Chinese Astrology & Feng Shui – Water Tiger Grand Duke Year 2022

 

Come 4th February 2022, the Chinese will usher in the solar New Year of the Water Tiger. It heralds the arrival of Li Chun or spring in the Chinese solar calendar.

This is when the energy of the earthly stars will circulate in a property within a defined pattern according to Flying Stars Feng Shui which is a system of Chinese Metaphysics.
These stars fly to all the nine sectors of a property and bring luck, good and bad, to the occupants.

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Star 8 brings financial and career success and it occupies the northeast of a property.

Star 4 brings love, romance and relationship. It can also help you to do well in your literary pursuits, study and other academic endeavours. It occupies the southeast of a property.

Star 6 confers authority, influence and power. It occupies the northwest.

Star 9 brings creativity, happy events and joyous occasions. It occupies the south sector of a property.

Star 1 brings nobility, wisdom and recognition. It occupies the north sector.

Star 2 flies into the southwest sector of the house and bring illness.

Star 3 brings arguments, disputes and legal problem. It flies into the east sector of a property.

Star 7 brings robbery and fraud. It flies into the west sector.

Apart from these stars, the year is also governed by the energy associated with one of the animal signs in the Chinese Zodiac. In 2022, it is the Tiger which represents the Grand Duke Jupiter of the year. The Chinese calls it the Tai Sui of the year and it governs the northeast 3 Sector. To be precise, its compass direction is 52.6º to 67.5º.

The dreaded star 5 makes it appearance at the centre of a property this year. It can cause misfortune, accidents and ill health for occupants in this sector.

There are also the year’s afflictions in the form of the Year Breaker and Three Killings which govern the southwest 3 sector (232.6º to 247.5º) and mostly the north sector (337.6º to 22.5º) respectively.

The negative effects of the above mentioned stars and afflictions are triggered by any physical disturbance such as renovation works in these sectors of the house. One should not undertake any renovation that involves knocking down the wall, digging the ground or any home improvement work in the above sectors to avoid bad luck.

You should take up a full reading of your birth chart to know your luck for this year and the future. This article only shows you one of the basic applications of the amazing vast fields of Chinese Metaphysics known as Feng Shui.

For more of Feng Shui tips and other Chinese Astrological articles, please visit http://www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com

The Philosophy of Death

 

When we die, where do we go? Does the soul leaves the body and rises towards the light?

Energy is a form of Qi or life force and it flows within all living things. In Chinese Astrology and the other art of metaphysics such as Feng Shui, Qi is the life force that create us human beings. According to science, energy cannot be destroyed but it can be transformed.

When we die, the energy takes another form and once it leaves the body, the Qi of the dead can influence the descendants through the location and facing direction of the burial plot.  With the help of a Feng Shui master, the dead can be a source of beneficial Qi for the living. In other words, our ancestors are a force to be reckon with if the Qi of their burial grounds are harnessed according to the landform.

From another perspectives other than metaphysics, we can also look at energy as transformative from a philosophical angle. People sees death as an escape from a cruel world and the suffering of the physical, mental and emotional kind. This is why some people take their own lives with the aim of ending their suffering. But does death brings closure?

There are some people who can communicate with the dead and feel or see spirits. Their bodies can act as vessels for energy to come in and go out. They act as mediums to channel energy through their bodies and make contacts with ghosts or spirits. How people cross over to the afterlife, whether peaceful or restless, depends on their state of mind on the verge of death. If there is still unfinished business in this world, there will be restless spirits that traverse the physical world. It is believed that unless these restless spirits can cross over to the spiritual world through closure of some sort, there will be haunting and supernatural occurrence.

If we look at this subject from other perspectives, the world of materialism that we live in is also a breeding ground of greed and money is the root of it all. Money, for all its corrupt forces, can also transcend the realm of materialism to reach the height of benevolence. People who steal, cheat or launder money due to greed is blinded by emotion and if they were to die now, none of the ill-gotten gain can be carried to the grave. Even if any of the wealth is honestly acquired, the wealthy people cannot take it with them when they die.

So, how can we transform money into a higher form of value that we can benefit from when we die?

Just like energy which is transformative, money is tangible but its value is transcendence and is reflective of our morals. Based on sound financial management, we should use money with prudence and learn to diversify our investment. We should not put all the eggs in one basket. In the same token, we should not hold all our money in this materialistic world but transform it into moralistic value through acts of kindness which can be beneficial for the living and the dead. Towards this end, we can carry our wealth to a heavenly universe.

To put it philosophically, we should do more acts of kindness as it is an investment that can make us rich spiritually by the time we reach the end of our lives. If we believe in God, this is our investment in heaven. Our soul rises towards the light and become enlightened beings! In the end, only kindness matters and death provides a way out of this existential life if we choose to live wisely.

For a reading of your birth chart based on the Four Pillars of Destiny, please visit my website at http://www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com

Property Investment 101A - A View to a Kill

For a property investor, the wide range of property in the market can present both opportunities and risks in the pursuit of assets acquisition. There is a smorgasbord of landed and high-rise residential property to choose from in terms of price, design, build-up and location to suit one's life-styles and budget. Selecting the right property depends on many factors which interplay to make it challenging for a novice investor. A good location that comes with good amenities and accessibility is a good place to start.

The decision of which property to invest hinges upon the aforementioned factors which can also be coloured by one's emotion. As much as one try to be objective and practical, the sweet-talking salespersons or real estate agents and enticing decor of the show units can pull wool over our eyes. We can easily overlook the fine prints in the glossy brochures or the subtle defects in the ready units. Developers tend to embellish their sales publication with hyped-up value and benefits to attract potential buyers.

Be this as it may, one should always be mindful of the tricks of the trade employed be seasoned sales agents who act in the interest of the developers or sellers. Some agents can be quite economical with the truth and gives unverified information to close the sale. It is therefore prudent to check and verify information with reliable sources. One can also do research and compare data with other sources such as the internet and the community at large. Your friends, family members and relatives can also be a source of reference.

Now that we have covered some of the pitfalls and hazards in property investment and selection, we should take calculated risks and weigh the options we have in an enlightened manner. This article will focus on high-rise serviced apartments which are flooding the property market in my home country of Malaysia. This is because many property developers over here are building high-rise residential units to cater to the life-style living aspiration of the people who looks for convenience, accessibility and security. Most of these high-rise developments come with a myriad of facilities and living comfort. These so-called lifestyle themed development can come with a hefty price tag in the form of maintenance fee, quit rent and assessment fee. For the investor, the objective is to get good rental yield and capital growth in the years to come. A good rental yield for high-rise serviced apartment should preferably be 5-6%. This will make it worth your time and effort in finding and selecting a good property to invest which can be quite a hassle. Otherwise, you are better off holding cash in the form of fixed deposit or placing your money in bonds or unit trusts which are more liquid when you need the money.

An investor needs to pay for the upkeep of the property. As such, any expense such as maintenance fee and cost of repairs will cut into the rental incomes derived from tenanting the unit. For high-rise residential units such as serviced apartments which sit on commercial land, the quit rent, assessment fee and utility bills are charged at higher rates than residential property. The rental incomes are also taxable. Interests from mortgage loan taken to finance the property is the other major expense that will reduce the rental incomes unless an investor choose to pay the property by cash. However, the investor who prefer to borrow for want of gearing can use the rental incomes to defray the monthly loan instalments payable to the banks. The interests charged by the banks can also be offset against the rental incomes before tax is charged under the law. For cash purchase, the investor has stronger negotiating power and is in a stronger financial position to hold on to the property compared to a purchase via bank loan which can be risky when interest is going up.

Finding tenants to rent out the units in a high-rise serviced apartments can be fast or slow depending on the density of such development within the locality. A heavy density development creates more competition for tenants compared with the one with lower density. This holds true for rental yield as well.

Property investment is also a good hedge against inflation as it offers capital gain over a period of time. Depending on location and type of property (leasehold or freehold), the capital appreciation can be 5-10% per year. Over a period of 5 - 10 years, a property can appreciate at such rates if the property cycle is expansionary. A property can also remain stable or unchanged in terms of capital growth compared with other properties in the same locality. This is due to saturation or property glut in the market. If an investor is not careful, a property investment can result in negative capital growth owing to contraction and troughs in the economic cycles. Timing is therefore important in property investment. In addition, if you buy a property in a location with plans for development of MRT/LRT stations or transportation links to other major roads and highways, you can expect capital appreciation in the future.

When deciding what type of property to invest, high-rise residential units earn better rental yields compared with landed property which offers a lower rental yield of 2-3%. This can be attributed to the lifestyle convenience provided by high-rise serviced apartments which provide facilities such as swimming pools, gymnasium, sports and recreational activities, 24-hours security, etc. High-rise serviced apartments with facilities tend to attract younger families who look for such lifestyle conveniences. On the other hand, landed property has higher capital growth simply because it sits on its own titled land which is getting scarce with the growing population. It can offer capital growth of 5-10% per year especially freehold and those in prime location. High-rise residential units with strata titles usually do not offer the same capital growth. Do bear in mind that any capital gain obtained from disposal of the property may attract capital gain tax.

In the end, the return on investment (ROI) from rental incomes and/or capital gain should give justification for the investment in the first place.

All the various points elucidated above offer a macro view of property investment in the context of high-rise residential development. Let's take a micro view of property investment in terms of quality and workmanship.

If you are looking to invest in a high-rise serviced apartments or serviced offices (SOHO/SOFO), you need to keep your eyes open as the devil is in the details. For ready units in a new development or sub-sale, you need to inspect the unit for any leaking in the ceiling or water seepage through the window. If the ceiling has water marks, it indicates that water is leaking from the unit above. This leaking problem can pose to be a challenge to solve as it needs the cooperation of the resident who is staying in the unit above and the management corporation of the property.

Water can seep through the window between the frame and cement or between the glass and frame during heavy rain. This is especially problematic for units on the higher floors. The rubber seals and silicone used in the construction of the window and frame can crack and melt under the heat of the sun. Through the ravages of time, you can see water marks appearing on the wall adjacent to and underneath the window.

The residents in the unit above can be a nuisance to the residents in the unit below if noise is a major issue.

A developer with good track record does matter in property investment.

On a positive side, high-rise serviced apartments can offer panoramic view especially for upper floor residents. A view to die for some may say. These units also come at a higher price.

From the perspective of Feng Shui, the view from the balcony should be overlooking a landscape of lakes or rivers, preferably in the southwest, east, southeast or north. The common areas within the property such as walkways and corridors should be brightly lit. Any property which is subject to windy condition is also not auspicious as the life force known as Qi is unsettling in such an area.

A view to a kill in property investment is a doubled-edged sword. You can make a "killing" after viewing a property or be "killed" financially by your decision, right or wrong.

For a reading of your birth chart based on the Four Pillars of Destiny and Feng Shui consultation, please visit my website at www.bazidestiny.yolasite.com

Feng Shui – Water Placement At Home For Wealth and Career Success

Are there proper places to have a water feature at home?

Yes there are. This is in accordance to Feng Shui, the Art of Placement. And you can apply some Feng Shui techniques for want of better luck too. 

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The trick is to identify the spot where water can help to activate the wealth star of a house. Based on Feng Shui Flying Star system, a house has a natal chart that is divided into nine sectors i.e. north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest and centre. The flying stars are distributed within these sectors in a pattern that conforms to a formula. The flying stars are bodies of energy or qi that wax and wane according to time cycles. There are altogether nine flying stars represented by the number 1 – 9. The current wealth star is no. 8. This star governs wealth and career aspects of the occupants. If you want financial and career success, you should have a water feature such as an aquarium in the sector that has this star. For example, if the star 8 is located in the north sector of your house, you can put the aquarium there. The water can activate the star for wealth and career luck. 

However, there are also unsuitable places for water based on Feng Shui principles. To put a water feature in a sector that has an inauspicious star can invite trouble for the occupant of the house. For example, the current unlucky star is no. 5. This star is a harbinger of calamity, accidents and misfortune. By having a water feature such as an aquarium in the sector with this star will activate its negative effects and bring bad luck to the occupants. 

You should not have a pool (and pond) that cuts into the interior of your house. In other words, the pool should not straddle between the indoor and outdoor of your house. It is considered inauspicious and will bring financial instability to the occupants depending on the sector it is in.

Also avoid building a pond or pool above the car porch or underneath the staircase, especially if the staircase is close to the centre of the property.

A pool or toilet bowl (water closet) or bathtub above the Main Door is also to be avoided as it can cause significant loss of wealth. Likewise, such water feature above the kitchen stove or bed is inauspicious as it can cause health issue. If you come across such a scenario, you should relocate the offending feature or move your door inward or outward. 

Never have a body of water in the centre of a house. According to Feng Shui, the centre represents the heart of the house and it is Yin which should be passive and stable. Any water located there will cause the occupants to suffer health problem. 

A man-made waterfall is not a positive feature to have inside or outside the house especially if the water is rushing downwards in a straight line and making sharp piecing sound. A water fall that has a gentle and meandering flow should be fine. 

Water substantially affects the flow of energy in a property and when done right, water will encourage positive energy flow and should be given serious consideration in the art of placement.

If you want to seek a Feng Shui consultation to enrich your life, please visit my websites BaziDestiny and Proactive-qi.