ANNUAL FORECAST FOR 2006 : YEAR OF YANG RED FIRE DOG BASED ON CHINESE ASTROLOGY

(Year of Yang Red Fire Dog : 29.01.2006 to 17.02.2007)

GENERAL ANALYSIS :

In Chinese Hsia Calender, 2006 is the 4703rd year and is called the Bing-Xu : the Year of the Dog. It is also the third year of the new Fengshui Land Luck Period 8. The Calendar is based on the Five Elements of Nature. They are also known as the Pancha Pranas or the Pancha Bhoodhas : Earth (Bhoomi), Water (Jala), Fire (Agni), Metal (Air, Vaayu), and Wood (Ether, Sky, Spirit, Space, Aakash). The Year of the Dog symbolises the Fire and Earth. That is Yang Red Fire riding over the Earth. Hence the name Year of the Yang Red Fire Dog. In the Productive Cycle of Fengshui, Fire gives birth to Earth. So the basic elemental relationship is positive and quite strong.

2006 is, in general, a supportive year with a sensible climate of justice, relief, harmony and peace prevailing over the globe, compared to the last few years. Even though global turmoil and instability will continue, the scale of civil wars and international conflicts will come down. Initiatives of the prevoius years will lead to peace talks which in turn could result in amicable settlements. Even the visciousness in the political atmosphere will mellow down and become more polite and optimistic. On the other hand, many countries will see new claims for seperate provinces or states based on certain cultural or ethnic origins. The primary issues for most of the countries will continue to revolve around maintenance of law and order, internal security, defence, border security and control of terrorists. International disputes of land and properties will also continue to thrive.

There will be a huge positive surge in solving issues relating to global interests : global warming problem, environmental pollution, earth conservation, saving extinct species, tackling epidemics, resource sharing, etc. National & international co-operation will become the trend of the year. 2006 would probably concieve the notion of collective mankind marching towards an inspiring New World Order.

Spiritual and religious following will gather much greater momentum and an yearning to find metaphysical answers will increase. More and more NewAge Ways will be revealed and will gain popularity. Discussions and forums on esoteric subjects will open up. Paranormal happenings will increase drastically. Hidden dangers and unexplainable events will initiate genuine interests in several mystic subjects. Many new Cults will surface.

There will be quite a few windfalls and prosperity not seen for quite some time now. Bitter experience will give way to optimism and self-confidence and when supported by planned and sustained efforts, will yield excellent success. Moderate to fast economic recovery will be seen and a general improvement in living conditions may be witnessed. A sincere attempt for urban renewal will be started. The underprivileged will get to have a lot of attention. 2006 will see a lot more marriages happen than the previous year - it will also see a lot less break-offs and divorces. Faith and commitments will be rewarded whereas deviousness and treachery will be punished. Marital bliss will in general, be quietly satisfying. Handsome cashflows will also bring in avoidable expenses. To save, accumulate and invest in assets will become more difficult.

For a change, as a general rule, career will flourish, commerce will expand and pay rise will be satisfactory. There could be a fall in unemployment figures, in many countries. Stock and financial markets will skyrocket (and invariably slump) and many will make their lifetime fortunes. However, the second half of the year could prove to be the undoing for too many. Industries identified with fire element : airlines, entertainment, electricity, energy, stock market and financial markets will see a lot of investments and massive expansions. All industries related to the wood element, like paper, magazines, books, fashion, textiles and fancy furniture will thrive. Construction industry, real estates and interior designing will flourish. On the other hand in areas like insurance, hotels, mining, chemicals, heavy metal industries, etc. there could actually be decline in business itself, with cut throat competition ruining everything. Industries linked to the water element like shipping, drinks and communications will manage to maintain the last years tempo. The electronic and petroleum industries will expand greatly. The TV and movie industries will see quite a lot of troubles by way of legal disputes, lawsuits, high interest loans, untimely deaths of personalities and violent clashes. Educational and constitutional reforms will be started in many countries. Fields catering to the special needs of women, new-born babies, education, religions and esoterism will do very good business. But whatever maybe the industry, the year will be filled with gossips, arguments, disputes and struggles. There will be many cases where frustrations will end up in lawsuits and imprisonments.

Earthquakes of awesome proportions will occur. Fire based disasters like volcanic eruptions, nuclear disasters and big fire explosions will take place. Typhoons, very heavy rains, floods, building collapses, bridge cracks, landslides, mining accidents, plagues, etc. will happen in frightening frequency. Accidents in mass transport systems will drastically increase. Tourist disasters and refugee crisis will continue to increase. There will be many more cases of children getting hurt in mass, maybe in places like water theme parks, kindergarden schools, etc.

Drug and herbal abuse will lead to serious health problems. Food poisoning due to residual pesticides in fruits, vegetables and flowers will increase to a worrying level. Serious health problems related to blood, heart and kidneys are indicated. Stomach pain, shoulder pain and problems pertaining to digestion, abdomen and intestines will be very common. 2006 could see a lot more cases of severe cancer, eye and respiratory infections. Chances of Bird flu breaking out once again is quite high.