Year of Pig: Epidemics, Disasters & Violent Conflicts Across The World

Lunar New Year or popularly known as Chinese New Year, this year is Year of the Pig. Popular feng shui artists from different parts of the world like Malaysia & Hong Kong came out with similar predictions; more epidemics, disasters and unrest. Some of the famous people who are born in the year of pig are former US President Ronald Reagan, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor-director Woody Allen and singer Elton John. It was also mentioned by the feng shui artist that the Russian AK-47 rifle was invented during a pig year and he expects more gun battles, murder with guns and bombing attacks in 2007.



China, Vietnam & other countries that follow lunar calendar celebrate New Year today. Some of the customs like feng shui (fire & water) are popularly applied even in non Chinese countries or entity. Predictions, forecasts, fortune telling are common. I have lived in China & Vietnam for a long time and I personally witnessed these things as part of their lives and they take these things very seriously. Sometimes, such forecast can be the deciding factor to some of their very important decisions in life, like what year & month they are getting married or what year they want to have their child born.

Popular feng shui artist predicted that this year, 2007; Year of the pig, will have more epidemics, disasters and unrest. I have never been a fan or a believer of forecasts or predictions. But every time I hear predictions like these, it can still make me think twice.


[edit on 16-2-2007 by searching_for_truth]

Interesting OP

Yes, it has begun, 5 o'clock morning they started (5 hours ago in the time of writing) with fire crackers and processions to drive away the spirits of the old year. I have lived here through the year of the dragon, of the snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and now the pig. It's one of their more meaningful festivals, not yet commercialized -- and one of their oldest.

The Chinese 12-year cycle of animals is a hierarchy where the pig is at the buttom. The year departing was that of the dog, and next year we will start from the top again with the undisputed king of animals, the rat.

Sounds more worrying to me what will happen then! But why is the rat the king of animals?

The Chinese zodiac
A legend explains the sequence in which the animals were assigned. Supposedly, the twelve animals fought over the precedence of the animals in the cycle of years in the calendar, so the Chinese gods held a contest to determine the order. All the animals lined up on the bank of a river and were given the task of getting to the opposite shore. Their order in the calendar would be set by the order in which the animals managed to reach the other side. The cat wondered how he would get across if he was afraid of water. At the same time, the ox wondered how he would cross with his poor eyesight. The calculating rat suggested that he and the cat jump onto the ox's back and guide him across. The ox was steady and hard-working so that he did not notice a commotion on his back. In the meanwhile, the rat snuck up behind the unsuspecting cat and shoved him into the water. Just as the ox came ashore, the rat jumped off and finished the race first. The lazy pig came to the far shore in twelfth place. And so the rat got the first year named after him, the ox got the second year, and the pig ended up as the last year in the cycle. The cat finished too late to win any place in the calendar, and vowed to be the enemy of the rat forevermore.

Actually this is the oldest calendar in work on the planet. Originates from 2367BC.

12 signs goes through 5 elements (Chins have 5), we are in the in the 78th 60-year cycle of the 4644th year.