2023 Year of the Gui Mao – Yearly Fortune with Lesser Fire, Yangming Dry Metal Governing Heaven, Lesser Yin Sovereign Fire at the Spring
From 2023-12-22 to 2023-1-6 Winter Solstice Six Qi Main Qi: Greater Yang Cold Water, Guest Qi: Lesser Yin Sovereign Fire
- Yearly Fortune
Yearly fortune with lesser fire, insufficient yang qi
Climate: overall temperature is relatively cold, with prevailing rain and dampness
Diseases: heart yang deficiency, patients with myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease are prone to induce or worsen conditions
“When the year’s fire is insufficient, cold predominates greatly; long governance is ineffective, things thrive yet deteriorate. Condensation and severity increase, yang qi fails to transform, leading to withering of beauty, corresponding to the constellation Chen. People suffer from chest pain, fullness in the flanks, bilateral flank pain, chest, back, scapula, and inner arm pain, oppression and obscurity, violent heart pain and hoarseness, enlarged chest, pain extending from below the ribs to the lumbar back, severe cases cannot extend the limbs, hip joint feels separated, corresponding to the Mars and Chen stars, their valley is red. When there is further obstruction, heavy rain approaches, black qi insults, disorders cause diarrhea, abdominal fullness, inability to eat and drink, coldness inside, intestinal rumbling and diarrhea, abdominal pain with violent cramps and atrophy, the feet fail to support the body, corresponding to the Zhen and Chen stars, mysterious valleys unformed. — Qi Interaction Great Treatise Chapter 69”
“When fire is insufficient, summer has brilliant and bright transformations, then winter has severe frost and cold governance. Summer has sharp and chilling predominance, then from time to time heavy dust storms and rain recur. Its affliction is to the south, its organ the heart, its diseases internal chest and flank, external meridians. — Qi Interaction Great Treatise Chapter 69”
“The era of concealed brightness represents winning growth. The long qi does not disperse, stored qi spreads back, collected qi governs itself; transformations act as balance, cold is frequent, summer is mild, carries transformation to produce life; produces without growth, matures but immature, meets transformation then ages, yang qi submits, hibernating insects conceal early. Its qi is congested, its use violent, its movements conspicuous with concealed changes, its manifest pain is in the heart, its fruit chestnut and peach, its produce moist threads, its grains beans and rice, its taste bitter and salty, its color dark red, its livestock horses and pigs, its insects feathers and scales, it governs ice, snow and frost cold, its sound is the cry of feathers, its diseases confusion, sadness, and forgetfulness arising from water transformation. Lesser indications and lesser feathers are alike, upper Shang and correct Shang are the same. Evil injures the heart. When condensation is severe and chilling, then heavy rain and continuous drizzle occur, afflicting the ninth (constellation), dominating sudden diarrhea, thunder shocks, persistent rain. — Five Constants Great Treatise Chapter 70”
- Governing Heaven at the Spring
In the first half of the year, Yangming Dry Metal governs heaven; in the second half, Lesser Yin Sovereign Fire is at the Spring.
Climate: First half is cool and dry, second half is mostly hot (damp and cold qi recurrence seen in the August floods and December cold wave)
Diseases: First half lung obstruction and liver depression, second half kidney deficiency and heart fire; early summer second qi with both Sovereign and Ministerial Fires arriving simultaneously, highest risk for sudden cardiovascular incidents
“Yangming governs heaven, dry qi descends, liver qi ascends and supports wood, wood arises for use and to stand, earth is afflicted, frequent despondency and cold arrive, wood pests kill plants causing withering, flank pain and red eyes, trembling and shivering, sinews weaken and cannot stand long. Sudden heat to earth is summer heat, yang qi congests and manifests, urine changes, chills and heat like malaria, severe heart pain; fire moves over dryness, flowing water does not freeze, insects appear. — Five Constants Great Treatise Chapter 70”
“All matters under Yangming’s governance relate to qi transformations and exercise of acquired nature. Weather is rapid, earthly qi clear, yang executes its order, great heat prevails, things dry and harden, gentle wind governs. Wind dryness moves horizontally, flowing in qi interaction, mostly yang and little yin, clouds tend toward rainhouses, dampness transforms and spreads, extreme dryness produces moisture. Its grain is white and red, ask about its grain fate for great ones. Consumption affects white armor and feather products. Metal and fire benevolently join, corresponding to Venus and Mars stars. Its governance strict, orders violent, hibernating insects appear, flowing water does not freeze. People suffer from cough, sore throat blockage, chill and heat outbreaks, shivering and urinary retention, early clarity then stiffness, caterpillars die; after heat, violent insect harms occur. Its onset causes agitation, works of winning and restoration, disturbance and great chaos, clear heat qi holds in qi interaction. — Six Origins Main Chronicle Great Treatise Chapter 71”
- Six Qi Analysis
The main qi of the Six Qi is Greater Yang Cold Water, guest qi is Lesser Yin Sovereign Fire, external cold but internal heat, not cold but warm, water and fire contend, generating wind and dampness.
Climate: Light and heavy snow with extreme cold temperatures, then gradually warming, Winter Solstice with damp heat, Minor Cold dry and cool
Diseases: overall mixed cold and heat, when temperatures drop internal deficiency cold, warming leads to heat congested in the blood, prone to hemorrhagic diseases, common hypertension, cerebral hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage, metrorrhagia; cold-warm alternation colds mainly warm diseases, damp-heat herpes, dry-cool constipation
“Beginning qi, earth qi moves, yin begins to condense, qi begins to gather, water freezes, cold rain transforms. Its diseases include middle heat distension, facial swelling, good sleep, nosebleeds, sneezing and yawning, vomiting, yellow-red urine, severe cases dripping. Second qi, yang spreads, people relax, things grow and prosper. Severe affliction occurs, people prone to sudden death. Third qi, heaven orders spread, cool arrives, dryness and heat combine, extreme dryness produces moisture, people suffer cold and heat. Fourth qi, cold rain falls, diseases of collapse, shivering delirium, shortness of breath, dry throat, thirst, heart pain, abscesses, ulcers, malaria cold disease, bone atrophy and blood stools. Fifth qi, spring order reverses, grasses prosper, people’s qi harmonizes. Final qi, yang qi spreads, seasons become warm again, hibernating insects emerge, flowing water no longer freezes. The people are well, diseases warm. — Six Origins Main Chronicle Great Treatise Chapter 71”
- Solar Terms Analysis – Winter Solstice One Yang is Born
The six solar terms in winter, from Beginning of Winter to Major Cold, still follow the main qi cycle of wind-wood (Sovereign Fire), supporting fire (Ministerial Fire), damp earth, dry metal, cold water. Winter Solstice corresponds to the fourth position: Greater Yin Damp Earth; at the Winter Solstice one yang is born, blood phase is damp heat.
Climate: Temperature changes decrease, temperature rises, fog forms; thereafter although temperatures drop during Minor and Major Cold, the sensation is not extremely cold
Diseases: Combination of dampness and heat, commonly herpes, gout, stomach oppression, treatment should focus on transforming dampness and strengthening the spleen foremost, clearing heart fire and tonifying kidney water, alongside regulating qi ascent and descent; mixed cold and heat resolves spontaneously
“Yin reaches its extreme, yang qi begins to be born, the sun reaches the south, the shortest day, the longest shadow, therefore called Winter Solstice”
“Five days constitute a ‘hou’ (period), three ‘hou’ constitute a ‘qi’ (climate phase), six ‘qi’ constitute a ‘shi’ (time), and four seasons constitute a year; each governs its respective treatment. The five movements succeed each other and all govern it; the end date cycles and repeats, time, establishing qi distribution like a circle with no end; the ‘hou’ likewise follow the same law. Therefore, one cannot know the added year, the rise and decline of qi, the cause of deficiency or excess, making the work impossible. — Six Solar Terms and Organs Theory Chapter 9”
“Therefore, consuming yearly grain to stabilize its qi, consuming off-season grain to remove evil, the year should use salty, bitter, spicy, sweat-inducing, clearing and dispersing methods. Stabilize the operational qi, prevent receiving evil, break its congested qi, supporting its source of transformation. — Six Origins Main Chronicle Great Treatise Chapter 71”
Appendix: Found a well-explained 2023 prediction document
[1] Bai Xingju, Li Jing. 2023 (Gui Mao Year) Fortune Forecast and Disease Prevention Exploration [J]. Chinese Electronic Acupuncture Journal, 2023, 12(01): 11-13.