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.