We began the transition from the year of the Yang Earth Dog in January 2019, with the year of the Yin Earth Pig/Boar beginning February 4^th 2019. This is also the “real” first day of spring, the commonly accepted Western first day of spring March 20^th is actually the peak of spring, each day after we transition towards Summer.

Pigs are diligent, compassionate, and generous. They have great concentration, once they set a goal, they will devote all their energy to achieving it. Pigs never suspect trickery, and are susceptible to being fooled.

Pigs are fairly calm when faced with trouble. No matter how difficult the problems are, they can handle things properly and carefully.

Master Zhongxian Wu states, “in China, the pig is a symbol of relaxation, caution, bravery, knowledge and faith. Chinese parents are happy to have babies born during the year of the Pig, as they believe the children will be blessed with an easy going personality, great intelligence and will grow to have a rich, noble life. (https://bluewillow88.wordpress.com/2019/02/08/xinniankuaile/)”

2019 being a Yin Earth Pig year is very interesting, given that Earth and Pigs are also Yin. This will magnify the traits of being: reflective, gathering, patience, waiting, being resourceful, etc… Earth also represents hidden potential, silence, retreat, passiveness. “Even though the earth is a great supplier, it does so silently. Human life does not go on forever (nothing does); sooner or later it will reach an end. This is a fact. Nobody should feel sad or regretful, because it cannot be prevented. Instead people should develop an attitude of confronting and dealing with an ending or stopping. But human nature favors startings and rejects endings, celebrates developings and regrets sustainings. Why must this be so, when much goodness can be derived from a stop?… The principle of withdrawal and how one utilizes it can work in favor of one’s objectives and constitute a great wisdom. Therefore, cultivating an attitude of withdrawal is beneficial… (Dr. Chang,Integral Management of Tao )”

The pig represents the end of the Chinese animal zodiac cycle, and earth, as stated above also represents and ending. Pig years are a great time to reflect on the lessons of the prior years, and making preparations for the new cycle which will occur in 2020.

Earth pig years are a great time for prosperity, being fortunate and lucky, however, it is important to balance this out with proper mindfulness as to not become greedy—fat, lazy etc…

This is a great year to get your personal and business finances in order and to come up with plans to reduce debt and increase savings/investments.

In our article 2018 Year of the Yang Earth Dog, we predicted based on prior Earth Dog years that “Nationally and globally, there is the potential for things to be “all over the place”, however, usually the nature of the Earth will calm down the tendency for the dog to fight for control, dominance or power. Prior Dog years saw expansion and innovation of space exploration, and also saw buildups to military conflict in the Middle East and Cuba, Spain, South Africa etc… Nuclear issues became a major concern in 1958 with the buildup of arsenals and several accidents involving nuclear weapons.”

When we examine prior Earth Pig years we see the tendency for: severe weather, erratic weather patterns (as in the USA deep freeze of 1899), buildup of tensions with communist/socialist groups and countries, promotion of/use of electric cars, expansion of trade, revolutionary inventions (vulcanized rubber production), etc… “JiHai 己亥 (Yin Earth Pig) energy suggests that we will have even more dramatic, changing weather patterns in coming year. The extremely dangerous cold that has descended upon the US, from the Midwest to the East Coast, these last several days, is a signal of the upcoming weather craziness this year. (Master Wu)”

Review the lists below for a more thorough understanding of the past cycles.

1959

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959, https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1959, http://www.fsmitha.com/time/1959.htm)

• Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
• The Soviet Union successfully launches the Luna 1 spacecraft from Baikonur Cosmodrome.
• Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
• In Cuba, rebel troops led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos enter the city of Havana.
• The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
• Charles de Gaulle is inaugurated as the first president of the French Fifth Republic.
• Cuban communists execute 71 supporters of Fulgencio Batista.
• The European Court of Human Rights is established.
• Knox Mine Disaster: Water breaches the River Slope Mine in Port Griffith, Pennsylvania near Pittston, Pennsylvania; 12 miners are killed.
• Pope John XXIII announces that the Second Vatican Council will be convened in Rome.
• Walt Disney releases his 16th animated film, Sleeping Beauty in Beverly Hills.
• A referendum in Switzerland turns down female suffrage.
• A chartered plane transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper with pilot Roger Peterson goes down in foggy conditions near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing all four on board.
• At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished.
• Vanguard 2, the first weather satellite, is launched to measure cloud cover for the United States Navy.
• The United Kingdom decides to grant independence to Cyprus.
• Mattel‘s Barbie doll debuts in the United States.
• The Dalai Lama is granted asylum in India.

• National People’s Congress elects Liu Shaoqi as Chairman of the People’s Republic of China, as a successor of Mao Zedong.
• USA Florida, Cape Canaveral: Jupiter AM-18 launches two monkeys, Miss Able and Miss Baker, into space along with living microorganisms and plant seeds. Successful recovery makes them the first living beings to return safely to Earth after space flight.
• Groups of Kurdish and communist militias rebel in Kirkuk, Iraq against the central government.
• Hawaii is admitted as the 50th U.S. state.
• Typhoon Vera hits central Honshū, Japan, as a 160 mph Category 5 storm, killing an estimated 5,098, injuring another 38,921, and leaving 1,533,000 homeless. Most of the victims and damage are centered in the Nagoya area.
• The Declaration of the Rights of the Child is adopted by the United Nations.
• Cold War – Antarctic Treaty: 12 countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union, sign a landmark treaty that sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent (the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War).
• The Workers World Party is founded by Sam Marcy.
• The Caspian tiger becomes extinct in Iran.
• The Henney Kilowatt goes on sale in the United States, becoming the first mass-produced electric car in almost three decades.

1899

(https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1899, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1899_in_the_United_States, https://worldhistoryproject.org/1899)

• Cuba liberated from Spanish rule by the US, American occupation continues till 1902
• 1st known use of the word “automobile”, appears in an editorial in The New York Times
• Lynmouth Lifeboat rescues 18 people from the stricken schooner Forest Hall off the coast of Devon
• US takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific
• Opel manufactures its first automobile
• Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation
• Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as President of the First Philippine Republic
• Rubber heel for boots or shoes patented by American Humphrey O’Sullivan
• American Social Science Association incorporated by Congress
• The Philippine-American War begins with fighting between American and Philippine revolutionary forces
• Spanish-American War ends, peace treaty ratified by Senate
• Feb deep freeze:
  • -15°F (-26°C), Washington, D.C. (district record)
  • -39°F (-39°C), Milligan, Ohio (state lowest record temperature)
  • -61°F, Montana (record low temperature)
  • -47°F (-44°C), Camp Clarke, Nebraska (state record)
  • -1°F (-18°C) New Orleans, La
  • -16°F (-27°C), Minden Louisiana (state record)
  • -2°F (-19°C) Tallahassee, Florida (state record)

• President of France Félix Faure dies in office.
• George Dewey becomes 1st in US to hold the rank of Admiral of the Navy
• Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 m wave that reaches up to 5 km inland – over 300 dead.
• “Aspirin” (acetylsalicylic acid) patented by Felix Hoffmann at German company Bayer
• Windsor luxury hotel in NYC catches fire, 92 die
• Treaty of Paris ratifies ends war; Spain cedes Puerto Rico to US
• Ernest Rutherford publishes his discovery of two different kinds of radiation (Alpha and Beta Particles)
• First speeding infraction by a New York cabbie driving an electric car – 12mph down Lexington Street
• National Brotherhood of Electrical Workers forms
• Gideon Society established to place bibles in hotels
• The First Hague Convention is signed.
• 8.3 earthquake shakes Yakutat Bay Alaska
• British government sends an additional 10,000 troops to Natal, South Africa
• 2nd quake in 7 days (8.6) hits Yakutat Bay Alaska
• African-American inventor Issac R. Johnson patents the bicycle frame
• South African Boers declare war on Great Britain
• Morning Post reporter Winston Churchill captured by Boers in Natal
• 1st case of plague on Oahu, Hawaii
• British fleet seizes German Imperial Mail Steamer Bundesrath accused of carrying contraband

1839

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1839, https://www.onthisday.com/events/date/1839)

• 1st photo of the Moon (French photographer Louis Daguerre)
• Daguerreotype photo process announced at French Academy of Science
• Thomas Henderson measures 1st stellar parallax (Alpha Centauri)
• Tea from India 1st arrives in UK
• Earthquake at Martinique destroys half of Port Royal – 700 die
• Anthracite coal 1st used to smelt iron, Mauch Chunk, Penn
• Aden conquered by British East India Company
• Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance
• Charles Darwin elected Fellow of the Royal Society
• Aroostoock (or “Pork & Beans) War: Boundary dispute between Maine & New Brunswick
• US Congress prohibits dueling in District of Columbia
• Steam shovel patented by William Otis, Philadelphia
• Prussian government limits work week for children to 51 hours
• Treaty of London constitutes Belgium an independent kingdom & Luxembourg a Grand Duchy
• Hawaiian Declaration of Rights is signed
• King of Hawaii Kamehameha III issues Edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace is later established
• Abdul-Medjid succeeds Mahmud II as Sultan of Turkey
• Slaves aboard a Spanish schooner La Amistad revolt to secure their freedom while being transported from one Cuban port to another
• British capture Hong Kong from China
• The First Opium War begins in China
• Cherokee Nation unites and ratifies constitution at Tahlequah, Oklahoma
• Great fire in New York
• British troops under General Charles Napier occupy Beirut
• Cyclone slams south eastern India with high winds and a 40 foot storm surge, destroying city of Coringa. Storm waves sweep inland, destroying 20,000 ships and killing an estimated 300,000 people
• In the United States, the first state law permitting women to own property is passed in Jackson, Mississippi.
• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, backed by the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire, compels July Monarchy France to abandon Muhammad Ali of Egypt, and forces him to return Syria and Arabia to the Ottoman Empire.
• Emperor Minh Mạng renames Việt Nam to Đại Nam.
• Charles Goodyear vulcanizes rubber.