater good.

To sum up, the 2 indications are: receiving the psychic call usually at a young age, and the ‘trigger’ of intense suffering if one refuses the call. These indications are experienced universally by Western psychics, Christian prophets, Eastern shamans, Chinese mediums. You will realise that the pattern is mostly the same, except that the initiation rituals and the names given to the gods are different. The story is the same, the characters different.

In another separate post I will discuss whether you should pursue a psychic calling.

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The Calling of a Psychic Part 2

As mentioned, Edgar Cayce’s chart gives hints of spiritual ability, but not really at a psychic level. Many other psychics don’t have superior or special birth charts as well. In fact, many have charts that are far worse than his. 

3 other reasons someone receives a psychic calling are: a high level of personal cultivation, ancestral influence and the urgency of the times.

Edgar Cayce once said that astrology and birth charts are just general tendencies. They do not dictate everything that happens in your life. I agree with this. Ironically, you understand your birth chart so as to help you go beyond your birth chart. But sheer effort is required. It comes in many forms, and are not limited to the following: meditation, good reading habits, good moral character, good deeds, giving to charity, being kind to people, maintaining and conserving your environment. Hence people with more spiritual charts can find ways to develop their material abilities. Conversely, those who manifest wealth easily can find ways to hone their spiritual instincts. At times, powerful spirits may ‘overlook’ strong, well-balanced birth charts and choose individuals with weak, unbalanced birth charts and poor family backgrounds, but are humble, gentle and kind. We don’t always know the exact criteria that the deities follow when choosing their 'hosts'. But we do know that generally, the good ones will connect with good people. So if you want to avoid the bad ones, just be a good person.

Ancestral spirits will bless their descendants. If your ancestors were endowed with great spiritual powers, these same powers will usually follow you and your descendants. For Edgar Cayce’s case, in my opinion, his guide didn’t come from his ancestors but from a group of beings that also influenced Helena Blavatsky and many others. 

I believe these beings wanted to introduce a new spiritual age to save humankind from destruction. Edgar Cayce lived through 2 turbulent world wars. It was a scary and dangerous era. He also wrongly predicted that the world would end before the 21st century. Ironically, this might have created the opposite effect of many spiritual people interceding and raising the overall vibration of the human race, thus delaying the end of the world.

The gods / spirits / guardian angels / higher deities run their own time-tables. What goes on in the spiritual realm is a reflection of what goes on in the material realm, and vice versa. Important political events, pandemics, wars follow their own cycles. At crucial times, these higher guides may be ‘activated’ to help humankind overcome a dangerous crisis. They find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place, and will eventually look for people who may not fit the bill, but have good hearts. 

PS: I have a lot more to say about the heavenly mandate running its own time-table & cycles. I personally think we are living in a very crucial time, perhaps even more crucial than Edgar Cayce's.

Sometimes, when I look at what is happening around me (in Singapore), I am bewildered. And I no longer dare to read international news, because I know I will be even more bewildered. I shut myself out, and down.

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The Calling of a Psychic Part 1

This post is related to the previous voodoo post. I did not want to name the title as 'The Issue of Voodoo Part 2' because it sounds too spooky. I wanted this post to sound more positive, something to counter the negative. So if you clicked on this post first, remember to also read the previous post to have a clearer idea. 

Here's the irony. Those who can perceive '黑令旗' - the black flag of command - are usually the very same people who have a greater potential to develop their psychic abilities. But not always.

'黑令旗' is a concept more complex than previously mentioned. Those who are able to see / hear / feel their 'debt collectors' may have heavier 'karmic debts'. But all of us have karmic debts. Is it true that only those with heavier debts can see spiritual entities? Not necessarily. There are many factors involved, and I will mention the first reason why someone is chosen as a psychic.

The first reason is obviously your birth chart. Signs of a psychic birth chart differ between the East & the West. 

For Western (and Vedic) astrology, we look at the natal birth chart, not transits. More spiritual stars should be found in the 1st house. More planets and stars should also be found in the spiritual signs / houses. 

Chinese astrology has 2 main branches that can give you indications of whether you have the potential for the 'third eye' (阴阳眼):  Bazi (八字) & Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗数). We also look at the natal chart. Ignore decade / annual luck etc. For Bazi, more spiritual stars will found in the natal chart. For ZWDS, more spiritual stars will be found in the 4 main palaces, especially the Life palace. 

In both Western & ZWDS astrology, 'spiritual' and 'material' houses are always 'opposed' to each other. For Bazi, this is not necessarily so. Spiritual stars may coincide with material stars depending on the structure. 

The natal birth chart only gives hints. Even if you fulfill all the criteria of a psychic in your birth chart, it doesn't mean you will be a psychic. Conversely, even if you do not fulfill all the criteria of a psychic, it doesn't mean you won't be chosen. I will mention one example: Edgar Cayce. The reason I choose him is because he is one of the most prominent psychic mediums in the 20th century. The other reason is his Christian background which I identify with.

His birthdate is 18 March 1877 (according to Wikipedia). We do not have his exact time of birth so it's impossible to plot his Chinese charts. (There will only be 6 characters in his Bazi chart, which requires 8 characters. It's still possible to predict, but with far lower accuracy.) For both Western and Vedic, you can still plot the chart, but the Ascendent will be missing. The Ascendent is very important for 2 reasons. It gives you information about the star sign which your rising sun is located at, and it determines the location of the 12 houses. This is Edgar Cayce's Western chart:

There are 3 Quintiles involving Pluto, 2 involving Jupiter and 1 Biquintile involving the Sun & Uranus. Zero degree orbs are: Sun vs Uranus, Mercury vs Pluto, Pluto vs NN. Quintiles & biquintiles are considered minor aspects which imply talent and creativity. 4 planets and North Node are in Pisces.

Based on Western astrology, yes. There are some indications that this person has some creative talent and spiritual ability, but you wouldn't predict that this individual is going to be some prominent person like Edgar Cayce. The main reason is, there are very few major aspects that 'push' the native to greatness. I have seen many charts far better than his, but none of them have achievements as great as his. Why? There are many other reasons why a psychic is chosen.

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The Issue of Voodoo

The term 'voodoo' has its origins in African and Native American shamanism. It is actually a religious belief and has many traditional practices, but over time has been misunderstood to mean black magic associated with zombies and poking needles through 'voodoo' dolls.

'Black magic' is practised in both Eastern as well as Western religious cultures, but different names are given to the term. It is said that less people today practise black magic because people in ancient cultures were more superstitious and went to shamans or 'medicine men' to cure their illnesses. With the advancement of medical technology, many have become less dependent on shamanism. With the development of guns and weapons of mass destruction, people now also have a more direct way of getting rid of their enemies. However, in modern, civilised cities where it is against the law to hurt or kill a person, there is still a minority of people who choose a more 'subtle' way to destroy their enemies, where the police have no way of finding evidence to prove you are guilty. Yes, you performed a ritual against your enemy. The next day, he dies. So what? It's just an unlucky, or for your case, a lucky coincidence. 

Singapore is a country-city with an interesting mix of traditional culture - usually based on the person's ethnicity - and modern Western culture. As our education system places a great emphasis on the English language, most of us are more inclined towards Western influence, although we still celebrate traditional religious festivals like Christmas, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali.     

So how many people in Singapore practise black magic? I would say not many. We Singaporeans are mostly materialistic, pragmatic, money-minded, kia-su and kia-see people who want to have a competitive edge in the rat race. Yes, we want to win, but not to the extent of 'putting a curse' on other people. Still, we will never know the exact number of people who practise black magic, because it's not as if these people are going to come out in the open and confess, "Yes, I cursed him, and he met with an accident the next day." 

There are not that many cases in Singapore associated with black magic. Most of the time, those who claim to be 'demon-possessed' or 'under a curse' are known to be charlatans, drug addicts or lunatics. But there are some genuine cases. Yes, black magic does exist. This I can tell you.

In Singapore, there are some occult specialists and Tarot practitioners who have the power to put a hex on another, and if you are willing to pay the price, they can be persuaded to do so. However, most do not willingly do it because they are aware of the 'backlash'. 

That's why I don't do it. For a meagre price of $10, I won't do it. Even if you pay me $100, I still won't do it, because I don't know how to. Even if I know how to, I still won't do it. Because cursing another person always incurs bad karma on yourself, and so I encourage all of you who are thinking of putting a curse on another person to think thrice. Find it in your heart to forgive this enemy, and if you can't, there is still no need to curse him. Let him go. You may not see it, and he may not show it, but the evil that he has done to you is already working its bad karma on himself.  

What if you think you are under a curse? Can you consult me? Yes, you can. First, I will do a birth chart analysis for you to see if you are currently under a particularly bad 'luck cycle'. If you are under a bad luck cycle, it is likely that you are not under a curse but going through 'bad luck'. Remedies will be suggested.

However, if you are going through a particularly good 'luck cycle', but for some reason are still having bad luck, then there is a higher chance that someone has placed a curse on you. Still I would not immediately infer this. I would ask questions like whether you quarrelled with someone recently, how your home / work environment is affecting you etc. Remedies will be suggested. 

Do take note. The fastest way to remove a curse is obviously for the person who created the curse in the first place to remove it. But restitution is not always possible. The person who bears a grudge may not be so willing to forgive. And you may not even know who this enemy is. 

Another faster way, which I obviously do not recommend, is to return the curse to the person who cursed you. In other words, you curse him back. I repeat: I don't do this. It incurs bad karma.

We are left with the 'slower' way. Yes, it is possible to 'dissolve' the curse. This way is slower, but safer. I recommend this. 

There are some exceptional cases where the curse cannot be removed so easily because the 'entity' has an 'entry point' to your soul. There are many ways to explain this, and I will use the 'Taoist' explanation. In Chinese, there is a term called '黑令旗', translated as a black flag of command. If this entity has a 'black flag of command' on your life, this means you had done something wrong to offend it in the first place. Therefore it has the right to 'collect karmic debt', 'harass' you and - to some extent - gain entry into your soul. Do take note, this doesn't mean that it will definitely possess you, but it can still cause great disturbance to your life. When this happens, even mediums and shamans won't be able to do much to alleviate the situation. Some negotiation can take place, but the querent has to do his / her part and accumulate good deeds. 

There aren't many of such exceptional cases in Singapore, which is a good thing. But the reason is, only a very small minority of Singaporeans are inclined towards spirituality, which I think is not a very good thing. Because spirituality is important.

One minor digression. There are 2 different reasons for being under a curse. The first is because someone deliberately performed black magic against his enemy. The second is because his own current actions (or actions from his past life) triggered the malevolent spirit's hold over him. My impression is that those with 黑令旗 fall under the 2nd category, but I may be wrong. It is important to know where the bad energy is coming from when seeking a remedy.

If you have this problem, I can still give you advice, based on an astrological perspective, on how to improve your life. But I'm a consultant, not an exorcist or medium. I would suggest that you visit one soon.

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Consultation: Rules of Engagement

[Note: Consultation is Currently Free Until 20th October 2025]

One. Please consult regarding serious issues like positive directions 

to take in your life: personal development, career, relationships, money.  

Two. Please do not consult regarding vice or crime-related issues.

 

Three. No trolling please. Mutual respect is a must. 

Four. For Birth Chart analysis, please ensure that 

your exact date & time of birth are correct. 

Five. If you don't wish to reveal your birth details, you may request for 'Divination'. Do have one specific question in mind. The way you phrase the question is very important. I might need to 'rephrase' your question.

Six. Online Consultation (through messaging) is available through WhatsApp.

Click on this link https://wa.link/zeqlwm or scan below.

Non-Whatsapp users: You can email me at heaven.earth.man.333@gmail.com.

Voice / Video Consultation can be conducted via WhatsApp

after prior consultation.

You may book an appointment in advance.

If you have time, you may read the longer version here.

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