The Chinese have always been fascinated by the metaphysical subject of Destiny. It is this profound curiosity about man's path in life, the journey of a person, and the question of who we are, why are we here, and what are we supposed to do during our time on this planet, during our brief existence, that led the Chinese to study and seek methods for analyzing a person's Destiny. These later evolved to become two systems of Chinese Astrology, known as BaZi (Eight Characters, also known as Four Pillars) and Zi Wei Dou Shu (Purple Star Astrology)

What fascinated the Chinese centuries ago remains one of the endearing and continuing quests of mankind, even to this date: to understand ourselves better, to better ourselves, and to appreciate what makes each unique and individual person, tick. And along the way, maybe figure out why is it that we've been put on this planet! Go to a bookstore and you will see a proliferation of books (and these days, tests), all attempting to explain to us, through scientific, psychological, biological, genetic or in some cases, just downright humorous ways, the question of WHO we are. And weighing down the shelves at another section called 'Self Help', volumes and tomes attempting to tell people how to improve themselves, beyond what and who they are.

These questions and many more, in fact, can be found through understanding a person's Destiny Code, or his BaZi.

So what is BaZi?

BaZi is a system of Destiny Analysis, using a person's birth data, namely, his date and time of birth. By calculating and determining the elements prevailing at the time of a person's birth, an Eight Character BaZi chart is then derived. This BaZi chart is a sort of Cosmic DNA if you like. A BaZi chart is each and every person's individual and personal Destiny Code. Within those Eight Characters, contains a comprehensive, arguably complete, collection of information about an individual and his life potential and capacity.

It may sound quite incredible but this is the genius of the Chinese Astrology system. A person's entire life - pitfalls, trials, tribulations, wealth, status, personality, characteristics, talents, abilities - are all encoded within these eight characters.

The BaZi consultant, who understands what the various codes within the BaZi chart mean, is then able to ascertain what kind of potential or capacity a person has in their life and also, ascertain the person's luck cycle, meaning, which years he is likely to experience good luck, and which years luck is likely to be less than favourable. In short, by decoding a person's Destiny Code, a BaZi consultant is able to reveal what is in store for that person in their life, just as medical scientists can ascertain a person's eye colour, if their will be brown and medical illnesses, by analyzing their DNA.

BaZi and Feng Shui: Diagnosis and Prescription

At a professional practice level, BaZi and Feng Shui are essential complimentary disciplines. Just like all doctors have to understand the biology of the body and the chemistry of drugs, all professional Classical Feng Shui consultants will have BaZi or Purple Star Astrology, another Destiny Analysis system, as a complimentary or back-up skill, to be used in tandem with Feng Shui. Some consultants will also use Face Reading or Mian Xiang as a third complimentary discipline and back-up system.

Many people do not realise that it is extremely important that before a person's house or office is Feng Shui-ed, his BaZi must be taken into consideration. Why is that? Well, before a doctor can write a prescription, he first needs to know what is wrong with the patient right? Before a Feng Shui practitioner deploys his Feng Shui skills, he must first know, what is the problem that he is trying to fix.

Of course, most of you will remember that a few weeks ago, I wrote about how Feng Shui is a goal-orientated science. The client of course, must know what he wish to achieve in using Feng Shui. Sometimes, clients will tell me that they have a certain problem (for example, business relationships are problematic, or they are finding it tough going making headway at work, or the most common problem - not making enough money!). But most of the time, clients are not certain as to what their problem is, or only have a vague idea of what the problem is. Hence, the Feng Shui consultant must check their Destiny Code, before proceeding with the Feng Shui.

Sometimes, the clients know what they want (like that Abba song, Money Money Money) but even in these instances, the Feng Shui consultant must still check the BaZi. Why? This is because Feng Shui is not some kind of cosmic steroids.

If you want to turn into Arnold overnight, steroids might help you. But even then, you have to have the body and physical make up that enables you to get those kinds of muscles. Similarly, if you want to turn into Warren Buffett overnight, Feng Shui can only help you, if you have the Destiny to be a multi-billionaire in the first place. In other words, you must first have, before you can be!

In my Feng Shui classes, I always tell students: to perm hair, you must first have hair. This is in reference to tapping of Qi in the environment. If the environment has no Qi or no good Qi in the first place, no matter how you try to tap into it, no matter what formulas you use, you won't get superior results. The 'to perm hair, first you must have hair' principle also applies to using Feng Shui to enhance Wealth or any other enhancement sought through Feng Shui. If in your BaZi, you are not destined to be a multi-millionaire, or your BaZi does not reveal that potential during certain periods of time, then no amount of Feng Shui enhancement, no super-powerful formula, can make you one.

You must first have, before you can be.

What's the point in knowing if it's all bad news?

Some people are against the idea of knowing their destiny and take the view that life should be experienced as is. More often than not, people are against knowing their destiny because they believe that it will be self-fulfilling prophecy and limit them. I have also met people who take the view that they would simply rather not know anything about the future, because they are fearful of knowing what it holds.

It is not all bad news. In life, there is only one certainty, and that is death. So too in BaZi and Feng Shui, there is no such thing as totally bad or totally good. There is no end destination, there are only journeys. Some days the sea is calm, some days it is rough - so in knowing how the winds blow, you can steer your boat the right way.

Similarly, I disagree with the argument that BaZi creates self-fulfilling prophesies, limits people or somehow encourages people to kill their dreams. In the old days, BaZi was used mainly to determine a person's fate. In other words, the focus was on the hand you would be dealt and just knowing what kind of 'life' you would have. Of course, as a society and civilization, we have come a long way from that mentality and also, BaZi consultants approach this discipline in a very different way.

Today, BaZi is not about knowing the hand that you are dealt, although that is part of the goal, but in then playing that hand, as best you can, to the best of the abilities you have. It is about understanding what you can and cannot do, at certain points in time, and taking the right action to improve your life. It is about understanding yourself, and those around you, and then bettering your personal relationships, your opportunities and your life.

BaZi tells you about what your potential in life is so that you can chose to do the right thing and not be disappointed and waste time doing something you have little chance of succeeding in. It tells you when disappointment strikes, when you should throw in the towel WISELY, and when you should continue to fight the good fight. It does not destroy a person's dream - it tells them, which dreams to chase because that is the one that can become a reality.

Next week, I will decode the BaZi of a very interesting individual, and explore why this person achieved such explosive and tremendous success in a short span of time. Hint: paragraph 6 holds the key to the CODE!

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