Kenneth S. Cohen's Blog

Calendars, whether written or represented by solstice markers and stone circles, are probably as old as humanity. Although today we think of calendars as ways of remembering holidays and other important dates as well as organizing or allocating time, they also have many other important uses. Calendars mark times for planting, harvesting, sailing (tides), healing, and blessing. The original time keepers are the sun, moon and stars, and calendrical systems are determined by their movements.

The traditional Chinese calendar is based on the moon and is thus called the “Lunar Calendar”. The Lunar New Year is the second new moon after the winter solstice. In 2025, Chinese New Year’s Day is the new moon on January 29. The celebration lasts two weeks and ends with the full moon, called the Festival of Heaven or Lantern Festival on February 12. The year of the snake ends on Feb 16, 2026.

Qualities of the Snake & Snake Year

In the Chinese Shaolin martial arts tradition, animals represent various aspects of mind, body, and spirit. The dragon is shen (spirit), tiger: gu (bones), leopard: li (strength), crane: jin (sinew), and the snake: qi (life energy). Among the animals, the snake is the primary symbol and teacher of qi because it is flexible, adaptable, water-like, close to the earth, and capable of moving or attacking with great speed and power. The snake sheds it skin and thus also reminds us to shed the old in order to transform and renew.

The snake year emphasizes adaptability, sensitivity, discernment, intelligence, wisdom, energy, and transformation.

“Elements” of the Year

Let’s talk about the elements of the year in Chinese Five Elements (Wu Xing) Theory. Although I will use the popular term “five elements” you should know that “Five Phases” is a more accurate translation. The word Xing, translated “Element”, really means to move. The five phases are moving forces. But Xing is also a picture of a cross-roads, nodes of intersection where for example a north-south road crosses an east-west road. In ancient Chinese cosmology, the Five “Elements” are categories of intersecting, mutually interdependent, and corresponding phenomena. Wood for example represents springtime, green, the east, the liver, and so on.

Now back to the characteristics of the year. Each year is represented by an animal and an element. In other words, if you were born in the year of the snake, it would be interesting to know if you are a water snake, a fire snake, a metal snake, an earth snake, or a wood snake.

2025 is a Wood Snake Year. However, each animal in itself also relates to an element. The Snake belongs to the Fire category. Hence, this is a Wood Fire Year. The first element “wood” is called the “heavenly stem” 天干and represents spirituality. The second element, fire, is called the “earthly branch” 地支and symbolizes the physical/earthly realm, especially the environment and economy.

Elements may be either in harmony or conflict. In this Wood Snake year, the elements are in harmony because wood creates fire. However, precisely because wood creates fire, there is a greater danger of fire, heat, volcanoes and other climate change or extreme weather events.

Among the internal organs, wood (the liver) feeds fire (the heart). It is a year to take special care of the heart and circulatory system and make lifestyle adjustments—including balanced diet and exercise—to guard against inflammation.

Gua (Hexagram) of the Year

The great Song Dynasty Yi Jing Master, Shao Yong in his book 皇極經世 relates 2025 to Hexagram (Gua) 49, Ge 革, Revolution. Revolution may be a political, social, cultural, or personal and often means getting rid of the old and making way for the new. This sounds positive, but please remember that revolutions are not always good, as when a despot comes to power or a revolution, such as the Industrial Revolution, has unintended consequences.

The Chinese character 革 originally pictured an animal skin, possibly stretched out and drying in the sun, which corresponds very interestingly to the symbolism of the snake shedding its skin. But the character may also represent a shaman covered by an animal skin. To survive or thrive during any revolutionary change, we may need to practice the shaman’s “shape-shifting” power of adapting to, connecting with, and becoming truly part of nature. One final note about the Ge Revolution hexagram. Ge is comprised of two symbols: lake (dui) above fire (li), a non-harmonious relationship in which fire scorches or evaporates the lake, again warning about climate change and possibilities of floods and fires.

And I would like to add something to the usual interpretations of this Hexagram. Although we can say that the symbol of Revolution has two component parts, lake and fire as I explained above, the symbol as a whole pictures five yang lines resting on one yin line. This corresponds to approximately age 24 in the cycle of one’s life, when creative energy has peaked and the first signs of aging creep in. It thus emphasizes the importance of maintaining youthful energy this year, not falling into a rut of despair or hopelessness. Furthermore, the heavy weight of five yang resting on one yin means that we need to guard against patriarchy, protect the feminine, and encourage women’s voices in decision making.  

Lucky and Unlucky Forces

大利南北 South and North are lucky this year in terms of health, wealth, and opportunity—  good directions to face, to travel, and for home renovation.

三煞在東 San Sha "Three Killing Forces" in the East. For every year, there is a direction of bad luck (called the San Sha), including disasters, financial loss, loss of reputation, worry, misunderstanding, and conflicts. This year the killing forces are in the east. That means it is best not to travel east, or do home renovation in the east side of your home or office, or disturb the ground by digging holes in the east side of your property. The latter would disturb the Lords of the Soil (Tu Di Gong and his wife, Tu Di Po), who influence prosperity and the well-being of ancestral spirits. It is best not to sit with your back to the east, thus facing west, but fine to sit facing east. If you have a choice, don’t spend much time in the eastern portion of a home or office. Do not buy or move into a house this year with an east facing main door. If you already have an east facing door, be sure to close it gently with minimal noise this year, in order not to disturb or awaken negative forces. You can prevent adverse influences from the san sha by keeping the east portion of your home especially clean, orderly, and quiet. The san sha may be neutralized and the qi in your home stabilized by placing feng shui brass gourds 葫蘆  in the san sha area (east). Some people prefer to place statues or images of three mythical beasts in the san sha region. These are the pi xiu (also called pi yao) which looks like a winged lion, fu dog (guardian lion), and chi lin (also called long ma “dragon horse” or Chinese unicorn) which has the body of a horse, head of a dragon, and scales like a carp.

五黃在東北 Wu Huang "The Five Yellow Sick Forces" This year illness is associated with the northeast direction. It is best not to travel to the northeastern part of your country or state/province or disturb the ground, dig or do home renovation in the northeast area of your home or business. For example, this is not the year to create a garden on the northeast side of your property. If possible, avoid spending much time in the northeast section of your home. The Five Yellow may be neutralized by placing six Chinese coins (sometimes called Yi Jing coins) tied with a red ribbon or a metal six-tube wind chime in your home, particularly in the northeastern section. Six is considered a lucky number because in Chinese it is pronounced almost the same as the word “flow.” In other words life flows (liu 流) more smoothly through the influence of the number six (liu 六).

太歲在東南 Tai Sui the Great Year Star, also called Grand Duke of Jupiter, is a spirit that is different each year, appointed to oversee the energies of the year and the world’s affairs. The Tai Sui spirit this year is Song Dynasty General Wu Sui 吳遂將軍, believed to have the power to prevent famine, drought, and chaos

This year the energy of Tai Sui is in the Southeast. Tai Sui likes cleanliness, light, dryness rather than humidity, peace and quiet: thus, keep that part of your space especially clean, well lit (curtains and windows open). Remove flowers plants or water containers from that area, and it is best to not have noisy appliances or devices such as a computer, TV, speakers, or air conditioner in the southeast area. It is considered auspicious to place a plaque or image of General Wu Sui in the southeast section of your home or work space. 

In this Snake Year, Tai Sui is predicted to clash with those born in years of the Snake, Pig, Monkey, and Tiger. If you were born in any of those years, then starting on Chinese New Years Day, take extra safety precautions, avoid arguments and risky behavior, and avert misfortune by engaging in virtuous and charitable activities. Chinese markets, feng shui shops, and some Chinese bookstores sell special Tai Sui ritual paper that may be burned as an offering to Tai Sui. Taoist temples offer more elaborate An Tai Sui 安太歲 (Pacifying Tai Sui) or Bai Tai Sui 拜太歲(Worshipping Tai Sui) rituals. If you were born in a year that puts you at risk of Tai Sui affliction, it is advisable to do the An Tai Sui Ritual on Chinese New Year’s Day and, for extra protection, on the new and full moon throughout the year. When Tai Sui conflicts with your birth year, many people like to keep a Tai Sui talisman card (the size of a credit card) in their wallet. These are available in shops and online.

Directly opposite Tai Sui, in the northwest is another inauspicious influence, the Year Breaker Star (Sui Po) 歲破. The usual rules apply: keep that area clean and avoid loud noises, construction or renovation in the associated direction.

Preparing for the New Year

January 22 Worship the Kitchen God (Zao Jun). On this day, a week before the New Year, the spirit of the kitchen and stove reports to the Jade Emperor the good and bad deeds of the members of your household. Incense offerings may be made to his image, and Zao Jun is enticed to report sweet words by making a meal that includes sweet desserts in his honor.

Now, get ready for a new beginning and the renewal of energy that occurs with the new year. Clean your home, clean and clear your mind of worries and negativity. Remember to send Chinese New Year cards!

January 28 New Year’s Eve. Families symbolically seal their doors with blessing charms and vertical scrolls of Chinese characters embossed on red paper. Examples include: “May Gold and Jade Fill Your Home,” and “Live Long as the Pine and Crane”.

January 29 元旦 New Year’s Day. At dawn open the front door to welcome the energy of the New Year. Some families set off firecrackers as a way of celebrating and to scare away any lingering negative forces. In the morning, I like to light incense and candles on my altar and drink the best tea while savoring the uplifting taste and aroma. It is traditional to have a festive family meal and to wish a happy near year (bai nian) to friends, teachers, and family, especially older relatives who may have been unable to attend the family celebration.

Particular foods are believed to enhance good fortune if eaten on New Year’s Day, including chicken (for good fortune), fish (for abundance), noodles (for longevity), and dumplings because they look like ancient gold ingots. Avoid duck, because the word duck (ya), sounds like the word that means to oppress. Also, don’t say the number four in Chinese (si), because it sounds like the word for death. On the other hand, some numbers are especially auspicious: three (san) because it sounds like life (sheng), six (liu) because it sounds like “flowing” (also pronounced liu), and eight (ba) because it sounds like wealth (fa). After the meal, the younger generation are happy to receive the traditional gift of red envelopes (hong bao) with money inside. My Taoist teacher, Dr. Huang, always gave me a red envelope on New Year’s Day and encouraged me to offer the same to my students. We also burned incense and performed special rituals at his Taoist altar.

And how wonderful to visit a Chinese restaurant or cultural center during the new year period to enjoy the acrobatic Lion Dance, representing wisdom, prosperity, good luck, and the power to scare away misfortune. (See the photo at the top of this blog.) Be sure to bring your red envelopes with monetary gifts inside to feed the lions!

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It

As you think about predictions and characteristics of the New Year, please remember that a core principle of Taoism is change and adaptability. The astrological influences are just that: influences, and not “written in stone”. Consider predictions as an encouragement to make better choices and meet challenges with responsibility and intelligence. If there are negative tendencies, you are called to leadership to help turn things around.

As your mind becomes free of limited views and conditioning and when your life is guided by virtue (De 德), you are less subject to the decrees or forces of fate. “Is there free will or predestination?” I once asked my friend, noted author and Buddhist scholar, Alan Watts. He replied, “You are free to the extent that you know who you are and not otherwise.” I am reminded of a saying of the great Howard Thurman, mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” May you be blessed with inner freedom, wisdom, and good fortune in this new year!

Calendars, whether written or symbolized by solstice markers and stone circles, are probably as old as humanity. Although today we think of calendars as ways of remembering holidays and other important dates as well as organizing or allocating time, they also have many other important uses. Calendars mark times for planting, harvesting, sailing (tides), healing, and blessing; they may advise us of activities to do or avoid. The original time keepers are the sun, moon and stars, and calendrical systems are based on their movements.

The traditional Chinese calendar is based on the moon and is thus called the “Lunar Calendar”. The Lunar New Year is generally the second new moon after the winter solstice. In 2024, Chinese New Year’s Day is the new moon on February 10. The celebration lasts two weeks long and ends with the full moon, called the Festival of Heaven or Lantern Festival on February 24. The year of the dragon ends on January 28, 2025.

"Elements" of the Year

Let’s talk about the elements of the year in Chinese Five Elements (Wu Xing) Theory. Although I will use the popular term “five elements” you should know that “Five Phases” is a more accurate translation. The word Xing, translated “Element”, really means to move. The five phases are moving forces. But Xing is also a picture of a cross-roads, nodes of intersection where for example a north-south road crosses an east-west road. In ancient Chinese cosmology, the Five “Elements” are categories of intersecting, mutually interdependent, and corresponding phenomena. Wood for example represents springtime, green, the east, the liver, and so on.

Now back to the characteristics of the year. Each year is represented by an animal and an element. In other words, if you were born in the year of the dragon, it would be interesting to know if you are a water dragon, a fire dragon, a metal dragon, an earth dragon, or a wood dragon.

2024 is a Wood Dragon Year. However, each animal in itself also relates to an element. The Dragon belongs to the Earth category. Hence, this is a Wood Earth Year. The first element “wood” is called the “heavenly stem” 天干and represents spirituality. The second element, earth, is called the “earthly branch” 地支and symbolizes the physical/earthly realm, especially the environment and economy.

Elements may be either in harmony or conflict. In this Wood Dragon year, the elements are in conflict. Because wood, for example the roots of a tree, break up earth (element of the dragon), wood is said to destroy earth. Another way of putting this is that this year heaven—the mind and spirit-- are in conflict with the environment. Nothing new, but certainly an indication that environmental policies and challenges could worsen unless individuals and governments act with strength, determination, and integrity.

In general, the dragon symbolizes the dynamic power of nature, especially manifest as thunder, lightning, and rainbows. Dragon years and dragon people tend to be passionate, enthusiastic confident, powerful, adventurous, generous, and intelligent. Dragons also symbolize leadership. In Imperial China, the throne of the emperor was called the Dragon Throne 龍椅.

Preparing for the New Year

Feb 9 New Year’s Eve. Families symbolically seal their doors with blessing charms and vertical scrolls of Chinese characters embossed on red paper. Examples include: “May Gold and Jade Fill Your Home,” and “Live Long as the Pine and Crane”.

Feb 10 New Year’s Day. At dawn open the front door to welcome the energy of the New Year. Some families set off firecrackers as a way of celebrating and to scare away any lingering negative forces. It is traditional to have a festive family meal and to wish a happy near year (bai nian) to friends, teachers, and family, especially older relatives who may have been unable to attend the family celebration.

Particular foods are believed to enhance good fortune if eaten on New Year’s Day, including chicken (for good fortune), fish (for abundance), noodles (for longevity), and dumplings because they look like ancient gold ingots. Avoid duck, because the word duck (ya), sounds like the word that means to oppress. Also, don’t say the number four in Chinese (si), because it sounds like the word for death. On the other hand, some numbers are especially auspicious: three (san) because it sounds like life (sheng), six (liu) because it sounds like “flowing” (also pronounced liu), and eight (ba) because it sounds like wealth (fa). After the meal, the younger generation are happy to receive the traditional gift of red envelopes (hong bao) with money inside. My Taoist teacher, Dr. Huang, always gave me a red envelope on New Year’s Day and encouraged me to offer the same to my students. We also burned incense and performed special rituals at his Taoist altar.

And how wonderful to visit a Chinese restaurant or cultural center during the new year period to enjoy the acrobatic Lion Dance, representing wisdom, prosperity, good luck, and the power to scare away misfortune.

Lucky and Unlucky Forces

大利在東北 The North-East is lucky this year in terms of health, wealth, and opportunity— a good direction to face, to travel, and for home renovation. If you live in the US, it would be a great year to see the autumn colors in New England!

三煞在南 San Sha "Three Killing Forces" in the South. For every year, there is a direction of bad luck (called the San Sha)-- including disasters, financial loss, loss of reputation, worry, misunderstanding, and conflicts. This year the killing forces are in the South. That means it is best not to travel south, or do home renovation in the south side of your home or office, or disturb the ground by digging holes in the south side of your property. The latter would disturb the Lords of the Soil (Tu Di Gong and his wife, Tu Di Po), who influence prosperity and the well-being of ancestral spirits. It is best not to sit with your back to the south, thus facing north, but fine to sit facing south. If you have a choice, don’t spend much time in the south portion of a home or office. Do not buy or move into a house this year with a south facing main door. If you already have a south facing door, be sure to close it gently with minimal noise this year, in order not to disturb or awaken negative forces. You can prevent adverse influences from the san sha by keeping the south portion of your home especially clean, orderly, and quiet. The san sha may be neutralized and the qi in your home stabilized by placing feng shui brass gourds 葫蘆  in the san sha area (south). Some people prefer to place statues or images of three mythical beasts in the san sha region. These are the pi xiu (also called pi yao) which looks like a winged lion, fu dog (guardian lion), and chi lin (also called long ma “dragon horse” or Chinese unicorn) which has the body of a horse, head of a dragon, and scales like a carp.

五黃在西 Wu Huang "The Five Yellow Sick Forces" This year illness is associated with the west direction. It is best not to travel to the western part of your country or state/province or disturb the ground, dig or do home renovation in the west area of your home or business. For example, this is not the year to create a garden on the west side of your property. If possible, avoid spending much time in the west section of your home. The Five Yellow may be neutralized by placing six Chinese coins (sometimes called I Ching coins) tied with a red ribbon or a metal six-tube wind chime in your home, particularly in the western section. Six is considered a lucky number because in Chinese it is pronounced almost the same as the word “flow.” In other words life flows (liu 流) more smoothly through the influence of the number six (liu 六). Normally I might also suggest placing a statue of a green pagoda in the western portion your home or work space. In five element theory, green (wood) neutralizes the power of yellow (earth). However, since these two elements are already in conflict during the wood dragon year, I feel that this “cure” is not advisable.

太歲在東南 Tai Sui the Great Year Star, also called Grand Duke of Jupiter, is a spirit that is different each year, appointed to oversee the energies of the year and the world’s affairs. The Tai Sui spirit this year is General Li Cheng 李城, a famous Tang Dynasty scholar, general, and governor who was deified and adopted into the Taoist and folk pantheon because of his courage and service.  

This year the energy of Tai Sui is in the Southeast. Tai Sui likes cleanliness, light, dryness rather than humidity, peace and quiet: thus, keep that part of your space especially clean, well lit (curtains and windows open). Remove flowers plants or water containers from that area, and it is best to not have noisy appliances or devices such as a computer, TV, speakers, or air conditioner in the southeast area. It is considered auspicious to place a plaque or image of General Li Cheng in the southeast section of your home or work space.  

In this Dragon Year, Tai Sui is predicted to clash with those born in years of the Rabbit, Dog, Dragon, and Ox. If you were born in any of those years, then starting on Feb 10, 2024 take extra safety precautions, avoid arguments and risky behavior, and avert misfortune by engaging in virtuous and charitable activities. Chinese markets, feng shui shops, and some Chinese bookstores sell special Tai Sui ritual paper that may be burned as an offering to Tai Sui. Taoist temples offer more elaborate An Tai Sui 安太歲 (Pacifying Tai Sui) or Bai Tai Sui 拜太歲(Worshipping Tai Sui) rituals. If you were born in a year that puts you at risk of Tai Sui affliction, it is advisable to do the An Tai Sui Ritual on Chinese New Year’s Day and, for extra protection, on the new and full moon throughout the year. When Tai Sui conflicts with my birth year, I like to keep a Tai Sui talisman card (the size of a credit card) in my wallet. These are available in shops and online.

Directly opposite Tai Sui, in the northwest is another inauspicious influence, the Year Breaker Star (Sui Po) 歲破. The usual rules apply: keep that area clean and avoid loud noises, construction or renovation in the associated direction.

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It

As you think about predictions and characteristics of the New Year, please remember that a core principle of Taoism is change and adaptability. The astrological influences are just that: influences, and not “written in stone”. Consider predictions as an encouragement to make better choices and meet challenges with responsibility and intelligence. If there are negative tendencies, you are called to leadership to help turn things around.

As your mind becomes free of limited views and conditioning and when your life is guided by virtue (De 德), you are less subject to the decrees or forces of fate. “Is there free will or predestination?” I once asked my friend, noted author and Buddhist scholar, Alan Watts. He replied, “You are free to the extent that you know who you are and not otherwise.” I am reminded of a saying of the great Howard Thurman, mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” May you be blessed with inner freedom, wisdom, and good fortune in this new year!

©Kenneth S. Cohen

Photo: Paul Gallagher and Ken Cohen practicing Tai Chi Push Hands ca. 1980

My mind and heart are filled with thoughts of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Paul Gallagher (1944-2023). May his memory and the teachings he shared with so many be a blessing.

“Who is this rude young man?” Probably not how you would expect me to be greeted! Well, it was not said out loud but rather a thought in the mind of the great Tai Chi Master Paul Gallagher when he first saw me. Let me explain.

It was 1974. I was teaching my very first Tai Chi workshop at the New England Center for Personal Development in the Berkshire Mountains outside of Amherst, Massachusetts. Several students told me of a mysterious Taoist recluse, an American Tai Chi Master, who like me spoke Chinese and lived not far away, in Hadley. I was in my early twenties at the time; he was an “old guy”, not quite 10 years older. I got his address, and when the workshop was over, I went out to the main road, stuck out my thumb and hitch-hiked. Only took three rides to get there.

When I arrived, I saw the Tai Chi studio attached to his home, beautiful spacious hardwood floors, wall to wall mirrors and Chinese calligraphies hanging here and there. Paul was in the midst of practicing the Yang Style Long Form, which he had learned as a senior student of T.T. Liang. I was stopped in my tracks, stunned. This is Tai Chi. Smooth and flowing like a great river, its power hidden in its depths. Flawless precision. So slow that he would never catch up to a turtle. Not wanting to disturb the Master I, perhaps rudely, opened the door, sat cross-legged on the floor and patiently watched until he finished. We laughed later when Paul told me what he thought during that peripheral vision first impression.

I stood up and we shook hands. When old friends meet for the first time, they continue a conversation that began who-knows-when. They met, meet, and will meet beyond time.

Our conversations could probably qualify us as members of the Qing Tan 清談, Pure Conversation School of third century Taoism, deep thoughts expressed with the least words necessary, and always with a dash of humor. It took me years to fill in some of the personal life-history details that are the foundation for most conversations.

Paul had been a professor of Russian at Harvard. I guess this language attracted him more than the French or Greek which he also knew. He had not yet learned Chinese. One day he was walking behind two colleagues from the Slavic Languages Department who seemed lost in a very heady conversation. As Paul caught up to them, he thought of the absurdity of nit-picking academia in which one may devote years of one’s life figuring out why an unusual syllable appeared in a word found in a boring ancient text. Paul called out the name of the Professor, no answer. He called the other by name, still no answer. They didn’t hear him because they were lost in a haze of linguistic irrelevancy, a “cloud of unknowing,” and not in the Christian mystical sense.

Paul decided then and there to leave Harvard. Not long thereafter, a life-changing decision was made for him. He was in a terrible car crash and told he would be partially paralyzed for life, confined to a wheel chair. Yet through a combination of meditation, diet (macrobiotics), basic qigong, and later, Tai Chi, he repaired the severed nerves, and years later you would never know about the earlier trauma but for the slight crick and tilt in his neck.

In the 1960s Paul began studying Wu Style Tai Chi with Sophia Delza (1903-1996), the dancer, choreographer, and Tai Chi Master who from 1948-1951 had trained in Shanghai, China with the legendary Wu Style Master Wu Yueliang. Sophia wrote the first book on Tai Chi in English, T’ai-Chi Ch’üan: Body and Mind in Harmony. In 2022 Paul confided that of all the wonderful teachers he had, Sophia was the “most luminous.” I guess it was contagious.

It was also during the 60s that Paul began to study the Chinese language, with an emphasis on classical Chinese, so he could fulfill his dream of reading Taoist and Buddhist texts as well as Chinese poetry in their original language. Throughout his life he took great delight in both practicing and reading about the classical Chinese contemplative lifestyle. He and I both felt a special affinity with the Taoist hermits of Mount Hua, the sacred peak in western China. One might wonder if Paul was a reincarnated Lao Tao, Old Taoist. I don’t think he was a reincarnated Lao Tao; I think he was a Lao Tao, even if the form reflected back to him in the mirror was Caucasian.

With Wu Style Tai Chi as a foundation, Paul continued his training with T.T. Liang, a name that in the Tai Chi realm needs no introduction, at least not any more than the Dalai Lama to a Tibetan Buddhist. Liang had an almost unimaginable level of perfection in numerous martial arts, though his greatest love remained Tai Chi. Through Paul I had the honor of meeting Liang in the 1980s, and when he agreed to push-hands with me, I realized how a person could be a mountain and a feather at the same time. I could not budge this 80 year old, but he could effortlessly dislodge my root and propel me through the air.

Backtracking a bit, in the mid 70s Paul and I became students of another great, B.P. Chan, Taoist Qigong and Martial Arts Master from Fujian. Although we were never in the same class with him at the same time—both of us concentrating on private instruction—we shared notes and practices based on Bagua Zhang, Xingyi Quan, Qigong, and other arts.

Paul hosted me to teach workshops many times at his Deer Mountain Taoist Academy in Massachusetts. I may have had an unsavory (or is it savory) influence on him. He was rather rigid in his ultra-veggie organic dietary requirements, after all it may have made the difference between being wheel-chair bound or mobile. But one day, after I had finished guest teaching a class, we took a walk and he saw me eyeing some extraordinary cakes and desserts in a bakery window. Complying with the obvious wish of his guest and friend, he graciously opened the door and we went inside. To my surprise and nervous dismay, Paul also got a piece of cake a la mode. From that point on he told me that decided to practice “strategic impurity,” letting go of the rules of purity in order to lessen the danger of sudden death from a whiff of car exhaust! His students thanked me for my influence on their teacher’s greater flexibility.

I also brought Paul to Colorado where students were impressed by his knowledge of Chinese dietary therapy and Chinese culture. I still remember a striking example he used to explain the yin and yang properties of food. “Do you know how the Mongols survived crossing the Gobi Desert on horseback on their way to the conquest of China?” No response. “They would open a vein in their horse’s leg and drink the blood. This gave them extra nutrition and more aggressive yang qi for battle.” Yes, Paul was a natural story-teller, a trait made clear in the marvelous Taoist Tales recounted in his book Drawing Silk. You will see one of those stories dedicated to me.

We shared many stories over the years. We lived geographically far apart so our visits were far too few. Phone calls helped a bit and always left me with much to ponder. In the last year, when he suffered from various pains and ills, I realized that friendship and joy of life were the best medicines. I brushed up on my repertoire of jokes, and we never failed to end the conversation by saying, “I love you.” Like the time when we first met, so many years ago, our conversation is still continuing.

©Kenneth S. Cohen

Frances Steloff, 1978, Photo by Lynn Gilbert

My love of books was largely due to one bookstore and one person in particular: Gotham Book Mart (1920-2006) and its founder, Frances “Fanny” Steloff (1887-1989), or “Miss Steloff” as everyone called her.

I didn’t know that Gotham Book Mart was the literary heart of New York City or that among the people who loved it and shopped frequently were: Charlie Chaplin, WH Auden, Allen Ginsberg (who was a clerk there), Arthur Miller, George and Ira Gershwin, Anaïs Nin, Ezra Pound, and Katherine Hepburn. I found the store “by chance” in the late 1960s. Nor did I realize that Miss Steloff, the “old lady” always sitting or browsing among the stacks was the founder and former owner and a noted feminist. Miss Steloff had smuggled boxes of Lady Chatterley’s Lover into the store, purchased directly from DH Lawrence, when the book was banned by the US government.

To me, Miss Steloff was a sage and guardian angel who always appeared in the same “Asian Spirituality” section whenever I arrived at the store. She seemed to be waiting for me, ready to advise, “Oh, yes, read all of Arthur Avalon’s books if you want to understand Kundalini Yoga.” And so I bought and read all of them, including the now rare long out of print versions published in India. To this day much of my Sanskrit vocabulary comes from The Serpent Power and Śakti and Śākta. “However,” she continued, “to appreciate how Western occult philosophy interpreted or mis-interpreted India and Tibet read Madame Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine. But please balance this with the clear insight of Krishnamurti,” at which point she would pull his books off the shelf, place them on my growing pile, and proceed to give me the biography of each of the authors she recommended.

I was in my teens, practicing Indian Yoga with disciples of Swami Sivananda, and only beginning my studies of Chinese language and Taoist arts. With Miss Steloff as my guide, the written word brought me to India and at the feet of spiritual masters. I was growing roots, learning the geography, culture and the importance of context in pursuing a spiritual discipline. I accompanied Mouni Sadhu on a pilgrimage to Arunachala Ashram to visit Sri Ramana Maharshi, a literary journey, and the only one I could afford. I circumambulated Mount Kailash with Lama Govinda and meditated by the pristine waters of Lake Manasarovar at 15,000 ft elevation in the Himalayas. How interesting that these books predicted physical meetings that would occur a decade later—when I had the blessing of attending lectures by Lama Govinda and being mentored by Sunyata, a close associate of Sri Ramana.

Fanny Steloff, the sage of Gotham Book Mart, had earned every white hair. It was only in later years, in retrospect that I realized how lucky I was to have had this kind of intellectual guide. From my teens to my early twenties, I looked forward to our bookstore meetings. Thanks to Miss Steloff’s kindness I developed a great love of learning and an ability to discern truth from falsehood (“BS”) that has served me well. I never got to thank her properly. After many years away from “the city”, I visited New York and the bookstore in the early 1990s. Miss Steloff had already passed. Yet, part of me thanks her each and every day.

Photo by Ken Cohen, Chinese New Year at Jasmine Seafood Restaurant, San Diego

©Kenneth S. Cohen

Calendars, whether written or symbolized by solstice markers and stone circles, are probably as old as humanity. Although today we think of calendars as ways of remembering holidays and other important dates as well as organizing or allocating time, they also have many other important uses. Calendars mark times for planting, harvesting, sailing (tides), healing, and blessing; they may advise us of things to do and things to avoid. The original time keepers are the sun, moon and stars, and calendrical systems are based on their movements.

The traditional Chinese calendar is based on the moon and is thus called the “Lunar Calendar”. The Lunar New Year is generally the second new moon after the winter solstice. In 2023, Chinese New Year’s Day is the new moon on January 22. The celebration lasts two weeks long and ends with the full moon, called the Festival of Heaven or Lantern Festival on February 5. The year of the rabbit ends on February 9, 2024.

Every year is represented by an animal and an element. In other words, if you were born in the year of the rabbit, it would be interesting to know if you are a water rabbit, a fire rabbit, a metal rabbit, an earth rabbit, or a wood rabbit.

2023 is a Water Rabbit Year. However, each animal also relates to an element. The Rabbit is Wood. Hence, this is a Water Wood Year. The first element “water” is called the “heavenly stem” and represents spirituality. The second element, wood, is called the “earthly branch” and symbolizes the physical world, especially the environment and economy.

Elements may be either in harmony or conflict. This year the elements are in harmony. Because water grows wood (element of the Rabbit), water is considered the mother of wood. Thus, in this Year of the Rabbit, the heavenly stem (water element) is the source of the earthly branch (wood). This indicates harmony of yin and yang, better economic and environmental policies, and in general opportunities for positive change.

Not surprisingly, the rabbit is adaptable, gentle and good hearted. Does this mean that the sharp edge of war and politics will be softened this year? Let’s hope so. The rabbit symbolizes peace, as well as prosperity and longevity.

Preparing for the New Year

Jan 21 New Year’s Eve. Families symbolically seal their doors with blessing charms and vertical scrolls of Chinese characters embossed on red paper. Examples include: “May Gold and Jade Fill Your Home,” and “Live Long as the Pine and Crane”.

Jan 22 New Year’s Day. At dawn open the front door to welcome the energy of the New Year. Some families set off firecrackers as a way of celebrating and to scare away any lingering negative forces. It is important to have a festive family meal and to wish a happy near year (bai nian) to friends, teachers, and family, especially older relatives who may have been unable to attend the family celebration.

Particular foods are believed to bring good fortune if eaten on New Year’s Day, including chicken (for good fortune), fish (for abundance), noodles (for longevity), and dumplings because they look like ancient gold ingots. Avoid duck, because the word duck (ya), sounds like a word that means to oppress. Also, don’t say the number four in Chinese (si), because it sounds like the word for death. On the other hand, some numbers are especially auspicious: three (san) because it sounds like life (sheng), six (liu) because it sounds like “flowing” (also pronounced liu), and eight (ba) because it sounds like wealth (fa). After the meal, the younger generation are happy to receive the traditional gift of red envelopes (hong bao) with money inside. My Taoist teacher, Dr. Huang, always gave me a red envelope on New Year’s Day and encouraged me to offer the same to my students. We also burned incense and performed special rituals at his Taoist altar.

And how wonderful to visit a Chinese restaurant or cultural center during the new year period to celebrate and enjoy the acrobatic Lion Dance, representing wisdom, prosperity good luck and the power to scare away misfortune.

Lucky and Unlucky Forces

大利在北 The North is lucky this year in terms of health, wealth, and opportunity— a good direction to face, to travel, and for home renovation.

三煞在西 San Sha "Three Killing Forces" in the West. For every year, there is a direction of bad luck (called the San Sha)-- including disasters, financial loss, loss of reputation, worry, misunderstanding, and conflicts. This year the killing forces are in the West. That means it is best not to travel west, or do home renovation in the west side of your home or office, or disturb the ground by digging holes in the west side of your property. The latter would disturb the Lords of the Soil (Tu Di Gong and his wife, Tu Di Po), who influence prosperity and the well-being of ancestral spirits. It is best not to sit in the west side of a home or office (thus facing east). It is fine, however, to sit facing west. Do not buy or move into a house this year with a west facing main door. If you already have a west facing door, be sure to close it gently with minimal noise this year, in order not to disturb or awaken negative forces. You can prevent adverse influences from the san sha by keeping the west portion of your home especially clean, orderly, and quiet. The san sha may be neutralized and the qi in your home stabilized by placing feng shui gourds 葫蘆 and/or green plants in the san sha area (west). Some people prefer to place statues or images of three mythical beasts in the san sha region. These are the pi xiu (also called pi yao) which looks like a winged lion, fu dog (guardian lion), and chi lin (also called long ma “dragon horse” or Chinese unicorn) which has the body of a horse, head of a dragon, and scales like a carp.

五黃在西北 Wu Huang "The Five Yellow Sick Forces" This year illness is associated with the northwest direction. It is best not to travel to the northwest part of your country or state/province or disturb the ground, dig or do home renovation in the northwest area of your home or business. For example, this is not the year to plant a garden on the northwet side of your property. If possible, avoid spending a great deal of time in the northwest section of your home. A mystic way to lessen the power of the Wu Huang is to place a statue of a green pagoda in the northwest portion your home or work space. Green is the color of the wood element. In five element (or five phase) theory, green (wood) neutralizes the power of yellow (earth).

太歲在東 Tai Sui the Great Year Star, also called Grand Duke of Jupiter, is a spirit that is different each year, appointed to oversee the energies of the year and the world’s affairs. The Tai Sui spirit this year is Pi Shi 皮時, a general during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535) who was known for his military and martial arts ability.

This year Tai Sui is in the East. Tai Sui likes cleanliness, light, dryness rather than humidity, peace and quiet: thus, keep that part of your space especially clean, well lit (curtains and windows open). Remove flowers plants or water containers from that area, and it is best to not have noisy things such as a computer, TV, speakers, or air conditioner in the east area.

In this Rabbit Year, Tai Sui is predicted to clash with those born in years of the Rabbit, Rooster, Dragon, Rat, and Horse. If you were born in any of those years, then during 2023 it is best to take extra safety precautions, avoid arguments and risky behavior, and avert misfortune by engaging in virtuous and charitable activities. Chinese markets, feng shui shops, and some Chinese bookstores sell special Tai Sui ritual paper that may be burned as an offering to Tai Sui. Taoist temples offer more elaborate An Tai Sui 安太歲 (Pacifying Tai Sui) or Bai Tai Sui 拜太歲(Worshipping Tai Sui) rituals. If you were born in a year that puts you at risk of Tai Sui affliction, it is advisable to do the An Tai Sui Ritual on Chinese New Year’s Day and, for extra protection, on the new and full moon throughout the year. When Tai Sui conflicts with my birth year, I like to keep a Tai Sui talisman card (the size of a credit card) in my wallet. These are available in shops and online.

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

As you think about predictions and characteristics of the New Year, please remember that a core principle of Taoism is change and adaptability. The astrological influences are just that: influences, and not “written in stone”. Consider predictions as an encouragement to make better choices and meet challenges with responsibility and intelligence. If there are negative tendencies, you are called to leadership to help turn things around.

As your mind becomes free of limited views and conditioning and when your life is guided by virtue (De 德), you are less subject to the decrees or forces of fate. “Is there free will or predestination?” I once asked Alan Watts. He replied, “You are free to the extent that you know who you are and not otherwise.” I am reminded of a saying of the great Howard Thurman, mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.”

©2022 Kenneth S. Cohen, from my Facebook Post of October 21, 2022

Asian styles of bowing are among the most profound spiritual practices, whether it is the Namaste of palms together in India, the bend from the waist of Japan, the enclosed fist of China or the full prostrations of Tibet. I learned to bow from my Japanese Tea Ceremony teacher who described bowing as “yielding to the mystery of being human”. We could also say it is yielding before a common mystery, a realm beyond knowledge. In the tearoom there is no high or low, only Buddha bowing to Buddha.

If you have been in my classes or joined me for celebrations, such as the Chinese New Year, you have probably seen me bowing with my right hand in a fist, covered by my left. Unlike the Japanese bow, this bow is not used daily or regularly but reserved for Wu Shu (martial arts) and special occasions. The Bao Quan Li 抱拳禮, the Embracing Fist Ritual, has been practiced in China since the Western Zhou Dynasty (1047 BC – 772 BC). There are several layers of meaning. The two hands look like the Chinese characters for the crescent moon 月and the sun 日 (closed fist), suggesting yin/yang balance. And when these two words, moon and sun, are together in the same Chinese character, they produce ming 明, meaning brightness, clarity, and understanding. This is the same “ming” as in “the Ming Dynasty”, when the salute was used as a sign of patriotism.

And there’s more. The hand shielding the fist means that we meet with respect, with wisdom rather than aggression. Indeed, the five fingers may represent the five Confucian virtues: benevolence, integrity, social decorum, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Some scholars add that the bent thumb is like a person bowing from waist and demonstrates humility. The salute also suggests harmony. The five fingers of the fist along with the four fingers that cover it represent the lakes and seas of China or the five continents and four oceans, meaning unity among all the peoples of the world.

©2022 Kenneth S. Cohen

"Awaken the mind without fixing it anywhere." This famous phrase from the Diamond Sutra could apply equally to the concept of qi, life energy. When the mind is fixed, limited by static words and concepts, it loses touch with the ever changing, fluid reality. Similarly, when the qi is blocked, unable to circulate, it becomes like water behind a dam, too much energy on one side, too little on the other. This imbalance creates disease. Indeed, many early texts on Chinese medicine imply that the mind is qi. The meridians of acupuncture--the energy channels that conduct qi to and from all of the tissues of the body--"are also the routes by which the mind pervades the body.”1 This is made clear in one of the central texts of Chinese medicine, the Ling Shu, "The acupoints are the spots where spirit and qi come and go, enter and leave." (1.4b) When these acupoints are stimulated through either acupuncture or by qigong, the blocked areas are opened. Places that have too much energy (yang) are drained; those that have too little energy (yin) are filled. The energy begins to flow more smoothly. At a deep level of healing, this flow is not only within the body, but between the body and the universe. Mind and qi both become all pervasive, moving without obstruction.

The Buddha himself emphasized these two complementary paths: mind-based practices and body-based practices. Mind practices include meditation and focusing on positive qualities such as compassion and wisdom. Body practices include attentiveness to physical activities and breathing, and, later in Buddhist history, qigong and martial arts. Shakyamuni Buddha advised that a monk should be mindful of the body, so that "when he is walking, standing still, sitting down or lying down he comprehends that he is doing so...however his body is disposed, he comprehends that it is like that...”2

The Zen classic, Shobogenzo, tells us that of the dharma paths, body learning is the more difficult. Perhaps this is because the body cannot lie; it gives immediate feedback about our state of being. Is there pain or pleasure? Do we experience openness or constriction? Are we refreshed by the environment, allowing nature, as air, to enter and leave, thus realizing the reality of impermanence (anicca in Pali) or do we sporadically inhibit and stop the breath? Do we hold onto a self-image, whether positive or negative, confusing who we are with who we think we are, the idea of ourselves? A symbol is not an experienced phenomena any more than a map is the land or a menu is the food. Thus, according to Buddhism, there is no self (anatta) that one can know. We can paraphrase this, life challenges us to trust in the unknown. Body-based practices may be the most efficient way to get out of our heads and move beyond the entrancing illusions of the mind.

The body teaches the Dharma, Buddhist wisdom, incessantly. "All compound things are subject to decay," said the Buddha. Body parts wear out, and some cannot be replaced. Aging reminds us of the Buddha’s First Noble Truth: dukkha, suffering, is a characteristic of existence. Although one can deny suffering, one cannot realistically escape from it. Self-centeredness, attachment, and grasping (tanha) make suffering worse. A balanced lifestyle, moderation, and equanimity – the essence of what the Buddha called “the Noble Eightfold Path”—lessens suffering’s hold.

Perhaps most importantly, the body is often a reminder that we can find wisdom in the everyday. Simple perceptions hold the key to greater aliveness. The Xin Xin Ming “Trusting the Heart/Mind”, a sixth century Chinese Zen text says, "The Great Way is not difficult." As the student immerses him/herself in awareness of standing, walking, breathing, she finds that all of nature is similarly standing, walking breathing. Qi, like Mind, is not confined to the body. "If we harmonize the practice of enlightenment with our body the entire world will be seen in its true form.”3

Postscript: Hey, Ken, I thought you were a teacher of Taoism? My answer: The classical Chinese worldview is that Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism all work together. A happy human being knows nature (Taoism), self-nature (Buddhism) and an ethical way to live in society (Confucianism). This is called San Jiao Kui Yi: the Three Teachings Return to Unity.

End Notes

1 Ishida, Hidemi "Body and Mind: The Chinese Perspective" in Kohn, Livia, ed. Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press), 1989, p. 59.

2 Majjhima-nikaya I, 55-63 in Conze, Edward. Buddhists Texts Through the Ages (NY: Harper & Row), 1964, p. 57.

3 Nishiyama, Kosen with Stevens, John trans. Dogen Zenji's Shobogenzo Vol. I (Sendai, Japan: Daihokkaikaku), 1975, p. 13.

Calendars, whether written or symbolized by solstice markers and stone circles, are probably as old as humanity. Although today we think of calendars as ways of remembering holidays and other important dates as well as organizing or allocating time, they also have many other important uses. Calendars mark times for planting, harvesting, sailing (tides), healing, and blessing; they may advise us of things to do and things to avoid. The original time keepers are the sun, moon and stars, and calendrical systems are based on their movements.

The traditional Chinese calendar is based on the moon and is thus called the “Lunar Calendar”. The Lunar New Year is generally the second new moon after the winter solstice. In 2022, Chinese New Year’s Day is the new moon on February 1. The celebration lasts two weeks long and ends with the full moon, called the Festival of Heaven or Lantern Festival on February 15. The year of the tiger ends on January 21, 2023.

Every year is represented by an animal and an element. In other words, if you were born in the year of the tiger, it would be interesting to know if it is a water tiger, a fire tiger, a metal tiger, an earth tiger, or a wood tiger.

2022 is a Water Tiger Year. However, each animal also relates to an element. The Tiger is Wood. Hence, this is a Water Wood Year. The first element “water” is called the “heavenly stem” and represents spirituality. The second element, wood, is called the “earthly branch” and symbolizes the physical world, especially the environment and economy.

Elements may be either in harmony or conflict. This year the elements are in harmony. Because water grows wood (element of the Tiger), water is considered the mother of wood. Thus, in this Year of the Tiger, the heavenly stem (water element) is the source of the earthly branch (wood). This indicates harmony of yin and yang, better economic and environmental policies, and in general opportunities for positive change. However, we must also remember that wood creates fire, and thus there is a continuing danger of rising temperatures and wildfires. The tiger is passionate; fire-like action must be held in check by quiet reflection and wisdom.

This is a good year for leadership, bold action, and new beginnings, whether personal projects or business pursuits. The tiger symbolizes strength, nobility, bravery, protection from evil, and exorcising negative forces. In Taoist iconography, Zhang Daoling, founder of Taoism, and Guan Gong, the courageous and honorable general and martial artist, are both associated with the tiger. Face your demons and have the courage to understand and slay them. This may require healing practices, Taoist or other spiritual rituals, personal insight, and therapy.

Preparing for the New Year

Jan 31 New Year’s Eve. Families symbolically seal their doors with blessing charms and vertical scrolls of Chinese characters embossed on red paper. Examples include: “Enter and Leave in Peace,” “May Gold and Jade Fill Your Home,” and “Live Long as the Pine and Crane”.

Feb 1 New Year’s Day. At dawn open the front door to welcome the energy of the New Year. Some families set off firecrackers as a way of celebrating and to scare away any lingering negative forces. It is important to have a festive family meal and to wish a happy near year (bai nian) to friends, teachers, and family, especially older relatives who may have been unable to attend the family celebration. (While the COVID pandemic persists, many family meals will be with one’s household “pod”; visits may occur online, and some gifts, including the red envelopes described below, are likely to be delivered by mail or PayPal.)

Particular foods are believed to bring good fortune if eaten on New Year’s Day, including chicken (for good fortune), fish (for abundance), noodles (for longevity), and dumplings because they look like ancient gold ingots. Avoid duck, because the word duck (ya), sounds like a word that means to oppress. Also, don’t say the number four in Chinese (si), because it sounds like the word for death. On the other hand, some numbers are especially auspicious: three (san) because it sounds like life (sheng), six (liu) because it sounds like “flowing” (also pronounced liu), and eight (ba) because it sounds like wealth (fa). After the meal, the younger generation are happy to receive the traditional gift of red envelopes (hong bao) with money inside. My Taoist teacher, Dr. Huang, always gave me a red envelope on New Year’s Day and encouraged me to offer the same to my students. We also burned incense and performed special rituals at his Taoist altar.

Lucky and Unlucky Forces

大利東西The East and West directions are lucky this year in terms of health, wealth, and opportunity— a good direction to face, to travel, and for home renovation. It is also an especially lucky year for people born in the dog, and some astrologers include the ox and goat years. Prosperity favors those born in the years of the rabbit, dragon, horse, and chicken.

三煞在北, 不利北方 San Sha "Three Killing Forces" For every year, there is a direction of bad luck (called the San Sha)-- including disasters, financial loss, loss of reputation, worry, misunderstanding, and conflicts. This year the killing forces are in the North. That means it is best not to travel north, or do home renovation in the north side of your home or office, or disturb the ground by digging holes in the north side of your property. The latter would disturb the Lords of the Soil (Tu Di Gong and his wife, Tu Di Po), who influence prosperity and the well-being of ancestral spirits. It is best not to sit in the north side of a home or office (thus facing south). It is fine, however, to sit facing north. Do not buy or move into a house this year with a north facing main door. If you already have a north facing door, be sure to close it gently with minimal noise this year, in order not to disturb or awaken negative forces. You can prevent adverse influences from the san sha by keeping the north portion of your home especially clean, orderly, and quiet. The san sha may be neutralized and the qi in your home stabilized by placing feng shui gourds 葫蘆 and/or green plants in the san sha area (north). Some people prefer to place statues or images of three mythical beasts in the san sha region. These are the pi xiu (also called pi yao) which looks like a winged lion, fu dog (guardian lion), and chi lin (also called a long ma “dragon horse” or Chinese unicorn) which has the body of a horse, head of a dragon, and scales like a carp.

五黃在中 Wu Huang "The Five Yellow Sick Forces" This year illness is associated with the center. It is best not to travel to the central part of your country or state/province or add a new central section to your home or business. If possible, avoid spending a great deal of time in the central section of your home. The center direction is correlated with the earth element and the spleen. Preserve the health of your spleen by eating healthy (the spleen absorbs qi from food), avoiding damp places, treating allergies (linked with the spleen) and not overthinking. A good year to practice and become more adept at mental silence. A mystic way to lessen the power of the Wu Huang is to place a small altar with the Heart Sutra (心經) in the center of your home or work space. Although a Chinese language edition would be best, you may also use an English translation.

太歲在東北 Tai Sui the Great Year Star, also called Grand Duke of Jupiter, is a spirit that is different each year, appointed to oversee the energies of the year and the world’s affairs. The Tai Sui spirit this year is the Yuan Dynasty (1300s) General He Yi 賀諤大將軍, noted for his military successes but also for his virtue in burying hundreds of fallen soldiers and distributing gold (that he discovered) to the people and to the Emperor.

This year Tai Sui is in the northeast. Tai Sui likes cleanliness, light, dryness rather than humidity, peace and quiet: thus, keep that part of your space especially clean, well lit (curtains and windows open). Remove flowers plants or water containers from that area, and it is best to not have noisy things such as a computer, TV, speakers, or air conditioner in the NE area.

In this Tiger Year, Tai Sui is predicted to clash with those born in years of the Tiger, Monkey, Snake and Pig. If you were born in any of those years, then during 2022 it is best to take extra safety precautions, avoid arguments and risky behavior, and avert misfortune by engaging in virtuous and charitable activities. Chinese markets, feng shui shops, and some Chinese bookstores sell special Tai Sui ritual paper that may be burned as an offering to Tai Sui. Taoist temples offer more elaborate An Tai Sui 安太歲 (Pacifying Tai Sui) or Bai Tai Sui 拜太歲(Worshipping Tai Sui) rituals. If you were born in a year that puts you at risk of Tai Sui affliction, it is advisable to do the An Tai Sui Ritual on Chinese New Year’s Day and, for extra protection, on the new and full moon throughout the year. When Tai Sui conflicts with my birth year, I like to keep a Tai Sui talisman card (the size of a credit card) in my wallet. These are available in shops and online.

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

As you think about these traditional predictions, I want to remind you of a core principle of Taoism: adaptability. The astrological influences are just that: influences, and not, as they say, “written in stone”. Consider predictions as reminders to make better choices and meet challenges with responsibility and intelligence. If there are negative tendencies, you are called to leadership to help turn things around.

©2021 Kenneth S. Cohen

Photo of the Buddha by Ken Cohen at 佛光西來寺 Buddha Light Hsi Lai Temple, California

The principle of moderation occurs again and again in the Dao De Jing: “If you pound an edge to sharpness, it will not last long.” (Ch 9) “Those who embrace this Dao do not wish to be full.” (Ch 15) “The sage forgoes extremes, excess, and extravagance.” (Ch 29) “One who is contented does not suffer disgrace; one who knows when to stop is free of danger and thus can achieve longevity.” (Ch 44). Too many laws erode the innate and intuitive sense of right and wrong, thus encouraging lawbreakers. “The more laws and mandates, the more thieves and robbers abound.” (Ch 57) which essentially an expansion of a theme presented in Chapter 5: “The sage is not a do-gooder.” Confucius is also famous for his emphasis on moderation: “To exceed is as bad as to fall short.” (Analects Chapter 11). Moderation is the essence of mental and moral balance, an underlying theme in the Confucian classic, Zhong Yong (The Doctrine of the Mean). No wonder Chinese people were able to easily relate to the Buddhist principle of “The Middle Way” when Buddhist pilgrims first brought the Dharma (teachings) to China centuries later. The Buddha had discovered that wisdom could no more be found in a king’s palace than in an ascetic’s cave; like the string of a sitar, it must be strung neither too tight nor too lose to produce just the right, beautiful note.

The theme of moderation underlies virtually all Chinese arts, from painting to poetry to qigong. Yin and yang are kept in balance and neither goes to extremes: there is always a drop of yin within yang, a drop of yang within yin. In the martial arts, an attack has the potential for defense, a defensive move contains the seed of attack. Stillness is the root of movement; movement is the root of stillness. And this gem from the Taijiquan Treatise (Taijiquan Lun) “Neither overdo nor underdo.” One could also translate this sentence as “Neither excess nor insufficiency.” It takes a lifetime of practice to master this one principle.

From my observations, students tend to do too much; they exaggerate the size of a movement and use too much force, lifting a shoulder when they intend to only lift an arm, tightening their face when dropping into a low stance, or just using the wrong muscles for a task because of lack of body awareness. But paradoxically, although they misplace effort (overdoing), they undertrain (underdoing), believing that they will develop skill (gong) and inner strength (jin), magically, without diligent practice. Additionally, if dysponesis (misplaced neurophysiologic responses) occurs during Taijiquan practice, then students are probably doing this in everyday life and thus dissipating and exhausting their reserves and reducing resilience—the ability to spring back after stress. In the martial arts both excess and insufficiency create vulnerability. Too much tension means slow movements and slow reaction time. Too big a movement means that the opponent can easily avoid your attack while “returning fire.” On the other hand, deficient movement, such as not reaching the target is useless. Or a deficient shape—such as the arms too close to the body or a collapsed or fearful posture, says “please hit me.” Again, moderation is the key.

Moderation is an important aspect of the fundamental Taoist concept of wu wei, literally “no action” or “action (wei) that proceeds out of emptiness (wu),” free of conditioning and coercion, arising spontaneously (zi ran) in accord with nature. Such action is not extreme. A flower uses only the nutrients necessary for its growth; it does not block absorption of minerals because of a false belief in unworthiness, nor does it egotistically hoard water or sunlight. Jesus got it right, “Consider the lilies, how they grow.”

On a psychological level, moderation is the opposite of bipolar disorder, characterized by moods that swing and cycle between elevated, hypomanic episodes and apathy/depression. I am not surprised at the documented increase in the rates of bipolar disorder, especially among adolescents and youth, an increase that cannot be explained by greater availability of mental health services or attention paid to the diagnosis. https://journalbipolardisorders.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40345-014-0010-0 It seems to me that rising levels can be attributed at least in part, to lack of time spent in nature and attuning to nature’s example of balance and moderation.* Neither looking at nature on computer screens or tv documentaries nor being an environmental activist have any personal impact on nature deficit disorder and its sequelae. I am certainly not denying the need for psychiatric treatment of bipolar disorder. When people are suffering from psychiatric disease, they are unhappy and could be of danger to themselves or others. However, for long term personal and social change, we need nature, mindfulness, and natural restorative movements such as qigong and Taijiquan.

*although we must admit that because of human abuse and interference with natural systems, nature herself seems to be developing prolonged and more recurrent mood swings

©2021 Kenneth S. Cohen

Because of the unique nature of various healing and/or spiritual healing traditions, mistakes might be made regarding regulation and certification when we group them together under generic categories such as energy medicine, complementary medicine, biofield therapy, etc. For example, since Islam, Christianity and Buddhism are all “religions” (even though the category of religion did not exist in ancient India — Dharma is not religion), should we assume that requirements for ordination are the same in all three? Or if we were to host a philosophy of religion conference, would we tell the caterers— “No specific food needs among these three groups, since they are all religions.”

Similarly, we cannot assume that regulation or certification is appropriate for each healing tradition. Rather each must be examined individually and definitions and characteristics of that tradition should be sought from an internal or emic perspective, that is from those who participate/practice within the tradition, rather than by primarily referencing those who are on the outside looking in.

As an example, Qigong and Tai Chi schools and organizations have their own ways of establishing competency and accountability. Probably the most common is the master-apprentice model and the discipleship ceremony (拜師禮) in which select students take vows of dedication to a particular lineage tradition and thereafter address the teacher and classmates by kinship terms such as shi fu (teacher father) and shi mei (younger sister).

More recently, some schools have gone the route of certification. For example, my Tai Chi Teacher, Grandmaster William C. C. Chen starting in the early 1970s became one of the first to offer Tai Chi teaching certificates after a three to four-year course of intensive study. The certificate does not, however, imply completion of the curriculum, as great teachers such as Grandmaster Chen continue to be a resource for learning and improvement.

State administration and enforcement of certification and/or licensure of Qigong and related practices may violate established cultural protocols, some of which are hundreds if not thousands of years old. It is important to remember that Tai Chi and Qigong are closely related, and in so far as Tai Chi is practiced for health, it may be considered a subset of Qigong. In 2020, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included Tai Chi as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” How can any government organization presume to regulate or control disciplines that, by definition, cannot be grasped or quantified?

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