As we transition from the year of the Wood Goat to the year of the Yang Fire Monkey, it is time for us to reflect on what changes may occur so that we can be prepared no matter what situations may arise.

When we examine the last two Fire Monkey years (1896 and 1956) we will get a better understanding of what could occur/repeat this year. A cursory glance of the last two years of the Wood Goat will show the similarities we experienced in 2015.

Monkey years tend to reflect the nature of the animal being: unpredictable, quick to change, seeking new adventures, and also in Yang years the negative aspect can be enhanced; short tempered, quick to fight and prone to aggression etc…

Major events of 1956

• 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
• Morocco declares its independence from France.
• Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic.
• Maria Desylla-Kapodistria is elected mayor of Corfu and becomes the first female mayor in Greece.
• The United Methodist Church in America decides at its General Conference to grant women full ordained clergy status.
• General Electric/Telechron introduces model 7H241 “The Snooz Alarm”, first snooze alarm clock ever.
• President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act, creating the Interstate Highway System.
• The first Lockheed U-2 spy plane flight over the Soviet Union.
• The world’s first commercial nuclear power plant is opened at Calder Hall in England.
• Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom, France, and Israel secretly meet in and make plans to invade Egypt. The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
• 1956 Hungarian Revolution: More Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush a revolt… Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
• Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France, and Israel to withdraw their troops from Arab lands immediately.
• The United States Supreme Court declares illegal the state and municipal laws requiring segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, thus ending the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Major events of 1896

• H. L. Smith takes the first X-ray photograph.
• The first study of the sensitivity of global climate to atmospheric carbon dioxide is published. Svante Arrhenius presents his findings in his paper.
• The opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first modern Olympic Games, are held in Athens.
• Plessy v. Ferguson: The U.S. Supreme Court introduces the “separate but equal” doctrine and upholds racial segregation.
• St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring US$2.9 billion (1997 USD) in normalized damages, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.
• Meiji-Sanriku Earthquake Twenty-seven thousand people died in a huge tsunami that swept over the seaport of Kamaishi, Japan
• International Socialist Workers and Trade Union Congress opens in London.
• The Philippine Revolution erupts.
• An extraordinary heat wave affects the northeastern United States.
• Skookum Jim Mason, George Carmack and Dawson Charlie discover gold in the Klondike, Yukon.

We can see from these past two Fire Monkey years that the world experienced Socialist Revolutions, racial strife, major weather events, war in the Middle East as well as economic advances that later turned into bubbles. Will any of these repeat in 2016, only time will tell.

Master Zhongxian Wu mentions that:

“According to Daoist Five Element cosmology and alchemy principles, these energies will manifest as Cold Water, Heat Fire, and Wind Wood.

In other words, we will experience dramatic weather patterns this year, with weather patterns shifting very quickly. This pattern will prove difficult for those of you who have weak gastrointestinal function, kidney function, or heart function.”

Regardless of what happens in the world this year, make sure you focus on your internal cultivation, remaining calm and balanced, as well as, strengthening your body, mind and spirit.

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Ref:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896

https://worldhistoryproject.org/1896

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956

http://www.historycentral.com/20th/1956.html