Welcome Year of the Rooster: 1.28.20016

This year we welcome in the energy of the Rooster; this will be a yin fire Rooster year. The yin energy of the year will lend itself to a more feminine quality of the energy which means that communication, pecking order and group ethics will be of the utmost importance. The Rooster or bird in general kind of energy which reigns this year, is considered the earthly manifestation of the Phoenix energy.

The bird itself is an ancient amulet to ward off the 5 poisonous creatures: snake scorpion, spider, centipede and toad as well as scare away demons. The word for Rooster in Chinese sounds like the same word for lucky or auspicious. While we may not consider the Rooster of symbol of power, it is really only due to our lack of understanding of the character behind the symbol.

The Rooster has keen vision with the ability to see great detail and track motion with incredible accuracy. They also demand order and clarity which results a very neatly run social structure and society. Since this year is a fire year this energy will be delivered in spurts with great strength and much will be accomplished through expression and communication. The Rooster has an amazing ability to be accurate and adaptable. As a species, they can live in any variety of climates and adapt to almost any situation.

It has also been shown that they can read symbols and learn to connect the symbols to their environment; specially learning that behind a star symbol the food lies, completely ignoring the other areas that are not labeled with a star. They learn very quickly and react with precision and decisiveness.

This will be a stark contrast to the chaos and not so apparent trickery behind last year. The Rooster is able to see clearly and provide structure to the chaos that the monkey has left us with. It may seem as if nothing is happening, but that is just the Rooster carefully watching over the roost and waiting for the perfect time to strike.

This same type of precision is modeled in Crane style Kung Fu; there is a haunting stillness that sinks in and then a precise action done with very little contact. The smallest surface area delivering the most intense force on a specific location to inflict the strongest effect.

People born the year of the Rooster are very intelligent. They may seem like they are bragging (and sometimes they are), but communication of circumstances is an inherent part of their personality and they like to share their successes with ones they are close to. They enjoy clarity and exactness and the year brings prosperity to most. They tend to have different perspectives than Rabbit people because they see life very differently, often Dogs can seem a bit dull to them and Horse energy which barrels through life is far too imprecise and destructive to a Rooster.

Rooster years aren't great for actually being a Rooster - there will be some opportunity but it will be hard won. This year is more about refining one's character for a Rooster. While this may seem less fortuitous, in the over all scheme of things it is a fundamental quality to the Rooster and will still bring a sense of accomplishment for all the Roosters out there. This will be a great year for the Ox and Snake because they both compliment the Rooster energy very well and are strong influences in bringing actions to fruition. Monkeys will be forced to take a back seat, Rats can prosper so long as they don't try and take over the situation and focus on being a partner, Tigers can benefit because the Rooster say when to act and give them a structure they have difficulty providing themselves, Goats may miss the importance of individual contribution and their judgement may stunt their efficacy, and pigs will have difficulty in seeing the importance in the details but can easily get behind ethical issues and provide added muscle there.

Everyone can always benefit from the qi of the year; Here specifically it will be important to pay attention to the communication being made. Rooster and birds in general have right ways to do things and wrong ways. They communicate clearly to all around them when there is danger or food (prosperity) to be had. All can benefit from this no matter how the characters interact. A good exercise in social harmony.