In 2008, according to the yearly Flying Star, the number 1 star is in the centre. The effects of the number 1 star will make it easy to have occasional money, travel and love affairs. According to the 3 Round 9 Fortune, (the 180 year cycle of energy,) we are currently in the 8th fortune. One Fortune is equal to 20 years, and three fortunes make up one Round. The 8th fortune began on the 4th february 2004 and lasts until 3rd february 2024 .

For the 8th Fortune period, the number 8 star is in the centre, which means it is the active star. The number 8 star represents money, prosperity, property and promotion. The No.8 star element is earth, the colour is white. The No. 1 star representsbusiness, occasional money, trav el and love affairs. The No.1 star element is water, the colour is white. With both these stars coming into the centre in 2008, we can analyse how their chemistry will influence this year.

The No.8 star element is earth, the No.1 star element is water, according to the productive and destructive cycles, earth destroys water. This means any thing represented by the number 1 star will have trouble. For instance, there will be more scandals, the entertainment business will experience problems. In our bodies, the number 1 star represents blood, kidneys eyes and ears. There may be more miscarriages, eye and ear problems and kidney illnesses. In the Early Heaven Pa Qua, Kan represents the middle son. So this year, the middle son will experience more problems.

In the previous sections we have analysed the Chinese Astrology and Flying Star Feng Shui for this year. In this section we will now combine both together to make some predictions for the year ahead. Middle East The number 8 and 1 star are in the centre this year and as we are in the 8th Fortune, the com bination of the number 8 star which is earth destroying the number 1 star which is water will mean there will not be peace, with scandals, trouble and droughts destabilizingthe region. Given the troubles and conflicts in the area, we cannot expect the region to change too much, although we will see some positive progress. The personal astrology of the leaders will play a part, the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is Year of the Pig, the Syrian leader Bashar al Assad is year of the snake and the Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is year of the chicken.

This means that they will not be able to pursue their own agendas to the same extent, which in the case of these countries, may in fact be positive for the region as a whole. However the main focus is likely to be on Iraq and Iran and oil interests. Petroleum will con tinue to dominate global decision making strategically, commercially, politically, militarily, and environmentally, with Iraq continuing to be the source of much unrest in the region. According to the US George W Bush’s personal astrology he is year of the dog, he may get a shock this year but as he is leaving power he will probably want to leave a positive legacy. In the South Western areas of the Middle East you are more likely to have conflicts in coun tries like Yemen. With the number 5 star combined with the the Broken Year (soi paw) and 3 Sha stars in Chinese astrology there will be trouble, bad luck and economicproblemsin the Southern areas of Iran and Iraq creating a lot of tension for the rest of the country. Passions will continued to be stirred by violence in the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala in southern Iraq and there will be continued bloodshed, terrorist incursions and civil unrest.

USA

The USA represents the Western hemisphere. The number 3 star is in the West this year rep resents, arguments, fighting and conflict. Combined with the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) and Golden God in Chinese astrology even though there are economic problems like recession in the West these problems can be sorted out. The U.S. economy is now in the danger zone. GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2007 (0.0%) and first half of 2008 (0.8% in the first quar ter and 1.8% in the second quarter) is expected to be very weak. The United States will be extremely vulnerable to credit shocks this year and especially as Middle Eastern investors are wary of investing in the US due to being tied to terrorism.

The number 5 star representing trouble is in the South of the country in 2008, together with the bad Chinese Astrology stars the Broken Year (soi paw) and 3 Sha which will bring trou ble, bad luck and are bad for the economy. This will mean an increased chance of terrorist threats, natural disasters such as storms, drought or fires, and flooding, plane and train crash es, and road accidents. The Southern US states bordering Mexico like New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Colardo, Oklahoma, Louisiana will see more troubleand outbreaks of violence.

The number 2 star representing illness and the Great Prosperity (die lei) and 1 Little Prosperity (siew lei) starsare in the north west of the USA which will be good economically but with more illness problems. Men will have more stomach problems and women more reproductive problems. The North West includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana areas and parts of Wyoming.

The number 6 star, 2 Facing sha and Year God are in the North this Year which will produce conflict and terrorist attacks, as well as natural disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, flooding and volcanic eruptions. Business wise there are only minor economic benefits, but there are no major economic centres to be unduly effected. The Northern districts of cities will have more trouble. Areas effected North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

In the west of the country, the number 3 star combined with the influence of the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) and Golden God stars will make this area successful economically this year and will see an increase in conflicts, arguments, court cases and demonstrations. Areas effected include Nevada, Utah and California (San Francisco), In the South West, the number 7 star could bring civil unrest, an increase in rape, robberies and a chance of riots in Los Angeles. You can already see the problems of the writer’s strike on the heart of the world’s entertainment industry and the negative influence of number 1 and 8 in the centre exasperatingthis.

With the 1 Spirit Mansion and Year Sha, the South Western area of the the US will be very bad with an increase in criminal activity in Las Vegas. Overall there will be an increased chance of terrorist threats, natural disasters such as storms, fires, earthquakes and flooding, plane and train crashes, and road accidents. Areas effected include Arizona, New Mexico and California. In the East, the number 8 star combined with the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) star will be very good economicallyand politically for Washington and the property business will thrive. Areas effected include Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.

This year the number 9 star is in the South East which represents good news, money, promotion which will help the tourist trade have a prosperous 2008 in Florida and Miami a pop ular tourist destination, but due to the Robber star there will also be some trouble in the region. The number 9 star is the second busiest star representing marriage, children, good news, promotion, and it makes it easier to have love affairs, combined with the Chinese astrology star the Great Prosperity (die lei) star it will help make this area very busy this year. The areas effected include South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

This year the number 4 star is in the North East which is good for fame studying and romance. the Golden God, Little Prosperity (siew lei) star will bring a lot of money in this area. The Northeast is already the richest region of the United States of America with New York alone accounting for nearly 8% of U.S. gross domestic product. The areas effected include Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Connnecticut.

England

The Mayor of London and people wanting his office, politicians in this country, people in the entertainment business and celebrities should have a lot of scandals and love affairs this year because the number 1 is in the centre this year. Gordon Brown’s has already had a whole raft of scandals like losing valuable social security data, the details of three million candidates for the driving theory test have gone missing, in October, the prime minister had to apologise for the loss of two discs containing the entire child benefit database personal details of 25 mil lion people including National Insurance numbers and bank accounts. and sensitive military data was from a stolen laptop and another laptop containing personal data on around 600,000 applicants to the armed forces .

The Government also had to rescue Northern Rock for £20 billion at huge expense to the taxpayer and Government minister Peter Hain resigned over his £100,000 expenses scandal. It will therefore be a good year for the tabloid media reporting scandals! The main areas of concern for the England and London are the South West, South, West and North areas. Starting with the no. 5 star in the South, together with the bad Chinese Astrology Broken Year (soi paw) and 3 Shastars there will be an increased chance of terrorist threats, natural disasters such as storms, fires, flooding, plane and train crashes and road accidents.

Southern towns like Portsmouth and Southampton will see more outbreaks of violence. The South London Boroughs like Croydon, Bromley, Lewisham, Southwark, Wandsworth and Lambeth will have a lot more problems and trouble with terrorist incidents likely to come from this or the South West area. Number 6 star, 2 Facing sha and Year God stars are in the North of England and North London this Year which will produce conflict and terrorist attacks, as well as natural disas ters such as landslides and flooding.

Business wise there are only minor economic benefits. The Northern districts of cities will have more trouble. Areas effected would include Northern towns like Leeds and Nottingham and the Northern London Boroughs of Islington, Enfield and Camden. In the west of the country, the number 3 star combined with the influence of the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) and Golden God will make this area more successful economically this year, although you will see an increase in conflicts, arguments and court cases. In the West End of London there will be a lot of more demonstrations, argumentsand fighting. Towns effected would be the areas of Bristol and Bath. In the South West, the number 7 star and the 1 Spirit Mansion and Year Sha stars, will bring civil unrest, an increase in rape, sea disasters, flooding, plane and train crashes, road accidents and natural disasters such as storms along the South West coast.

The South West areas of London would include the Boroughs of Sutton, Merton, Kingston, Richmond and Wandsworth. Terrorist incidents in London are more likely to relate to the South West and South areas of London. The number 2 star representing illness and the Great Prosperity (die lei) and 1 Little Prosperity (siew lei) stars north west of the UK which will be good economically but with more illness problems. Men will have more stomach problems and women more reproductive problems.

The North West effects Blackpool, Preston and the City of Liverpool which is goingto be the European capital of culture this year. In the East, the number 8 star combined with the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) star will be very good economicallyfor the East Anglia area which effects Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk and the property business will be successful. In London the East End will be very busy with increasing property investment and the Olympic build up in Stratford will create more demand for property.

This year the number 9 star is in the South East which represents good news, money, promotion which will effect the counties of Kent and Sussex and towns like Brighton and Eastbourne. As the Channel Tunnel is in this area there will be increasing tourism but due to the Robber star there will also be some trouble in the region. The number 9 star is the second busiest star representing marriage, children, good news, promotion, and it makes it easier to have love affairs, combined with the Chinese astrology star the Great Prosperity (die lei) star it will help make this area very busy this year. The South East areas of London like Greenwich and Bexley will be positively effected.

This year the number 4 star is in the North East which is good for fame, studying and romance. The Golden God, Little Prosperity (siew lei) star will bring a lot of money in this area. The Northeast effects the areas of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear. The shipbuilding industry that dominated both Wearside and Tyneside and has now estab lished itself as an international centre of art and culture, scientific research, high technology and petrochemical industry will benefit a lot this year. In London the boroughs of Hackney, Waltham Forest and Redbridge will be positively effected.

Europe

The number 3 star is in the West this year which represents, demonstrations, fighting and conflict. Combined with the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) and Golden God stars in Chinese astrology even though there are economic problems like recession in the West and in Europe, with a lot of inward investment these problems will be resolved. The number 5 star representing trouble is in Southern Europe in 2008, together with the bad Chinese Astrology stars the Broken Year (soi paw) and 3 Sha which will bring trouble, bad luck and are bad for the economy. This will mean an increased chance of terrorist threats, nat ural disasters such as storms, drought or fires, and flooding, plane and train crashes, and road accidents.

The Southern countries of Italy, Greece and Albania will be effected. The number 2 star representing illness and the Great Prosperity (die lei) and 1 Little Prosperity (siew lei) starsare in the north west of Europe which will be good economically but with more illness problems. Men will have more stomach problems and women more reproductive problems. The North West includes Ireland. The number 6 star, 2 Facing sha and Year God are in the North this Year which will produce conflict and terrorist attacks, as well as natural disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, flooding and volcanic eruptions. Business wise there are only minor economic benefits.

The Northern countries of the UK, Holland and Denmark will be effected. The number 3 star combined with the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) and Golden God stars are in the west of Europe that will make this area successful economically this year but you will see an increase in conflicts, arguments, court cases and demonstrations. In western Europe, France, Germany and Belgium are effected. In the South West, the number 7 star could bring civil unrest, an increase in rape, robberies and a chance of riots in Spain and Portugal. With the 1 Spirit Mansion and Year Sha, the South Western area of the Europe will be very bad with an increase in criminal activity. Overall there will be an increased chance of terrorist threats, natural disasters such as storms, fires, earthquakes and flooding, plane and train crashes, and road accidents.

In the East, the number 8 star combined with the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) star will be very good economicallyand politically for the Eastern European countries that have just joined the EU like Poland, Romania, Czech Republic and Hungary and Slovakia and the property busi ness will thrive. This year the number 9 star is in the South East which represents good news, money, promo tion which will help the tourist trade have a prosperous 2008 in, but due to the Robber star there will also be some trouble in the region.

The number 9 star is the second busiest star rep resenting marriage, children, good news, promotion, and it makes it easier to have love affairs, combined with the Chinese astrology star the Great Prosperity (die lei) star it will help make this area very busy this year. The areas effected include Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia. This year the number 4 star is in the North East which is good for national recognition, study ing and international awards. The Golden God, Little Prosperity (siew lei) star will bring a lot of money in this area and recognition for the country. The areas effected include Norway, Sweden and Finland.

China All eyes are on China this year as they host the Olympics and for 1.3 billion Chinese it will be an important showcase to the world as the country becomes increasinglyopen and com petitive on the world market. China waited 10 years to hold the Olympics and only now can they have it with the feng shui, after 2008 China will turn into a superpower. They are the only country to challenge America and cannot be held back. All round the world China is buying the energy and resources from other countries due to the booming economy. In the East, the number 8 star combined with the 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) star will be very good economicallyand politically for Beijing and Shanghai and the Shangdong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Henan and Shanxi provinces and the property business will thrive. With the good stars in the east of the earth this year, it looks set to be an excellent year for the Chinese, as the economy continues to grow rapidly in the year of the Olympics. Investing in China will be particularly profitable with tourism bringing in a lot of revenue.

This will be a good year and open up China as an even more popular destination for industry and tourism. Although the world’s media will put the spotlight on China. The media is already picking up on the country's abysmal safety record in the run up to the Olympics and activists are trying to politi cise the Olympics with links to human rights issues, Tibet and Sudan, to little avail. The number 9 star is in the South East which represents good news, money and promotion which will effect the provinces of Guangdon, Fujian, Jianxi and Zhejiang. This will be good for Hong Kong and Macau due to increased tourism but due to the Robber star there will also be some trouble in the region.

The number 9 star is the second busiest star representing mar riage, children, good news, promotion, and it makes it easier to have love affairs, combined with the Chinese astrology star the Great Prosperity (die lei) star it will help make this area very busy this year.

The number 5 star together with the bad Chinese Astrology stars in the south the Broken Year (soi paw) and 3 Sha will bring trouble, bad luck and are be bad for the economy. This will mean an increased chance of terrorist threats, natural disasters such as storms, fires, and flooding, plane and train crashes, and road accidents. The Southern areas of China like the Zhuang autonomous region and the Guizhou and Yunnan province will be effected. The number 7 star and 1 Spirit Mansion and Year Sha stars in the south west will see an increase in flooding, an increased chance of terrorist threats, plane and train crashes, road accidents and natural disasters such as storms. The South Western areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of the province of Yunnan will be negatively effected. In the north west, the Xinjiang province is affected by the number 2 star (illness) and the Great Prosperity (die lei) and 1 Little Prosperity (siew lei) stars. This will cause health prob lems and although their should be less tension with the muslim population due to slight eco nomic improvements.

Accidents, Climate, and Natural disasters The no 1 star in the centre will cause a lot of disasters, for example train, plane and ship dis asters, and droughts. All around the world there will be a higher risk than usual of droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides, flooding, storms, hurricanes and forest fires. Countries on the major earthquake fault lines will have to be prepared. However, some of these disasters are likely to be caused by the effects of increasing global warming, making the climate unpredictable. We had further confirmation of this in 2006 with reports that the ice on top of the Himalayas is melting. Some experts believe the ice cap could disappear altogether by the end of the 21st Century. Analysis of data gathered by US Navy submarines have suggested that the ice draught in the Arctic (the difference between the surface of the ocean and the bottom of the ice pack) has thinned by more than 40% over the past 40 years. They point to the rapid thinning of ice in the Arctic as further evidence of global warming. This will increase flooding in the future all round the world. Sir David King the Prime Minister of England’s chief scientist, Sir King said in an article in 2004, “In my view, climate change is the most severe problem we are facing today, more serious even than the threat of terrorism.”

War and Terrorism

According to Flying Star Feng Shui, in 2008 trouble will continue as 8 & 1 come together in the centre. However, this should not lull us into a false sense of security. George W.Bush has made some headway in Iraq and Afghanistan, although his war on terrorists creates many new terrorists, and we will see the repercussions of this before too long. The front line states like Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey on the border of Iraq, are all experiencing the con tinual battle against terrorism. China has started to disclose information to the West on ter rorism and Iran is still in stalemate with America. As China’s power increases they will want to protect their economic interests.

Economy

In mid January 2008 Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said that the outlook for the US economy in 2008 has worsened. His comments in Washington come after leading investment banks warned that the US was heading for a recession. The US is facing the twin threats of how to tackle a slowing housing market and lower consumer spending while at the same time addressing inflation as oil and food prices rise. The impact the slowing housing market, and specifically the sub-prime mortgage crisis, was having a negative effect on the wider economy.

Banks are having to write off billions of dollars of investments linked to sub-prime debt loans taken out by people with bad or little credit histories this has made them reluctant to lend, limiting the availability of credit. Merrill Lynch controversially said the US had already entered a recession, while Goldman Sachs has also suggested it is heading in that direction. The forecast for 2008 is looking rocky but manageable.With the bad stars in the north, south and south west and good stars in the east and south east, the main trend in 2008 will be China continuing to grow faster than any other economy. Japan, South Korea, and India will all be doing well. The western business economies will get through any trouble from the number 3 star with the good stars 2 Great Prosperity (die lei) and Golden God stars this year. China, Japan. India and Taiwan will all have strong economies this year.

Politcs

People increasingly want more democracy although with countries like Pakistan it is the lead ers that will not let go with Benazir Bhutto paying with her life. In Kenya again the people stared to riot for their rights and in Zimbabwe Mugabe will still not give up power, there will be a lot more civil unrest this year.

Analysis for the next 20 years

Times will become harder as we move toward the end of the Lower Round in 40 years time. Conflicts and wars will only increase. We can also use the I Ching 2 Round 8 Fortune to look ahead. We are currently in the I Ching Lower Round, 8th Fortune, which began in 1996 and is heading toward the 9th Fortune in 2017. Both Flying Star 3 Round 9 Fortune and I Ching 2 Round 8 Fortune total 180 years as a cycle, so in about 40 years time a new cycle will start. This period will give rise to recession, mass unemployment, violent attacks and crime, growing drug abuse, more Islamic fundamentalism, environmental pollution, rising divorce rates, growing numbers of transexuals, an increase in AIDS and other illnesses, natural disasters, and after the EU, burgeoning globalisation.

There will be a polarisation of ideologies towards Islam or Christianity. With both Russia and China gradually embracing a more capitalist ide ology, fundamentalist Islamic countries will be the source of most tension. These countries will fight against non-islamic countries and Islam will clash with all the other religions. Even within China the Islamic fundamentalists will still be causing a lot of problems, and so the Chinese will support the West against them. There will be a lot of political game-playing as each country tries to make the best of the sit uation for themselves. From the I Ching, we can see that in 2005 we entered a more peace ful period that will last until 2025. The Third World War will start from around 2025.

2004 analysis
2005 analysis
2006 analysis
2007 analysis

This is an excerpt from Master Simon Wong's comprehensive 2008 Feng Shui book Inside the book you will find more detailed predictions about world leaders and events as well as superb in-depth information on Chinese Astrology and Feng Shui in 2008.