The OXEN’s QUALITIES and Its MYTHOLOGY
The Chinese mythology of the Ox (or Buffalo) is a useful tool for finding some insights into this year ahead. Some stories about the Oxen – the Ox was born from the very essence and heart of a very old pine tree. Its a sign of longevity. Lao-Tse, the great Chinese sage, rode astride an Ox during his travels in the mountains in search of immortality. The transcendent Ox is also able to live thousands of years. From one end of Asia to the other the Ox is considered a sacred animal being an object of veneration everywhere. The Ox figures in Greek and Roman mythology as the bull who was both tireless and who made his way through the mysterious labyrinth as a human’s guide. There he is in the form of the Minotaur (from Crete, he had the body of a man and the head of a bull). In all civilisations the Ox is the assistant to mankind – gracefully and steadily he draws the plough working the virgin earth. He looks immutable and peaceful and he advances steadily. He is the classic Yin, with wisdom, and impassiveness.
How did he come to be a Chinese zodiac animal? The Buddha invited all the animals in creation to come to him. The Ox was the second to arrive. He was preceded by the quick Rat who was the opportunistic one. The Ox arrived in second place because the Tiger decided to do some hunting, the Snake took a nap, the Horse galloped about, the Rooster stood and crowed and the Goat went off to dream. The Ox came simply because he was called and did not change his pace but went along to the Buddha slowly and steadily.
The ELEMENTS of the YEAR
This is Yin Metal year combined with an Earth element from the Ox. The Ox is an Earth element and contains three hidden Elements – Earth, Metal, and Water. Therefore there is none of the Fire element supporting the Earth. This is why, in Chinese astrology it’s said the Ox is the weakest Earth element. Whenever the Earth element is out of balance (too weak or too strong), it can trigger earth-related disasters. Watch for quakes, earth collapses, sinkholes and especially avalanches if you live in mountain country.
Yin Metal is always associated with beauty because it represents fair skin, good bones and an oval-shaped face. Yet Yin Metal is deceiving because though it may appear gentle, moderate, and graceful on the outside like a diamond, beware of the strong character inside, like a dangerous dagger. Yin Metal people can exhibit harsh and drastic behaviours with a tendency to take strong actions to achieve their goals. Looking at worst examples, some mass killers were born on a Yin Metal Day – Andreas Lubitz, the German Flight 9525 co-pilot who deliberately crashed his passenger flight in the French Alps. Also Anders Breivik, the Norwegian extremist who killed many young students in the Norway in 2011.
The Chinese Calendar works on a Sixty Year Cycle.
1961 was also a Yin Metal Ox year. What happened back then gives us clues to the 2021 year. This was a significant year as the world entered a phase of serious global tensions between the USA and the USSR. It was also the year John F. Kennedy, born on a Yin Metal Day, took office as US president. He was tasked with handling the confrontation with the USSR, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the building of the Berlin Wall to separate West and East Germany. So we may have comparable events in 2021.
Events from 1961
In August 1961, the Berlin Wall was erected to restrict movements between West Berlin and East Berlin. in October 1961, a stand-off between Soviet and American tanks at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin heightened the Cold War tensions and placed the world at the brink of a nuclear war. In December, the USA sent 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam, and American involvement in the Vietnam War officially began. Earlier we said Yin Metal is often compared to that of a brutal weapon. This can be associated with assassinations, terrorist attacks and coups d’etat. Such events did occur in 1961. In that year the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo Patrice Lumumba, was assassinated. On July 8, a mining explosion left 108 people dead in Czechoslovakia. In January 1962, still in the Yin Metal Ox Year an avalanche in Peru caused 4,000 deaths. Cuban exiles attempted an invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs which failed. They were trained and supervised by the US military – President Kennedy took responsibility for the failure. The Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo was assassinated.
Dag Hammmarskjold, UN Secretary General was killed in an air crash in Zambia. The ‘Freedom Riders’ which consisted of Black and White people working together in the US southern states were attacked and beaten by white citizens in Birmingham and Anniston Alabama. The city of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church was then a focus of Black rights.
The Berlin Wall was built to separate East and West Germany. The nuclear “Tsar Bomba” also known as the “Big Ivan”, largest nuclear test ever, was detonated by Russia over the Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic. Because of the Cold War atmosphere President Kennedy advised American families to build nuclear bomb shelters. Pampers brand, the first disposable nappy was introduced in the USA (I chose to put this under negatives).
What about the Positive Side of the 1961 Ox Year?
Yuri Gagarin of the USSR was the first man to orbit the Earth (April 12th, 1961). Then later Alan Sheppard was the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth. The Trans Siberian Railway was first electrified that year. President Kennedy and President Khrushev of Russia first met in Vienna to hold disarmament talks. The Tanganyika Wildlife Conference moved to protect African wildlife. The UN General Assembly first condemned South African Apartheid. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dag Hammmarskjold. The Atlas computer, the world’s first supercomputer, was installed at Harwell, UK. President Kennedy established the US Peace Corps in March 1961. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was officially founded and opened its first office in Sept. 1961. Amnesty International was started first in the United Kingdom. The World Antarctic Protection Treaty came into force in June 1961. The estimate of the world’s population reached 4 billion. The first in-flight movie was shown on the US’s TWA airline. The first electric toothbrush was produced by the Squibb Company. The British satirical magazine Private Eye was published for first time.
Films, Art and Media – Great things were done in the arts world. Graham Green wrote ‘A Burnt-out Case’, J.D Salinger wrote ‘Franny and Zooey’, John Osbourne wrote ‘Luther’ (the play), Iris Murdoch wrote ‘The Severed Head’, Harold Pinter wrote ‘The Collection’, Henry Miller wrote ‘Tropic of Capricorn’, Irving Stone wrote ‘The Agony and the Ecstasy’, T.H White wrote ‘The Making of a President: 1960’, Harold Robbins wrote ‘The Carpetbaggers, Joseph Heller wrote ‘Catch 22’, Robert Heinlen wrote ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’. and James Baldwin wrote ‘Nobody Knows My Name’.
Films of the year; Jules et Jim (Tuffaut), Boccaccio ’70 (Fellini), Viridiana (Bunuel), West Side Story, Judgement at Nuremberg, 101 Dalmatians, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Hustler, El Cid, The Misfits.
Popular music that year; Love Makes The World Go Round (Deon Jackson), Moon River (Audry Hepburn), Where the Boys Are (Connie Francis), Exodus (Ernest Gold), Crying (Roy Orbison), I Fall To Pieces (Patsy Cline), Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? (The Shirelles).
The OX BORN PERSON and Their PERSONALITY
The Ox is born under the double sign of equilibrium and tenacity. Sincere and honest he has much patience but also has obstinacy and pigheadedness as his characteristics. He is the sign of prosperity through determination and hard work. He is a powerful one and a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. He is dependable, calm and modest. Like their animal name, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint. Oxen people are born 1925, ’37, ’49, ’61, ’73, ’85, ’97, 2009, 2021.
Ox people need peace and quiet to work through their ideas, and when they have set their mind on something its hard for them to change direction. Ox people are very logical and extremely systematic in whatever they do, even without imagination. They speak little but are very intelligent. When its necessary they are very articulate and eloquent. They are the most honest hardworking people on earth. They do everything so well that some people leave them with all the work – but they don’t complain. They have respect for the law and of traditions and are very moral when it comes to breaking standards. They do have a unique and independent attitude towards things. They can be outspoken and make no bones about being unsubtle when they want to get things done. Often all is either black or white to them and they can’t be bothered with minor things – the rest is of little importance.
The influence of the Ox
They are kind, usually caring souls, positive, filled with common sense and with feet firmly planted on the ground. Security is their most important preoccupation in life, and they are prepared to toil long and hard in order to provide a warm, comfortable and stable nest for themselves and their families. Strong-minded, individualistic and stubborn, the majority are highly intelligent and don’t take kindly to being told what to do.
Falling in Love With an Ox
People born in the Ox year are more realists than romantic and sentimentality is not always a quality they show. The essential things such as eating, sleeping, working, keeping promises, protecting possessions and the safety of the family are the important ones. The Ox person is one who does want to feel loved, but are also extremely independent and like to organise their lives in their own way, however they do not try to make life impossible for those they love. As a husband or wife they have all those qualities we feel are important in husbands and wives – faithfulness, solidness and awareness of family responsibilities. They are good cooks, good handy-persons, and great housekeepers making sure all is in shape. The Ox person is often very devoted to his work and relationships can take second place. When he or she marries it means though they have complete confidence in their partner.. but be careful if you cross an Ox in business or marriage then he/she will never forget it. The memory of the error will remain there not forgotten. They make exceptional parents and being good at parenting is their virtue. They set good examples for their children and don’t ask things of their children that they would not do themselves. The Ox always emphasises the free development of the individuality in their children.
CELEBRITY OXEN – Famous people born in the Year of the Ox.
Politicians and Campaigners: Richard Nixon, Pandit Nehru, Barak Obama, Joko Widono, Scott Ritter, George Stephanopoulos, John Key, Julia Gillard, Cecil Rhodes.
Philosophers: Aristotle and Albert Camus.
Kings and Leaders: King Richard the Lionheart, Emperor Napoleon, Apache Chief Geronimo, Adolf Hitler, Princess Diana, Carole Baskin (Big Cat Rescue), Emiliano Zapata Salazar.
Writers, Composers and Artists: Johannes Bach, Walt Disney, Dvorak, Jean Cocteau, Rudyard Kipling, William Blake, William Yeats, Rubens, August Renoir, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Griffiths, Bob Woodruff, Paul Zanetti, Peter Jackson, Arundhati Roy, Bonnie Hunt.
Business & Sporting: Savvis Kofidus, David Ward, Yobes Ondienki, Dean Jones, Rod Latham, Carl Lewis, V.B. Chandrasekhar, John Walton, Merv Hughes.
Film and Stage Performers: Richard Burton, Charlie Chaplin, Vivian Leigh, Peter Sellers, George Clooney, Eddie Murphy, Michael J Fox, Woody Harrelson, Ricky Gervais, Robert Carlyle, Meg Ryan, Forest Whitaker, Lawrence Fishburne, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Imogen Stubbs, Mary Beth Evans, Dana Reeve, Martin Clunes, Mikey Robins, John Lynch, Johanne Whalley, Tim Roth, Anne Cusak, Ron Thomas, Amy Stiller, Billy Ray Cyrus.
Musicians and Singers: Boy George, Susan Boyle, Enya, Randy Jackson, Vince Neil, Latifa, Tak Matsumoto, K.D. Lang.
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