Kung Hei Fa Choi! Happy Lunar New Year!
It is the Year of the Rabbit and once again Robert Rogers CSEP looks at the ‘FengShui for events’.
How will the rabbit affect your party?
The Rabbit doesn’t officially arrive until February 4th, the official start of spring so you still have time to get your Fung Shui cures into place. Good stars are in the west, south and the north. East has an illness star with conflict in the southeast misfortune in the northwest. So place your registration facing west to bring in the money and make sure the buffet is not in the east.
2023 is a “water rabbit year”, unlike the yang water tiger of 2022 the rabbit is of the spring and is a ‘yin wood’ and the water is a ‘yin water’. So if the tiger was a wooden boat on the ocean the rabbit like a field of grass with a light rain or morning dew on clover. The tiger held a stick but the rabbit holds a carrot. Last year we were constantly being beat by the rules and regulations surrounding covid , this year it will be up to us to ensure the event is safe.
The last water rabbit was in1963, that year saw the assassination of Kennedy, MLK’s “I have a dream” speech, several major earth related disasters (earthquakes, volcanoes and mining accidents) and the sanctioning of Cuba by the US. In 2023 as the harsh rules of covid fade away the challenges we face are not gone just less hash, more subversive, more subtle behind the scenes issues. The war in Ukraine will fade but the cold war will heat up. We will see more ‘backroom deals’ and machinisations. The problems facing us wont go away just less ‘in your face’. The year of the rabbit is a good time to network and make new friends, clean out all those old business card and update your contacts, many of the old ones have moved on.
The events industry is a fire industry and like the stock market or airlines we won’t see big solid growth until the snake in 2025. The rabbit however is considered a “Peach Blossom” or “Flower Romance” which will stimulate entertainment, art and other romantic business. So the wedding industry will do well along with more social events. Peach Blossom years are good for sex and romance, particularly for people born in year of (or day of) Tiger, Horse or Dog. Peach blossom years stimulate activities such as entertainment, movies, singing, art, beauty. With the Rabbit also comes an Academic star, this combination creates a boom in cultural developments. In 1963 pop culture found its roots and began to flourish as the first real ‘teenagers’, young adults still living at home and working so had spare money bought music, clothes and entertainment. Beatlemania, Dr. No, Brigette Bardot, Bob Dylan and the first ‘smiley face’ were all booming in 1963. It is also the year the most expensive movie of the time, Cleopatra was released, and Lawrence of Arabia won best picture in the 35th Academy Awards. Event goers will be looking for connection and new experience. In order to be successful in the corporate world you will need to ‘fesivalize’ events, get them offline and bring them together. Interest in metaverse will wane for a while but come back next year as we enter the ‘age of 9’.
Yin Water is symbolized by a humble drop of water. It represents intelligence, flexibility and considerate thinking. Yin water creates clever compromising solutions and innovative, creative ideas. This is a perfect opportunity for event professionals to show their skills. Like grass, flowers, or vines in the spring. It is a good time for growth, for learning, and for creating. The Water Rabbit is a time for ‘watering the lawn’ but water carefully too much can drown the lawn to little will dry out. Therefore, we need to plan our projects carefully and as early as possible. Don’t be rushed by those clients that are over anxious with short timelines.
The Rabbit symbolizes good luck, patience, prosperity, and vigor while the Yin Water element represents sensitivity, intuition, and inner peace. Combined, we can expect to move into a more patient and gentle 2023, with a few lucky breaks.
