Harmony, environmental care could offset political strife in lunar new year

If you’re feeling winter-weary, turn the page: Spring is here, says the Chinese solar calendar.

Spring arrived Feb. 4, the first day of the solar new year, according to Alan Lum, a Honolulu native who practices Chinese astrology and feng shui. “It’s the day energy changes and growth begins — the beginning of spring, the wood season.”

Summer corresponds with fire, autumn with metal and winter with water. In transition months — April, July, October, January — the energy returns to the earth.

Chinese tradition observes both solar and lunar new years, said Lum, 62, who has master’s degrees in social work and religion from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. While the solar new year nearly always falls on Feb. 4 (occasionally Feb. 3 or 5), the lunar new year, also called Chinese or Asian new year, fluctuates: This year it begins Saturday; last year it started Jan. 28.

Both calendars recognize 2018 as a Year of the Dog, one of 12 animal signs, or branches, in the Chinese zodiac.

“It is believed that the animal presiding for a particular year affects the events of that year, and that people born in that year will share traits of that animal,” Lum said.

It’s easy to identify your animal by your birth year, but the animal’s characteristics vary according to which of five elements, or environmental energies, ruled the sign that year.

The five elements are metal, water, wood, fire and earth, each of which comes in yin (subtle, refined) and yang (bright, coarse) versions. They are known as heavenly stems, which touch down to earth in 12 branches (the animal signs), resulting in 60 different elemental combinations.

So while Year of the Dog occurs once in every 12-year rotation, the Earth Dog comes along only every 60 years. Its dominant element is yang earth, with some yin metal and yin fire mixed in.

Lum described the Earth Dog as loyal but also stubborn and immovable, like a mountain; unpredictable like fire but also cozy and warm, like a yin fireplace rather than a forest fire; strong yet pliable, like yin metal jewelry rather than iron ore. Famous Earth Dogs include Madonna and Michael Jackson.

So what’s 2018 got in store for the rest of us animals?

There is potential for peace so long as boundaries are respected. “The dog is an animal that needs its own safe space,” Lum said. “As long as it has its own yard to play in, it won’t intrude into other dogs’ territories and pick a fight.”

Look for more growth in earth-related industries such as real estate and construction, businesses dealing in precious metal and steel, and information/communication industries related to the internet, which is associated with fire.

There also may be more volcanic activity worldwide, and because fire and metal clash, “There will still be some continued political strife and tension,” Lum said.

On the brighter side, because earth puts out fire, the Earth Dog could produce harmony, stability and more caring for our planet, Lum said. “Hopefully, nations and humans will become more conscientious about our earth and work together toward preserving our world for a better future for all living beings.”

Those born before the solar new year (that’s Feb. 4 this year) belong to the previous year, in this case Rooster. And whatever your sign, your horoscope will vary depending on the month, day and time of your birth.

While it’s often assumed that your animal year will bring you good fortune, another popular belief says it brings bad luck. That’s where your attitude comes into play. “You can enhance the positive, or you can focus on the negative,” Lum said, advising there are at least two — if not 60— sides to everything.

Alan S.F. Lum does individual horoscopes and feng shui for homes and businesses; contact him at alanlum@hawaii.edu.