Rooster, Hen and Hydrangeas — Ito Jakuchu

I asked my friend Tomaš D’Aradia — an aficionado of Chinese astrology — to write a short introduction to this year.

Welcome to the Year of the Rooster! Before you heave a sigh of relief at surviving 2016’s Year of the Fire Monkey, be advised: 2017 is also a Fire year, and it is a worthy sequel. Buckle up for a year of constant excitement, dazzling spectacle and hard work.

This is going to be a brash, showy year full of contradictions. Big parades and grand gestures throughout the Rooster year might suggest that ego and self-ag- grandisement rule the world, and that good hair, great PR and constant crowing are all that’s needed to succeed. All that show and bluster will amount to nothing, however, without a huge amount of genuine commitment, depth of understanding and attention to detail to back it up. Progress this year will depend upon proper re- search, planning, organisation and diligence. Trickery and shortcuts will lead nowhere.

Speculative ventures will require even more care and forethought than usual. The Rooster is all about detail. He also favours traditional, conservative ideas; practical, well-proven approaches are more likely to succeed. The flames flung about by last year’s wilful Fire Monkey resulted in such mischief and mayhem that we might be forgiven for thinking that anything is possible these days if we are wild and audacious enough. Beware! The sharp beak of the Rooster will peck that false sense of optimism and over confidence to destruction. Mad plans and wild chicken chases are best shelved for now.

The Rooster can indeed be a critical bird, sometimes to excess, and apparent slights and criticism may arouse a constant and general state of defensiveness this year. Protests and marches will abound, rivalling the shining parades of the political leaders as they posture and flex their muscles. An awful lot of effort will be spent digging in heels on both sides. Truth and value will take on swagger and hyperbole; image and sheen will be challenged for real content.

Old fashioned values will be high on the agenda, but there may be a distinct lack of consensus as to what those are. Strong principles and ethics will definitely be back in the spotlight though, as upheavals throughout the year challenge con- trasting ideas of morality.

This will be a year of overwhelming spectacle and grandeur, and it will be thrilling to be spectators. But honesty, candour and plain old conscientious effort will bring the most predictable prosperity this year. Deal straight, work hard and sit back and enjoy the show!