Globally Remembrance Day falls on November 11th and on the 11th hour of the day, folk often stop to remember those no longer with us. In Australia Anzac Day is reserved for veneration of fallen service men and women during World War One - it falls on April 25th annually.
Read moreSOLAR + LUNAR ECLIPSES IN CHINESE COSMOLOGY
Zhang Xian shooting at a tiangou to protect his children clustered about him.
Sol and and Luna’s allure have captivated nations and cultures since the dawn of time. And the mystical obscuring of either celestial body’s illumination continues to beguile us today. In times past, the phenomenon of eclipses must have been scary when playing out in our skies. We’ve unpacked the cosmology and folklore behind the ominous occurrences. And the upcoming Solar Eclipse on 14 Oct 2023, draws on some synchronisitic Chinese Tiangou symbolism.
Read moreSaints, Snakes + Shamrock
The magical charm of trefoil shamrock goes way beyond the fifth century Christian legend of St.Patrick. The three leaf plant (trefoil) is said to be the source of inspiration for the triskele, triple spiral, pagan symbols and beautifully illustrated knot-work illustrated in the Books of Kells. So why is this little plant classed as lucky? And why does it appear in mythology across so many civilizations?
Read moreLongtaitou Festival - Dragon raising its head
Azure Dragon. Credit Gros & Delettrez
11 March 2024, is second lunar day of the second lunar month in the Chinese Calendar. It marks an extra significant Longtaitou Festival; a traditional Lunar festival that honours the ‘Dragon raising its head’.
Read moreFULL MOON LANTERN FESTIVAL
The Annual Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations will draw to a close, with the Lantern Festival heralding the first Full Moon of the Chinese New Year.
You’ve probably heard of the 12 Days of Christmas. The Chinese have a similar custom; only it’s 15 days long and denotes a different festival. From the first day of the Lunar New Year to the 15th day of the Lunar month, specific traditions and customs take place as Luna grows from New to Full. This year in the Gregorian (Universal) calendar, Feb 27th aligns with the Full moon, it’s the 16th Day of the 1st Month in the Year of the Ox in the Asian Calendar. However, celebrations take place on the evening before, Feb. 26th, hence the 15th day.
Read moreRoyal Wedlock or Deadlock?
Have you ever heard of a Tong Shu? No, it’s not a relation to Jimmy Choo - or anything to do with shoes for that matter. It’s a Chinese Almanac and farmers in particular, religiously reference it in much the same fashion that devout folk reference the bible.
Read moreCULTURAL CUSTOMS :: 3rd LUNAR DAY
Fire God
What does a dog, a mouse, a red mouth, a wedding and staying in have to do with the third lunar day of the new year? Perplexed? I’ve always been intrigued with the symbolism of the colour Red, so in 2021, I pontificated what happens when Valentine’s Day and the 3rd lunar day of the month coincided, also known as Red Scarlet day!
Read moreDragon and Lion Dances
Lion Dance.
Every year I try catch a DRAGON / LION DANCE (舞狮 wǔ shī) to mark the Lunar New Year. Spectacularly loud and boasting vivid colours, they are definitely an invigorating sight. It’s maybe a familiar sight to Western eyes but it draws a frown, followed by the covering of ears. But the deafening sound, is a necessary part of the tradition.
Find out why . . . .
Read moreCHINESE NEW YEAR'S EVE - Chuxi
reunion dinner by Noah Fecks
If January’s New Year resolutions have fizzled out, tune into the Chinese New Year’s as the Year of the Wood Dragon amps up on 9/10 Feb. 2024. Lunar New Year follows Moon (Luna) cycles therefore commencing with a New Moon. The upcoming lunation is first New Moon AFTER the Winter Solstice which dictates the beginning of a Chinese New Year. It also kick starts the more widely known and celebrated of the Lunar New Year festivities - beginning a two week long Spring Festival. Li Chun is a Solar Festival marker and technically occurs on 4 Feb 2023, when the Chinese Solar New Year begins.
Read more13th Solar Term — Autumn is Coming
Autumn Begins. Image via thefuturekept
Game of Thrones, may well have made famous the slogan “Winter is Coming”, but the Chinese Almanac (Tong Shu) can take credit for ‘Autumn is Coming’.
Read moreThe cross quarter festival of Lughnasadh or Lughnasa kicked started the month on 1 August; marking the solar point between Solstice and the next Equinox. 7 August 2024 we’ll welcome the beginning of Monkey month; which every year indicates the Mid-Point of the Chinese Year. It’s followed five day later by a Full Moon Festival - The Hungry Ghost Festival.
Before Kondo, there was Kingston
Design by Maria Marinina
I’ve remained tight lipped about the Kondō convos for a while now. But I’ve been prompted to chime in from a Feng Shui perspective.
Disclaimer, I’ve not read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up book by Marie Kondō but I’ve watched her Netflix series and encountered the KonMari social media frenzy. Admittedly, I tend to rebel against mainstream crazes, but when conducting my own personal annual preparations for the Solar New Year on Feb. 4th (not to be confused with Chinese Lunar New Year) I decided to check out the best selling author.
Read more1st Solar Term — Li Chun
‘Cherry blossom with birds’ was created by Ohara Koson in Shin-hanga style.
Officially speaking the Year of the Dragon has commenced. The Feng Shui fraternity observes 4 February as the beginning of their Solar New Year; and this year it’s cause for double celebration. Behold a major cosmic state of change is occurring. We’ll bid adieu to 20-years of Earth elements transitional governance. Wood Dragon years always opens the door to a New Age — Now, Fire’s vigil begins till 2043. We bid farewell to Rabbits ’s reign as the Yang Wood Dragon year triggers the Lower 60-year ERA of a wider 180-year Great Cycle - The fiery Age of 9 is upon us.
Chinese calendar is Lunisolar, incorporating both Sun (solar) and Moon (lunar ) cycles. The SOLAR New Year commences when the first of 24 Solar Term called ‘Start of Spring’ (Li Chun 立春) is set in motion on 4 Feb 2024 @8:29am UTC (7:29pm AEDT, 12:29am PST).
Read more2024 WEATHER PREDICTIONS
The aftermath of last weeks Cyclone Kirrily is omnipresent; as I write folks in QLD, Australia are bracing as a third cyclone looms! Following my retrospective of 2023 Weather predictions; I’m sharing some 2024 weather prophecies and another weather metric — Dragon’s role.
Read more2023 WEATHER RETROSPECTIVES
Chinese metaphysics offers insightful weather intel; however I refrain from detailed weather predictions in my Annual Astro forecasts. Mainly due to global nature of forecasting ing vastly different climates. Thus tracking weather is time consuming, full-time job! But Australia’s wild weather, from soaring temps to cyclones has got me looking back on my 2023 weather prediction.
Read moreImbolc & Goddess Brigid
AT Imbolc, we celebrate the polarity seasons once more. It seems like yesterday we were celebrating the Solstices (Winter in Oz and Summer in the N. Hemisphere) but it was only roughly six weeks ago! Imbolc celebrates the Return of Spring. Nature's cues come with the sprouting of saffron crocuses, snowdrops or new tree buds. The first born offspring begin to appear - even the term 'Off spring' meaning 'OF' Spring references the season we herald in
Read more22nd Solar term + Winter Solstice
‘Winter Solstice’ Stunning image by Lao Shu from Book of Time.
TThe pinnacle of Winter is upon folks domicile in the Northern Hemisphere when the 22nd Solar term commences on Winter Solstice (21 December 2022), marking the beginning of the “Extreme Winter” node. When the North bids Sun adieu in favour the longest night, the South heralds the zenith of the Sun and welcomes the opposing Solstice. The Sun ingresses into zodiacal sign of the mountain Goat, Capricorn on 22 Dec. This particular lunar month is depicted in Asian paintings by the pairing of a falcon, pine tree and a wren, and known to the Ancients Chinese as ‘Preserved or Meat Month’.
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