This month, America turns 244 years old as a nation. As this country plunges into unprecedented historic times, this month makes for a good time to reflect on this nation’s fate and destiny, interpreted through Bazi Chinese Astrology.
The Child Pillar, which is derived from the year of birth, describes one’s initial “qi” imprint and the formation of one’s inherent character. In this pillar, America is a Yang Fire Monkey. The Yijing (I Ching) hexagram associated with this combination is "Liberation" (解).
The Monkey is the revolutionary of the zodiac, a pioneer and renaissance individual. Clever, creative and pioneering, Monkey is always inventing, often becoming a polymath. In the jungle, they are an obstacle course runner (think monkey bars). If Monkey does not have enough obstacles in their life, they will go out and create them.
Coupled with Yang Fire, which is symbolized by the sun, this revolutionary Monkey will blaze ahead, always creating new innovative paths. Yang Fire adds an emboldened naiveté to the Monkey, making one who indiscriminately and brazenly plows forward, having little regard for their impact and for those who fall to the wayside.
This particular combination of Yang Fire Monkey is attributed to the Yijing Life Hexagram of Liberation. Life Hexagrams help us understand the core themes of our incarnation and how to best direct our character. They are the password that unlocks the highest version of our inner software, activating our destiny. America the Yang Fire Monkey, the audacious revolutionary, must learn the life lesson of Liberation.
The hexagram Liberation is made up of the elements of Thunder (Shock), which frees us from difficulty, and the element of Water (The River of Ghosts). Liberation is described as an escape, a fever breaking, being released from the noose of a hostile fate, awakening from illusion, and an exorcism.
In the Declaration of Independence, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" are three unalienable rights. It is time for us to update our understanding of Liberty, not as an individualistic state of achievement (Liberty the noun) but as an ongoing collective practice (Liberation as a verb).
Liberation as a process is akin to being in a thunderstorm. An enormous amount of pressure builds up and surrounds us. When the flood gates open, we cannot take lightly the force that creates release. It is overwhelming, terrifying but good. Remember that the volatility of this time conspires in our favor. Through the process of Liberation, the grounds are cleared for new growth.
There are both internal and external sources of Liberation. We may be liberated through our environment and the support of others, and we may also create our own release. The core of Liberation is the lesson of mercy. Liberation is sweet when it comes to us. Liberation is even sweeter if we can bestow it on others. The Yijing explains this type of release as the greatest of generosities. It is America’s destiny to learn to be merciful.
Nobody gets to Liberation having already been free. Nobody receives this hexagram without an experience of deep oppression and enslavement. The Yijing describes the time preceding Liberation as time spent in the grave. The spirit is guided in the Underworld, the Ghost River, or the river of the past. To achieve Liberation, America must resolve her fate.
America is not something outside of ourselves. The great social, cultural and economic experiment of the United States is not simply an idea that we can criticize and extricate ourselves from. Nationhood is something we all participate in. It is part of our civic duty to understand our destiny as a nation so we can embody its highest ideals, and to resolve our fate by facing our past and righting the wrongs of our history.
For my newsletter on the connection between Liberation and Responsibility, checkout my horoscope from June 2018.
This newsletter is Part 1 of a series where I will expound on the full Four Pillars (Bazi Chinese Astrology) natal chart of America. Stay tuned!