New Chinese Year of the Snake - 2013

The Year of the Snake begins on 10th February 2013. The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac are divided into elements, each with slightly different characteristics - this New Year is a Water Snake. Anyone born during this sign are able to slip through trouble like water: totally fluid.
Snake Characteristics
In the West the snake is associated with danger - the Scriptures say the devil was in snake form. However Eastern philosophy regards the snake as a symbol of good luck.
Snakes are mysterious, clever, refined, and masters of transition and camouflage. They can be flexible as a worm, or powerful like 37-feet pythons that can crush an antelope and swallow it whole - or the king cobra's venom that can kill an elephant.
Snakes can sense minute vibration and taste faint chemical signals with their tongues. Likewise, those born under this sign are good at judging people and identifying opportunities.
Snake People
People born in the Year of the Snake coolly slither through problems, while cunningly scheming their future. This makes them good at business and finance. They are discreet, inquisitive and secretive, say little, and yet are charming and romantic. They are passionate but jealous lovers. Snake people are wise and snobbish, but vain, selfish and stingy. Intuition drives their strong sophisticated personality.
A snake person will be charming, proud, elegant and graceful. They keep their emotions, stay cool, and appreciate comfort, beauty and good style. Snakes are loners and suspicious, and act aloof as if nothing is on their minds - yet they will use others to achieve their goals. They will seduce you, but get bored quickly, so are unfaithful in relationships. Their strong will allows them to cunningly slip away from unpleasant situations. No wonder they're not frightened of danger or lack of money.
The snake is good at avoiding distraction and trivia, allowing him to concentrate on his goals. He is cultured and artistic as well as practical. They are materialistic, dress well and like to follow fashion. Although honest, a snake will lie if he can get away with it and tends to exaggerate. Be careful not to threaten a snake as they can suddenly strike out with carefully chosen words to cause far-reaching pain, and their long memory creates lifetime grudges.
If you are a Snake
This should be a good year, but be freer with money and flippant with life. Don't be complacent, keep on top of things and expect to work at goals. Be less reserved with relationships. You need calm and relaxation to thrive as you stress easily, so avoid chaotic situations. You like to do a good job, so your best careers are as a teacher, writer, interior designer, philosopher or psychiatrist.
Famous Snake People
Art Garfunkel, Audrey Hepburn, Bob Dylan, Brook Shields, Chris Rock, Christie Brinkley, Elizabeth Hurley, Frank Sinantra, Grace Kelly, Howard Hughes, Jackie Kennedy, Kim Basinger, Linda MaCathney, Liz Taylor, Mao Zedong, Oprah Winfrey, Paul Anka, Queen Elizabeth 1 and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Predictions
The Dragon Year of 2012 was full of vigor - the following China zodiac beast, the snake, sheds its skin and starts afresh. This will bring change to correct excess. The Water Snake is particularly enquiring and money-orientated, and so will look for new ways around debt and the recession.
Historically, Snake Years brought correction. In 1893, many US railway companies went bankrupt in their rush to expand. It started a run on bank deposits and a 6-year depression with 17% unemployment. In 1953, the idea of hire-purchase was introduced in the UK to boost flopping sales. The same year in China, Mao Zedong launched an extreme 5-year-plan that caused future famine.
In 1955, the buildup of troops in Vietnam brought huge protests. More recently in 1977, the first home computers changed the way we work, and Deng Xiaoping came to power bringing capitalism to China. In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down and the Tokyo stock market crashed. And 2001 brought 9:11.
My guesses for 2013 are that Western Governments will try to shake debt by printing more money and then increase interest rates to slow inflation. This will further lower property prices and cause panic. To restore confidence in the US dollar, America will once again try to link its currency to gold.
New ways to aid finances will be created. Both for personal spending to help companies grow - and within the EU to help struggling European countries.
Personally, you should be thrifty, save money and plan for the future. This year of change will attract scammers - so be careful! It's a good time to invest, but be wary in business deals or a new marriage. Stay focused and beware of complacency.
Snake Years
If you were born during these dates, then you are a Snake: 02/04/1905 to 01/24/1906, 01/23/1917 to 02/10/1918, 02/10/1929 to 01/29/1930, 01/27/1941 to 02/14/1942, 02/14/1953 to 02/02/1954, 02/21/1965 to 01/20/1966, 02/18/1977 to 02/06/1978, 02/06/1989 to 01/26/1990, 01/24/2001 to 02/11/2002
Western Equivalent: Taurus
Snake Likes
Color: Turquoise
Number: 9
Gemstones: Topaz, jasper

For a lucky Chinese jade snake pendant or details of the other animals in the Chinese zodiac click: here.
See my personal site at http://www.NigelHayMckay.com

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How Feng Shui Predictions Are Made for 2013

Feng Shui annual predictions come from a variety of sources. We can talk in very general terms when it comes to global predictions, or directionology as it relates to the individual house, as well as some observations specific to the person based on their own birth date.
In the Year of the Snake, it's bound to be a good year for some people, but not necessarily those born in the Year of the Snake, such as the years 1953, 1965, 1977, or 1989. For example, we have five different types of Snake people (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, or Metal Snakes). If it sounds a bit like Chinese Astrology, that is because the two predictive arts work really well with each other. In a general way, we can say that the Year of the Snake may be even more challenging to people born in the Year of the Pig because those two signs are always in opposition to each other.
On a larger scale, we can refer to the Snake and Pig directions as being more vulnerable to accidents or mishaps in the Snake Year. When referring to any kind of map, these directions are relative to the center point, so of course there will be overlapping influences. The Snake direction is S/SE and the Pig direction is N/NW. If you did not know before, now you know that the zodiac signs relate to both time and direction!
If you were trying to locate these directions in relation to the country you live in or the state you live in, these directions would be relative to the geometric center of the country or state.
These predictions can be taken down to an individual city or in the common domain of a Feng Shui practitioner, your very house or business.
While Chinese Astrology imparts a 12 year repeating cycle inside a grander 60 year cycle, in Feng Shui we have a 9 year repeating cycle as well as 20 Year Eras. So for instance, the same annual energy which will come to your bedroom in 2013 is the same energy that resided there in 2004. If your bedroom is in the southeast, then 2013 may be more romantic encounters. The annual Five Yellow Star is residing in the center (not technically a direction) and this has many Chinese metaphysicians concerned because the 5 Yellow Star is associated with disasters and pain in the current times we live in. To have that kind of energy in the center of every structure or in the center core of every city or country, it can suggest a tendency of more upheaval, arguments, strife or accidents. And since we live in Period 8 (from 2004 until 2024), this combination of "earth" energies can also suggest a higher incidence of earthquakes or other natural phenomenon related to the earth which could include drought or landslides or anything extreme related to the earth.
The 5 Yellow Star is related to set-backs or delays and yet we can't honestly say that everyone on the planet will be harnessed to this kind of energy with no escape. This is where the individual destiny and the individual house come into play. For example, one person may live in a house where the annual 2 star of sickness and health may be at their front door in 2013 (Southwest) and their prospects for the year may not be as good as someone whose front door welcomes the annual 8 wealth star (Northeast) in 2013. In Xuan Kong Fei Xing (Flying Star School) the age of the house may still determine more of what the occupant's experiences will be than the annual cycles. But annual cycles will act as a trigger for more dormant energies. As a theoretical example, the direction of south will be associated with a greater potential for a fire accident in 2013 and if that annual force joins an area of a floor plan already vulnerable to a fire, then the annual cycle may just be the last straw. In contrast, the annual 9 fire star could join positive energy and actually bring great fortune to someone. This is why a competent and comprehensive evaluation has to be performed, discovering the uniqueness of each property.
One aspect of uniqueness to 2013 will be that the annual "star" in each direction will match the inherent element for each of the eight basic directions. For example, the annual 1 star will be in the North in 2013. Both the 1 star and the North resonate with the water element. The annual 7 metal start will be in the west and west is inherently a "metal" type direction. What this is going to do is intensify both positive and negative influences of each direction.
Historically, these passages of time were taken so seriously that the Chinese emperors would wear robes in the color associated with the season or grander cycles of the time. My best advice for anyone really interested in their potential for the year, is to enlist the services of a highly trained astrologer, Feng Shui master or Nine Star Ki diviner to look deeper into the stars and what they have to say for you personally, transcending the superficial. Otherwise, the general predictions are just that, general.

Kartar Diamond has been consulting professionally since 1992 and she has a wealth of resources for you on her website, http://www.FengShuiSolutions.net Kartar Diamond is the author of Feng Shui for Skeptics, The Feng Shui Matrix, and The Feng Shui Continuum. She also has a Feng Shui Tips series in e-book format and a Case Study Club for students and fellow practitioners.
Kartar Diamond resides in the Los Angeles area and see clients locally, as well as those far and wide internationally, thanks the Internet. Kartar has a reputation for being affordable, practical, and thorough.

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