There are a lot of things you can learn in the astrological world, but keeping track of basic Western astrology is about as much as I can manage. Still, synchronicity is at work everywhere, and Chinese astrology probably is just as valid so I thought I’d see what kinds of predictions I could find for you, dear readers.

“The rat will become aggressive at the tail end of the year and its underlying water element will cool the stock market,” said Vincent Koh, a feng shui master at Singapore Feng Shui Center.

Caution will be the watchword for the Year of the Rat, the new lunar year that begins Thursday, as Chinese fortune tellers predict financial and political rumblings, tsunamis and epidemics in the year ahead. The reason, they say, is that water and earth — two of the five elements Chinese mystics believe are at the root of all things — are in conflict in 2008.

[Feng Shui master] Yap says, for 2008, if you are going to be a trend follower and just follow what other people say, don’t expect to make any money. You need to use the proper information and be a bit of a contrarian,” he says. He points out that the Rat belongs to the Water group, but is presently in a Wood cycle. Hence, this cycle will be marked significantly by water and wood elements in the first half of the year. The fire element is also present, hence Yap foresees oil prices and commodity prices continuing to soar before tapering off towards the second part of the year.

Feng shui master Raymond Lo says this year will see the earth element sitting atop water, suggesting an outward solidity built on sliding foundations. “The earth on top is Yang earth which symbolises a mountain, and mountain gives a sense of stability and firmness. But such floating earth in the ocean is weak in foundation and the stability appears to be fragile,” Lo said.
“This elemental relationship will bring a year which apparently is more stable but there are a lot of underlying tensions and confrontations.”

I really like this last description and it makes a lot of sense compared to what we see in Western astrology. Saturn and Pluto are both in Earth signs, but we have Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius which create a mutually foggy reception that undermines the sense of stability. Still, making predictions for a whole year based on one astrological attribute seems risky and ill-defined!