Expert: Bill Hajdu - 12/25/2007

Question
Don't know if you can answer this, but in Feng Shui, my gua is 6 , my sign of the
zodiac is goat or sheep and my element is metal. Yet when I look my birth date up
on every chart I've found on the Chinese horoscope, it says I am a wood sheep, not a
metal sheep. My date of birth is 7/30/1955. Are the 2 elements supposed to be
different for 2 different systems? Why the discrepancy? Which one is correct if they
are supposed to be the same?
Thanks for your help, Diane

Answer
Hi Diane,

First let me say it is not a matter of correctness but rather application or system. By that I mean there are different approaches that use various aspects of Chinese astrology and feng shui. The practical result of this is there are several ways to view "your" element.

Yes, you were born in a Wood year, so Wood is the year element of your four pillars. It differentiates you from Sheep sign people born in Fire, Earth, Metal and Water years. You are likely, for example, to be more creative and caring. Furthermore, the fixed element of the Sheep is Fire. So you are Fire in that you have a Fire sign for your year sign.

When we shift to star charts (Zi Wei Dou Shu or Purple Star astrology) and feng shui(Ba Gua), we find we have a controlling element for our charts. You can check your feng shui element here:

http://www.chiquiz.com/

I, for example, was born in a Fire year. Water, however, controls my god board or Purple Star chart, and Mountain Earth is associated with my lucky, Ba Gua number. When I compared readings from these various approaches, I found the information was either complementary or similar, not contradictory.

Actually, the most important factor is probably not what is your element, but, rather, what does your overall element balance look like. If you are balanced, you have plenty of capability and no vulnerability. If not, you will have great strengths as well as significant weaknesses.

In the end, you have to adopt a holistic approach and incorporate insights from a number of sources to get the most accurate picture of your fate and personality.

Please visit my site, www.onlinechineseastrology.com, for more information. I have just started a feature, Chinese Astrology 101, which will eventually cover this, as well as many other topics.

Thank u for your question.