KI REVIEW
I offer shiatsu along with a ki energy health evaluation, supported by basic macrobiotic dietary and way of life guidance, in Fairfield, CT, and Manhattan. I also offer classes in Five Transformations theory and Nine Star Ki, from my personal viewpoint. For further information, please contact me at Tel: 203-254-1795.
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While based on my understanding of the macrobiotic teachings of Georges Ohsawa and Michio Kushi, and of Daoist and Buddhist thought, my blog entries, unless mentioned otherwise, are original material following my personal line of thought, the result of in-depth research over many years. I hope you enjoy this material, find it informative, educational, interesting and helpful. But please, if you pass any information from this blog on in any way, whether complimentary, critical, or otherwise, be sure to mention my name and the website address, so others can decide for themselves. Thank you.
Present
David Bowie, 9 Fire ☲
(1.8.1947, Brixton, London, England – 1.10.2016)
Spring Street, NYC, 4.29.2016
Were he still alive, Bowie would have turned 70 this week. The following profiles come from obituaries, and reviews in 2013, on a large retrospective of his life, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. I think there is much to be learnt about Fire from his profile.
David Bowie Dies at 69; He Transcended Music, Art and Fashion, by Jon Pareles, The New York Times, January 11, 2016
Fire takes things to a higher level
‘He Transcended Music, Art and Fashion’
“… Transcended …”: Fire draws the fuel from its source upward, and the bigger the fire, the higher that fuel can manifest.
Fire is always on the move
‘David Bowie, the infinitely changeable, fiercely forward-looking songwriter who taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personas, died on Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday.’
‘If he had an anthem, it was “Changes,” from his 1971 album “Hunky Dory,” which proclaimed: “Turn and face the strange / Ch-ch-changes / Oh look out now you rock and rollers / Pretty soon now you’re gonna get older.”’
“… infinitely changeable … “Changes” …”: Fire is a direct transformation of the fuel it consumes; as the quality of the fuel changes, the fire changes. In this way, it continually changes, and the person who possesses strong Fire energy, manifests this trait. “… fiercely forward-looking songwriter …”: Fire continually seeks energy; since it immediately consumes all available energy, it is always forward looking. Fiercely? Big fire! “… who taught …”: Fire lights the way. Personally speaking, often when I have heard or read something by a 9 Fire person, I feel I learnt something. President Clinton (b. 8.19.1946, Hope, AK) is a good example to me. So is Bill Gates (b. 10.28.1955, Seattle, WA).
Fire transforms
‘Yet throughout Mr. Bowie’s metamorphoses, he was always recognizable. His voice was widely imitated but always his own; his message was that there was always empathy beyond difference. Angst and apocalypse, media and paranoia, distance and yearning were among Mr. Bowie’s lifelong themes. So was a penchant for transgression coupled with a determination to push cult tastes toward the mainstream.’
“… metamorphoses …”: In converting a fuel source into fire, and continually changing according to the character of the fuel, Fire metamorphoses. A book written by the novelist Franz Kafka, (7.3.1883, Prague, Czech Republic – 6.3.1924), who was born in a 9 Fire year helps support this idea. Entitled "The Metamorphosis”, it was, according to his Wikipedia entry regarded as “one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century”. “… his message was that there was always empathy beyond difference …”: Fire arises out of friction, from the interaction of two opposing forces or entities. In human relations, two people come together. They can meet in open or closed ways; attraction or repulsion, in harmony or conflict. On the surface they are different. The quote to me, suggests Bowie saw beyond this, meaning, with a bigger view, what is behind. He saw connection, invisible qualities common to both; he empathized. He saw difference within the context of similarity. He was a uniter, not a divider. “… a penchant for transgression …”: Fire follows the energy. “…push cult tastes toward the mainstream…”: Fire attracts attention. Those who follow and become attached to a Fire person, can as numbers increase, form a cult, but a cult’s size is still limited. From cult to mainstream? Fire wants maximum exposure.
Nothing Remains: David Bowie’s Vision of Love, by Simon Critchley, The New York Times, January 11, 2016
Fire draws energy from the moment / Fire lives in the moment
‘Bowie’s music made me feel alive for the first time’
“… made me feel alive …”: Fire is light, and light awakens. A big fire draws our attention, and it is difficult to ignore it; we become fully awakened, and like the fire as it totally consumes the fuel at its immediate disposal, fully in the moment: fully alive! Such is the influence of a strong Fire nature person.
Fire attracts
‘For the hundreds of thousands of ordinary working-class boys and girls in England in the early 1970s, including me, Bowie incarnated something glamorous, enticing, exciting and mysterious: a world of unknown pleasures and sparkling intelligence. He offered an escape route from the suburban hellholes that we inhabited. Bowie spoke most eloquently to the disaffected, to those who didn’t feel right in their skin, the socially awkward, the alienated. He spoke to the weirdos, the freaks, the outsiders and drew us in to an extraordinary intimacy, although we knew this was total fantasy. But make no mistake, this was a love story.
“… glamorous, enticing, exciting and mysterious … unknown pleasures …”: Fire is beautiful (glamorous), fire “attracts” (enticing), fire’s activity is to many, exciting, and what lies behind fire and where exactly it comes from, can be mysterious, and since fire is not only attractive, but warming if in a controlled state, inviting and quite possibly most pleasurable. “… sparkling intelligence …”: Fire is light, and “sparkling” is a light image; bright and constantly active. Fire rises the highest of the Five Energies; the mind, along with the heart, correspond with Fire in CCMP. 9 Fire people are most often, “bright”, both mentally and emotionally, a pleasure to be with. “… He offered an escape route from the suburban hellholes that we inhabited …”: Fire’s rising energy lifts you up; it takes you to a higher place. “… an extraordinary intimacy … But make no mistake, this was a love story …”: The heart corresponds with Fire in classical Chinese medicine (CCMP for brevity). Since love comes from the heart, love corresponds with Fire. I think it is also worth commenting on the people this quote says he attracted; the disaffected, the alienated, the weirdos, the freaks, and so forth. Not to sound cynical, but the best fuel for a fire is dead wood; in this case, those who starved on a diet of conventional culture. Through their attraction to him, they fueled his fire, and he returned the favor by giving them love in his expression of their energy.
The Fire trigram ☲
‘The word “nothing” peppers and punctuates Bowie’s entire body of work, from the “hold on to nothing” of “After All,” from “The Man Who Sold the World,” through the scintillating, dystopian visions of “Diamond Dogs” and the refrain “We’re nothing and nothing can help us,” from “Heroes” and onward all the way to “Blackstar.” One could base an entire and pretty coherent interpretation of Bowie’s work simply by focusing on that one word, nothing, and tracking its valences through so many of his songs. Nothing is everywhere in Bowie.’
“… Nothing is everywhere in Bowie …”: To me, “nothing”, as it relates to fire, is really interesting, especially when considered in terms of the Fire trigram. In this trigram, the outer lines are yang, and the inner line, yin. In CCMP, yang suggests brightness, activity, and fullness, while yin implies darkness, passivity, and emptiness. Something outwardly bright, whose inner side is “in the dark”, clearly describes fire, where the flames actually conceal the fuel source. However, the source being yin, suggests emptiness. At its core, fire is empty; there is nothing there; fire has nothing to hold onto. In this sense, “nothing” is at the core of Fire. For a fire to exist therefore, it must constantly search for fuel to fill this emptiness. Bowie is describing his inner nature. His audience is his fuel.
Fire transforms / Fire arises from the friction between opposing forces
‘When I listen to Bowie’s songs I hear an extraordinary hope for transformation.’
‘At the core of Bowie’s music and his apparent negativity is a profound yearning for connection and, most of all, for love.’
‘Concealed in Bowie’s often dystopian words is an appeal to utopia, to the possible transformation not just of who we are, but of where we are.’
‘What his music yearned for and allowed us to imagine were new forms of being together, new intensities of desire and love in keener visions and sharper sounds.’
“… hope for transformation … to the possible transformation …”: In converting a fuel source into fire, a fire transforms. Fire is a transformational energy. “… apparent negativity is a profound yearning for connection and, most of all, for love …”: The “apparent negativity” refers to the yin core of Fire, mentioned above. Yearning, to me, is an expression of the heart, in terms of fire, of connecting with a fuel source, and in “love”, experiencing the highest expression of Fire, since the heart corresponds with Fire in CCMP.“… Concealed in Bowie’s often dystopian words is an appeal to utopia, to the possible transformation not just of who we are, but of where we are …”: This quote, to me, reiterates what I commented on in the observation before the one above regarding the best fuel for a fire being dead wood. Dystopian refers to the down, negative situation so many of us find ourselves in, while utopia reflects the expression of Fire in the songs he sang: Fire takes things to a higher level. “… new forms of being together, new intensities of desire and love …”: New forms of being together? Fire lights the way. We often speak of intense heat; intensity corresponds with Fire, and 9 Fire people can be intense. We speak of our “heart’s desire”; desire like love, corresponds with Fire. “… keener visions and sharper sounds …”: According to Merriam Webster’s 11th Collegiate dictionary, “keener” can be defined as “having a fine edge or point”. Fire rises to a point. In this sense, “keener” along with “sharper”, both describe Fire energy.
Ch-Ch-Ch Changes of David Bowie, by Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, March 22, 2013
Fire attracts
'A photograph hangs inconspicuously near the entrance of “David Bowie Is,” a Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition opening on Saturday that has already sold a record number of tickets . It shows the young man who began life as David Jones, seated, in a dark suit and tie, with a leg propped up on his chair, beneath which sits a drum bearing the name of his band, the Kon-rads. One hand grips a saxophone, the other rests delicately against his face, and he looks out at the world with a mesmerizing blend of reserve and come-hither allure.......Bowie on Display The carefully choreographed pose, the angelic face, the calculation of the gaze, suggest much about the teenager who would become the protean figure known as David Bowie. Immediately apparent is his understanding of body language, image and the importance of seduction — elements that have played a vital role in the career of a pop star who was a performance artist before that term was widely used.'
“… already sold a record number of tickets …”: A fire can become huge. Bigness is a common theme in 9 Fire people profiles. “… with a mesmerizing blend of reserve and come-hither allure …”: The Fire relationship between the fire itself and the onlooker is active/passive. A fire can really draw one’s attention, to the extent that one can almost, indeed in some cases, forget oneself. In this sense, a fire can mesmerize. The “come-hither allure”; fire attracts. But “reserve” is interesting. A Fire person might say things that turn others to rage, while he/she hardly loses composure. “…Immediately apparent is his understanding of body language, image and the importance of seduction …”: Seduction is a stronger form of attraction; seduction clearly expresses Fire. “… a pop star who was a performance artist before that term was widely used.”: The expressive nature of Fire clearly aligns with performing. Performance artists Marina Abramovic (b. 11.30.1946, Belgrade, Serbia), and Christopher Burden (4.4.1946, Boston, MA – 5.10.2015), along with endurance artist, David Blaine (b. 4.4.1973, Brooklyn, NY), were all born in a 9 Fire year.
The sudden appearance of fire comes as a surprise
'The idea of an exhibition built around the life and nearly 50-year career of Mr. Bowie is ambitious. How to show the many guises — a new one just provided by the surprise appearance early this month of a new album, “The Next Day” — of a man who throughout his career has relentlessly reinvented his persona and his music with astonishing rapidity and unpredictability? How to make “David Bowie Is” something more than an array of artifacts, from old record covers and photographs to a panoply of costumes and videos? How to suggest the voracious appetite with which Mr. Bowie has both absorbed and anticipated the social and cultural currents of his time?'
There are many Fire related images in this quote:
"... many guises ...": Guise represents external appearance, which is what most concerns us when we gaze at a fire. "... surprise appearance ...": Rub two sticks together, and eventually, from nothing, a flame suddenly appears. Fundamentally, there is something quite extraordinary in this, and we can imagine, if we had never seen it before, it would come as a surprise. Surprise occurrences appear frequently in 9 Fire people profiles, to the extent we could say, it is an inherent quality in their nature, often as things happening spontaneously, or accidentally. “… relentlessly reinvented his persona and his music with astonishing rapidity and unpredictability …”: Fire has force, and as long as it has fuel, it moves forward continuously. In this sense, fire is relentless. The words "astonishing" and "unpredictability" again bring up this image of surprise. As for "rapidity", fire is active; fire moves quickly, rapidly, especially big fire. “… How to suggest the voracious appetite with which Mr. Bowie has both absorbed and anticipated the social and cultural currents of his time? …”: As long as there is fuel, there is fire; fire has a voracious appetite, and in consuming, fire draws out the energy; fire absorbs. Anticipated the…currents of his time? Fire shines its light into the unknown; Fire lights the way.
Fire is now
'The immersive experience that results seems fitting for an artist described in a telephone interview by the author Camille Paglia as “totally in the senses.” Ms. Paglia, who has contributed an essay to the exhibition catalog, delivered a passionate defense of Mr. Bowie as a major artist ........“He is a product of Surrealism, of Dada, of the Modernist arts,” she said. “He is body-based, always completely in the role he is playing. His tremendous physical virtuosity, his understanding of costume and how it is an imaginative projection of your body, is part of the biggest thing about him: he is so deeply emotional. I’m so happy with the return of David Bowie.”'
"... immersive experience ... “totally in the senses” … always completely in the role he is playing …": Fire totally exists in the moment. We see this in the way a fire connects directly by clinging to its fuel source; the conversion from fuel source to flame lies on one continuum. If it is the case, fire is totally immersed in absorbing this energy, and, carrying this idea further to its expression in the person, would be totally immersed in expressing this energy, meaning in this case, being completely in the role he is playing, “totally in the senses”. “… delivered a passionate defense ... I’m so happy with the return of David Bowie …": Bowie’s fire draws out Paglia’s fire: passionate, happy. "... understanding of costume and how it is an imaginative projection of your body ...": Costume clearly corresponds with the flames. Fire clings, in this sense body and costume can be one. Further, we can see how fashion as a broad category might correspond with Fire. "... deeply emotional ...": The emotions correspond with the heart which corresponds with Fire in CCMP.
The Singer Who Fell to Earth, by Simon Reynolds, The New York Times, March 6, 2013
Fire imagery
'On “The Stars (Are Out Tonight).” the new single from David Bowie’s comeback album, “The Next Day,” one line jumps out: “We will never be rid of these stars.” In the video Mr. Bowie and the actress Tilda Swinton play an elderly couple persecuted by a pair of vampiric stars, who stalk them, invade their house and manipulate them like marionettes. But the song itself is less literal. It portrays celebrities as members of an overlord class who “burn you with their radiant smiles” but also as faintly pitiable creatures, jealous of the quiet, grounded lives of ordinary folk. “But I hope they live forever,” Mr. Bowie sings, a nod to the notion of fame as immortality, a compensation for all the damage and delusion that comes with the territory.'
"... persecuted by a pair of vampiric stars ...": The vampire lives off blood, which corresponds with the heart, and consequently with Fire in CCMP. Fire causes pain; the Fire nature in a person can be responsible for persecuting others, and for the other, feeling the pain of persecution. "... “burn you with their radiant smiles” …”: An interesting image to me. Fire is light, and the radiance of a smile, I maintain, dwells in the light that comes from the teeth, suggesting that the display of teeth, in either a happy or angry way, reflects, positively or negatively, the inner Fire in the person. "... the notion of fame as immortality ...": From my research, Fire people express a greater interest in death than those born in any other Energetic year. I think it is connected with the notion that Fire is a direct expression of its fuel source, and that without it, it dies immediately. This thought, subconscious as it may be, leads to notions of impermanence, and the desire for its opposite.
Fire shows the way
'For most of the 21st century Mr. Bowie had disappeared from view, even as the glam theatricality and gender-bending he pioneered was dominating pop through figures like Lady Gaga. Most assumed that he’d effectively retired, physically exhausted after a major heart attack and surgery in 2004, creatively spent after four decades of self-reinvention. But in a brilliantly organized stealth attack he returned without warning in January with the wistful single “Where Are We Now?” the herald for “The Next Day,” which is out on Columbia on Tuesday.
“… Mr. Bowie had disappeared from view, even as the glam theatricality and gender-bending he pioneered was dominating pop through figures like Lady Gaga …”: Fire lights the way. “… physically exhausted after a major heart attack and surgery in 2004 …”: From my research, 9 Fire people are more likely to suffer from heart and circulatory disorders than those born in any other Energetic year. “… in a brilliantly organized stealth attack he returned without warning …”: We have here another example of the surprise nature of Fire, as already explained.
Fire is, to be seen: fame
'With “The Stars,” a superstar’s critique of celebrity culture could be taken as somewhat hypocritical of course. Mr. Bowie has always had an ambivalent attitude toward fame. His biggest American hit of the 1970s, "Fame", was a harrowing dispatch from inside the paranoid bubble of stardom. He’s often returned to the subject, as with his 1999 album “‘Hours ...,’” an exploration of “fame as injury,” in the words of the Bowieologist Nick Stevenson, and the new album’s “(You Will) Set the Earth on Fire,” the sales pitch of a Svengali to a potential protégé. Mr. Bowie’s career has been governed by a bipolar rhythm, alternating between relentless pursuit of the limelight and shattered retreat from it. Now, after his longest musical break ever, this 66-year old Englishman and New York resident is back for what could well be his last blast, the supernova of his stardom.'
“… Fame …”: None of the Energies stand out like Fire; fame clearly corresponds with Fire. Andy Warhol (8.6.1928, Pittsburgh, PA – 2.22.1987), responsible for the notion that in the future, everyone would experience 15 minutes of fame, was born in a 9 Fire year. “… Mr. Bowie’s career has been governed by a bipolar rhythm, alternating between relentless pursuit of the limelight and shattered retreat from it …”: This point is most interesting to me with a lot to explore. For now, the issue is that a fire is created by friction; there are two sides to a fire. Bi-polar disorder was a significant concern to the late Patty Duke’s (12.14.1946, Queens, NY – 3.29.2016), and she was born in a 9 Fire year. It is possible that bi-polar disorder, and here in Bowie’s case, bipolar rhythm, is connected with a person’s Fire nature. “… his last blast …”: Clearly a Fire image.
More on changes
'Yet while Mr. Bowie himself receded for the past decade, the Bowie-esque has been omnipresent…. the 2000s saw the return of artifice and glitter. The things that Mr. Bowie explored to the hilt, alongside his fellow glam rockers like Roxy Music and Alice Cooper, during the early ’70s — over-the-top theatricality and staging, extremist fashion and sexual androgyny — became defining principles of 21st-century pop. Lady Gaga is the most visible of his inheritors, with her freaky costumes and her gender games …. Above all there’s Nicki Minaj, whose guises include the gay male Roman Zolanski and the ultrafeminine cartoon she calls Barbie. While it’s unlikely that Ms. Minaj is directly influenced by Mr. Bowie, the parallels between his serial personas and her constant image changes are clear. As a host on the music channel Fuse put it, “She says she’s just being herself, but who she is changes every day.”
“… artifice and glitter.”: These qualities clearly correspond with the flames. “… whose guises …”: Already discussed. “… serial personas …”: A most interesting image to me reinforcing this idea already mentioned of Fire being connected with metamorphosis. There is also a possible connection here along with the quality of Fire’s clinging nature of “serial”, in terms of repetitive events, such as in serial murder. “… She says she’s just being herself, but who she is changes every day …”: Not surprisingly, Minaj (b. 12.8.1982, Saint James, Trinidad), like Bowie, was born in a 9 Fire year. Again like Bowie, the issue of continual change appears.
Fire is always on the cusp of the new
'Mr. Bowie embraced metamorphosis from the start. In the mid-’60s he hopped through five bands and many styles and looks before connecting with the public around 1969. Once his career took off, the shape shifting took on a new urgency. Popular taste is fickle, but Mr. Bowie circumvented pop’s cruel turnover by turning himself into the New Thing, again and again. As he said in 1977: “My policy has been that as soon as a system or process works, it’s out of date. I move on to another area.” Perhaps the fashion world has so lionized Mr. Bowie (Gucci is a sponsor of the London exhibition) because he has so thoroughly assimilated fashion’s own logic of remorseless supercession.'
"Mr. Bowie embraced metamorphosis from the start ... turning himself into the New Thing, again and again ...": This quality has already been explained above. "... “My policy has been that as soon as a system or process works, it’s out of date. I move on to another area.”": A fire consumes entirely the fuel at its disposal, and continues to move forward in search of more; a fire never goes back. For this reason, it should not be surprising to see that one born in a 9 Fire year might not really think much about the past.
The Fire trigram again ☲
'But there’s more to Mr. Bowie’s compulsive changeability than a career strategy. What he was really developing during the ’70s was a new postmodern psychology based around flux and mutability. His great precursor and influence here was Warhol, the inspiration for his 1971 song “Andy Warhol” and a role Mr. Bowie would actually play in the 1996 biopic “Basquiat.” Analyzing Warhol, the art critic Donald Kuspit wrote of “the protean artist-self with no core” — a description that could also fit Mr. Bowie.'
"... compulsive changeability ...": Already explained. "... His great precursor and influence here was Warhol ...": As already mentioned, Warhol was also born in a 9 Fire year. Often I have seen in studying profiles that a major influence was of the same Energetic nature as the person being profiled. "... Analyzing Warhol, the art critic Donald Kuspit wrote of “the protean artist-self with no core” — a description that could also fit Mr. Bowie ...": Please refer to the section above describing the Fire trigram, and its relationship with “nothing”.
The most important quote in the piece
'But living like a cross between a chameleon and a magpie (Mr. Bowie is a voracious assimilator of influences) has its downsides. Read the vintage interviews, and it’s striking how often intimations of hollowness occur, the sense of a man who outwardly appears superconfident but who battles feelings of self-loathing and doubt. “When I saw a quality in someone that I liked, I used it later as if it were my own”; “I’m not an innovator. I’m really just a Photostat machine. I pour out what has already been fed in.” It seems as if “a continuing, returning feeling of inadequacy over what I’ve done” has helped propel the restless remaking of sound and style.'
"... voracious assimilator of influences ...": “Voracious” could mean insatiable which clearly corresponds with Fire, since Fire always wants more, Fire continually consumes. Further, when we think of big fire, we see that it is made up of an infinite number of individual fires that come together (assimilate) to become the one big fire. "... intimations of hollowness ... the sense of a man who outwardly appears superconfident but who battles feelings of self-loathing and doubt ": To me, this quote beautifully describes the qualities described by the Fire trigram, which has already been explained. "... When I saw a quality in someone that I liked, I used it later as if it were my own ...": When you consume something, it becomes part of you. "... I pour out what has already been fed in ...": Beautiful; exactly what a fire does in converting the fuel into flames. "... It seems as if “a continuing, returning feeling of inadequacy over what I’ve done” has helped propel the restless remaking of sound and style ...": Fire continually consumes and in the process, uses up, leading to a state of emptiness, which is filled up as a result of an external expression which attracts attention, to fill up the interior.
No fuel, no fire: a fire is never far away from death
'The Grim Reaper is no stranger to the Bowie songbook. In his Ziggy guise he performed Jacques Brel’s “My Death” and Mr. Bowie’s hit “Ashes to Ashes” derives its title from a burial service. “The Hearts Filthy Lesson,” on “Outside,” addresses “the fact that life is finite,” Mr. Bowie has said. “That realization, when it comes, usually later in life, can either be a really daunting prospect or it makes things a lot clearer.” But judging by “The Next Day,” Mr. Bowie’s close encounter of the near-fatal kind has only muddied things. There is little evidence of serenity or enlightenment. Facing the final curtain the singer seems exposed as rarely before, his uncertainty and disorientation no longer couched in allegory or elegantly stylized...... The climactic song “Heat” pays homage to the existentialist balladry of Scott Walker, who covered “My Death” before Mr. Bowie.'
Death corresponds with Fire.
The Invention of David Bowie, by Ian Buruma, The New York Review of Books, May 23, 2013
Big fire consumes fuel quickly
‘What has been truly unusual about Bowie, in comparison to other rock acts, is the lightning speed of his costume changes, as it were.’
“… lightning speed of his costume changes …”: Fire continually moves forward, seeking new fuel. The bigger the fire, the quicker it consumes fuel, and the faster it moves on to a new fuel source. In Bowie’s case, the costume changes expressed the latest kind of fuel he was consuming.
Fire is an accelerating energy
‘Bowie wanted fame. But it happened so quickly that it almost killed him. He described it in Cracked Actor, a fascinating documentary film made in 1974 for the BBC. Bowie, pale, emaciated, his nose twitching from excessive ingestions of cocaine, tells Alan Yentob, his interviewer, about the terrors of fame. It was like being “in the car when someone’s accelerating very, very fast, and you’re not driving…and you’re not sure whether you like it or not…that’s what success was like.”
“… fame. It was like being “in the car when someone’s accelerating very, very fast, and you’re not driving … and you’re not sure whether you like it or not …”: In the rotation of the Five Energies, Fire corresponds with the stage when things really “take off”. When things enter the Fire stage, everything accelerates. On the one hand there is the excitement of speed and the lightness and relinquishing of the gravitational pull of the earth, but on the other, the danger, that with everything happening so fast, things could end badly. “… you’re not driving …”: He’s describing a situation that worries people about those born in a Fire year, or who possess strong Fire; are they in control? (think Donald Trump at present). Fire needs to be controlled. However, here we see it from the other side. The Fire person, Bowie, has created a situation that is fast turning out of control, but it is he who is in danger.
Past
2012
Michelle Obama, 1 Water ☵
(b. 1.17.1964, Chicago, IL): First Lady of the United States.
Michelle Obama and the Evolution of a First Lady, by Jodi Kantor, The New York Times, January 6, 2012
Water in a river only flows forward, from one place to another with an ultimate destination
In the print edition the subheadings read:
'First Lady's Fraught White House Journey to Greater Fulfillment', and 'A Quiet First Lady Forging an Influential Path in Washington'
“… Journey … Forging an Influential Path …”: Both the Water I Ching trigram, and the Chinese character for water, image water as flowing in a river, and a river only flows forward, with an ultimate destination. I maintain a river is the primary image from which we can derive Water metaphors. A river may begin high in the mountains as a simple stream, but it will be the most direct way to the sea. Since water repeatedly follows a course established with the shortest route to the sea, we can relate Water with "forging" a path; with people who create a way of doing something, which others can follow. Since water moves from one place to another, with an ultimate destination, we can associate Water with journeys and travel, and, with the idea of destiny. We cannot frame any of the other Energies this way. In this light it is interesting to see that Beyoncé, the lead singer, and creator of the singing group, “Destiny's Child” was born in a 1 Water year (b. 9.4.'81, Houston, TX), as were fellow members, Kelly Rowland (b. 2.11.'81, Atlanta, GA), LaTavia Roberson (b. 11.1.'81, Houston, TX), LeToya Luckett (b. 3.11.'81, Houston, TX), and Farrah Franklin (b. 5.3.'81, Seattle, WA). Now let us see how this works in terms of this profile on Mrs. Obama. On relating to her feelings regarding the way Mr. Obama's staff were doing their jobs, Mr. Obama said of her:
‘“She feels as if our rudder isn’t set right…”’
“… our rudder …”: First, I maintain it is significant he should choose a Water image to describe Michelle since she was born in a 1 Water year. It is further significant as it may tell us something of the inherent abilities of a Water person. I suggest that due to her Water nature, she may have, unconscious perhaps, an image of destination, manifesting as keeping in mind where things are ultimately headed; she has a built in sense for things flowing in the right direction. In this way, she may have an innate understanding regarding the correct path to take to arrive at the destination of success.
There are two other issues to consider regarding the idea of arriving at a destination, destination meaning any goal one sets out to achieve. They are Water’s capacity and force. Is a person’s Water energy sufficient to actually arrive at the hoped for destination, and is the flow strong enough to do so in a timely manner? In the human body, the Water channels, the kidney and bladder, are located predominantly along the back of the torso and legs. According to classical Chinese medicine, they are responsible for our forward movement; our drive, will, get up and go, and stamina. In terms of classical Chinese medicine then, our destiny is tied up with our kidney energy, mostly from what we inherited from our parents, but also including the health condition of the kidney and bladder functions at any point in time.
Water cannot be compressed
Mrs. Obama is a supportive but often anxious spouse, suspicious of conventional political thinking, a groundbreaking figure who has acutely felt the pressures and possibilities of being the first African-American in her position and a first lady who has worked to make her role more meaningful.
“… a supportive but often anxious spouse …”: Water nourishes Tree. Since Michelle was born in a 1 Water year, and Barak (b. 8.4.1961, Honolulu, HI) in a 3 Tree year, her energy flows easily to him. “… a groundbreaking figure …”: This quote repeats the already mentioned “forging a path”. “… acutely felt the pressures …”: Issues regarding pressure appear often in Water people profiles. Either the person being profiled is under pressure, or putting pressure on others. We can experience both, either by pressing into water and seeing it move away from our pressure, and by submerging ourselves in water, and feeling the pressure created by being surrounded by water.
Water is always pressing against the walls of its container
'Initially, she had considered postponing her move to the White House for months; after arriving, she bristled at its confinements and obligations — unable to walk her dog without risking being photographed, and monitored by her husband’s aides for everything from how she decorated the family’s private quarters to whether she took makeup artists on overseas trips.'
‘The confinement of the White House was also a shock; suddenly she was cut off from her old life and rituals… “I don’t think any of us contemplated how isolating this whole experience would be,” Dr. Eric Whitaker, a close friend from Chicago, said in an interview.’
“… confinement …”: She's in a fish bowl. Confinement in some form is pervasive in Water people profiles. If water is always pressing against the walls of its container, it suggests to me Water psychology is of expansion, and it would feel acutely any sense of restriction. Water environments include prisons, hospitals, rehab clinics, ghettos and poverty stricken areas, situations where the person feels constrained in movement.
Water can be soft, and hard
‘She was sometimes harder on her husband’s team than he was, eventually urging him to replace them.’
‘She also thanked him for putting up with how hard she had been on him. At that line, a few of the advisers glanced at each other in recognition.’
“… harder on her husband’s team than he was … how hard she had been on him …”: The Water trigram is yin (soft) on the outside, but yang (hard) in the center. A Water person may appear soft and agreeable, but under pressure, one can be assured of their inner strength and character, and in some instances, this quality manifests as hardness.
Water always finds an opening
‘For all of the first lady’s newness, she was quick to identify problems.’
“… quick to identify problems …”: In finding cracks, Water easily finds weaknesses.
A rising tide lifts all boats
‘The worse things got for her husband in 2011, the more she rallied to his side, buoying him personally and politically.’
“… buoying him …”: This quote is interesting to me since it employs a water image, “buoying”, to describe the kind of support she gave her husband. Wood floats on water. “Rallying to his side” to me resembles an image of a tide coming in. So how did she support him? By throwing a party and attempting to lift his spirits with her toast to him:
‘In August, after the debt ceiling negotiations in Washington reached their painful conclusion, Mrs. Obama gave a party for his 50th birthday, warning guests not to leave early and delivering a stem-winder of a toast in praise of her husband … As the sun faded, the 150 guests — friends, celebrities, officials — sat on the South Lawn, listening to the first lady describe her version of Barack Obama: a tireless, upright leader who rose above Washington games, killed the world’s most wanted terrorist and still managed to coach his daughter Sasha’s basketball team.’
Copyright© by David Sergel
Photographs© by David Sergel
One Peaceful World
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