The Year of the Horse brought catastrophic international air accidents, brutal terror attacks, global political upheaval, a resurgent Ebola virus and war — and, in Hong Kong, large-scale civil unrest.
However, fortune tellers in the southern Chinese city are heralding a more docile Year of the Sheep — though volatility is still in the air, with warnings of more woes for the global property markets, and an “explosion of bacteria” leading to new and resurgent diseases.
The sheep, in the eighth position of the lunar calendar, is “comparatively tame, meaning that if there is any challenge everyone can come together to solve it,” Hong Kong-based feng shui expert Cheng Chi-tai said.
“But because of the animal’s character, it is not strong enough to suppress the instability from last year,” Cheng said, adding that there is no difference between the sheep and the goat in the Chinese translation.
Chinese fortune-telling, including feng shui, is based on ancient philosophy and the belief that events are dictated by balancing the five elements that make up the universe: metal, wood, water, fire and earth.
“This year will definitely be calmer in terms of disasters or accidents,” feng shui expert Thierry Chow (周亦彤) said. The 27-year-old is a second-generation master who studied the practice under her father, renowned expert Chow Hon-ming (周漢明).
“The reason last year was so explosive was because the fire element was quite dominant,” Chow said.
In its annual tongue-in-cheek “feng shui index” CLSA, one of Asia’s leading brokerages, predicted there would be a slight improvement in the economy due to the sheep’s docile nature.
“Prayers and invocations to wealth, engagements and transactions, openings and agreements are smiled upon by the gentle sheep,” CLSA said.
However, Chow also warned the animal was strongly connected to the earth element, which can represent sickness, meaning that this year could see a resurgence of existing diseases and the genesis of new ones. The previous Year of the Sheep — 2003 — saw the SARS epidemic that infected 8,096 worldwide and killed 744 people.
“Depending on what other elements are partnering with earth, it usually sparks an outbreak,” she said, adding that the combination of wood and earth elements were a particularly potent mix.
“There is going to be a big explosion of bacteria,” Chow added.
Property markets around the world could also see a tough year ahead with a possibility of a downturn, both Chow and Cheng predicted. The sector is represented by the earth element, but the impact of the wood element may cause problems.
There are also positive sides to the wood element, Chow said, suggesting it could also spark a renewed interest in Earth-friendly trends — such as a rise in people becoming vegetarian, or adopting a greater interest in farming and sustainability.
Citing an example, Chow said Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, who was born in the Year of the Horse, will continue to have a successful year with lots of work and opportunities, although the star may continue to struggle in her personal life.
“If she’s in a relationship there will be lots of conflicts and it will be very unstable,” Chow said.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) chairman Jack Ma (馬雲), one of Asia’s richest men, will not be greatly affected by regulatory troubles despite authorities recently accusing his company of allowing “illegal” actions on its multibillion-dollar online shopping platform.
“He’s not going to have a rocky year, it will be quite stable overall,” Chow said, adding that his wealth will go up this year due to his birth sign. “He will be traveling, be occupied and busy in a positive way.”
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