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Flow Year Blessings & Protection

13 Oct

What is “Flow Year”?

“Flow Year” (Liú Nián) is a poetic concept in traditional Chinese culture. “Flow” signifies movement and change, while “Year” refers to a unit of time. Combined, they vividly express the characteristic of time flowing like a river in constant flux.

Broadly speaking, Flow Year refers to a specific year; narrowly, we call the current year the “Flow Year”. For example, last year was the Year of the Rabbit (Guǐ Mǎo), this year is the Year of the Dragon (Jiǎ Chén), forming different Flow Years.

As the folk saying goes, “Thirty years on the east of the river, thirty years on the west,” Feng Shui and destiny theory believe that people’s annual fortunes constantly change – this is the power of the Flow Year. When the Flow Year is unfavorable, people seek various methods to pray for blessings and ensure safety.

The Importance of Flow Year Blessings

Both Eastern and Western cultures recognize the influence of time cycles on life. In Chinese tradition, Flow Year blessings represent wisdom in actively adjusting energy and resolving potential crises.

Praying for blessings to transform misfortune is a common folk method. When destiny analysis indicates potential misfortune in a certain Flow Year, corresponding “blessing” rituals are performed to ward off and resolve it. This approach not only helps alleviate actual difficulties but, more importantly, maintains psychological balance and enhances self-confidence to face challenges with a positive attitude.

Flow Year Blessing Rituals Guide

1. Taisui Entering the Fate Palace (Benming Year / Zodiac Year of Birth)

  • Meaning: The earthly branch of the current lunar year is the same as that of one’s birth year (e.g., a person born in the Year of the Rabbit encountering the Year of Guimao). This is often associated with unsmooth events, though the specific good or bad fortune needs to be determined based on the “useful gods” in one’s four-pillar (birth chart) astrology.
  • Prayers for Resolution: Hold a “worshipping Taisui” ceremony after the Start of Spring, make a wish for the “Taisui Peace Blessing” to balance the impactful energy brought by Taisui.

2. Taiyang (Sun Star) Entering the Fate Palace

  • Meaning: For men, this is mostly an auspicious omen; for women, it may easily trigger disputes, verbal conflicts, property losses, or increase the risk of elderly family members falling.
  • Prayers for Resolution: Make a wish for the “Taiyang Blessing” after the Start of Spring. Meanwhile, avoid arguing with others and reduce major financial changes.

3. Sangmen (Funeral Gate Star) and Baihu (White Tiger Star) Entering the Fate Palace

  • Meaning: One must guard against injuries, illnesses of oneself or relatives, unexpected financial losses, and may even encounter “mourning events” (the passing of relatives).
  • Prayers for Resolution: First, confirm the intensity of the inauspicious energy through four-pillar calculation or divination by casting lots. Then make a wish for the “Shegong Blessing” or “Guanyin Blessing”. Cooperate with the “Sending Off Baihu” ritual (worshipping with pork and rice before sending it away), persist in releasing captive animals for good deeds, and avoid consuming alcohol or beverages at funeral banquets during this period.

4. Goujiao (Entanglement Star) and Taiyin (Moon Star) Entering the Fate Palace

  • Meaning: This may easily trigger internal organ diseases such as heart or gastrointestinal issues, and one’s mood may also fall into depression or confusion.
  • Prayers for Resolution: Make a wish for the “Guanyin Talisman”. In daily life, pay attention to a light diet, maintain a regular schedule, and avoid staying up late for a long time.

5. Wugui (Five Ghosts Star) Entering the Fate Palace

  • Meaning: If there is a celebration of a new family member (e.g., a new birth) in the family that year, it can counteract the inauspicious energy; if there is no such celebration, it may easily lead to fluctuations in family members’ health, property losses, or other accidents.
  • Prayers for Resolution: Hold a “Sending Off Five Ghosts” ceremony and make a wish for the “Chenghuang Blessing”. Meanwhile, place a copper gourd in the northeast direction of the home (the position of the Five Ghosts) to enhance energy purification.

6. Sifu (Death Talisman Star) and Xiaohao (Minor Loss Star) Entering the Fate Palace

  • Meaning: The main risks include property theft, investment losses, or inability to recover funds due to lending money to others.
  • Prayers for Resolution: Make a wish for the “Caibo Blessing” (Wealth Blessing). Avoid lending money to others easily that year and do not visit seriously ill patients casually (to reduce exposure to negative energy). A Pixiu (a mythical creature believed to attract wealth) ornament can be placed in the wealth position of the home.

7. Suipo Entering the Fate Palace (Dahao / Major Loss Star)

  • Meaning: This is one of the most severe inauspicious stars in the lunar year. Even if no financial loss occurs, one may encounter major obstacles (such as career stagnation or broken interpersonal relationships).
  • Prayers for Resolution: Make a wish for the “Huaguang Blessing”. Maintain a low profile throughout the year, avoid making major decisions (such as starting a business or changing jobs), and can “proactively lose wealth” by donating money or goods to resolve the inauspicious energy.

8. Tiangou (Heavenly Dog Star) / Diaoke (Mourning Guest Star) Entering the Fate Palace

  • Meaning: One may easily suffer from gastrointestinal diseases, and at the same time, need to guard against verbal disputes and unexpected accidents at night (such as bumps and falls during travel).
  • Prayers for Resolution: Make a wish for the “Zhangxian Blessing”. Avoid cold, raw, and greasy food in the diet, minimize going out alone at night, and hang a Bagua mirror in the living room of the home to adjust energy.

9. Bingfu (Sickness Talisman Star) / Baiyue (Baiyue Star) Entering the Fate Palace

  • Meaning: One may easily suffer financial losses due to illness, encounter obstacles in doing things, and health risks mainly focus on the recurrence of chronic diseases or sudden inflammation.
  • Prayers for Resolution: Hold a “Sending Off Disease General” ceremony and make a wish for the “Yaowang Blessing” (Medicine King Blessing). Do not attend funeral banquets or visit seriously ill patients that year, and persist in exercising to enhance physical fitness.

Eastern vs. Western Blessing Traditions

Eastern Blessing Wisdom

Flow Year Concept: Based on the cosmic view of Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and Five Elements theory, believing temporal energy affects personal fortune.

Blessing Methods: Adjust energy fields through specific rituals (like praying for blessings, Grand Duke worship), talismans, and Feng Shui arrangements.

Characteristics: Emphasizes harmony with natural rhythms, focusing on preventing and resolving potential crises.

Western Blessing Traditions

New Year Resolutions: Setting goals in Western culture is similar to Eastern “blessing prayers,” both representing positive planning for the future.

Protection Rituals: Such as hanging horseshoes, carrying four-leaf clovers, lighting candles of specific colors for ceremonies.

Characteristics: Focuses more on personal will and action power, using symbols to create positive psychological suggestions.

Modern Blessing Perspective: Integrating East and West

In contemporary society, we can integrate Eastern and Western wisdom to form a more comprehensive Flow Year blessing perspective:

Respecting traditional concepts of timing and placement while incorporating modern psychological knowledge; performing meaningful rituals to create positive mindsets while taking practical actions to improve life.

Regardless of the methods used, the core of Flow Year blessings lies in cultivating gratitude, positive attitudes, and courage to face challenges – these are the inner strengths that truly bring good fortune.