At the height of its empire, they said, “All roads lead to Rome”.
And all clicks lead to shopping. 

We’ve just passed peak gifting season but fear not! Chinese Lunar New Year and Eid are coming right up…

The global economy loves to run with the bulls. And it loves shoppers for their irrational exuberance and bullish market sentiment. 

The competition for precious consumer attention now plays out in retail events as big or bigger than the festive occasions they ride on. Take for example, the curiously named Black Friday and Singles Day.

The Mega Sale out of America is rivalled by 11.11, China’s SIngles’ Day, pitched as a celebration of personal independence – with a dash of retail therapy. 

How to Shop the Story

But Black Friday and 11.11 SIngles’ Day weren’t always shopping events reaching around the world. They emerged, organically, from local contexts – from a Friday traffic jam in Philadelphia in 1950s America, and as a celebration of singlehood among Nanjing University students in early-90s China (note the 1’s).

They exemplify how ‘origin stories’ change over time, altering collective memory, the course of history, and the coordinates of our future.  

And if they don’t change, they fade away as the sun sets on older generations, just as another 11.11 story from another part of the world shows:

At 11 am on 11 November, 1918, the end of hostilities was declared in Europe, bringing World War 1 to an end. Remembrance Day is still observed – while the war veterans who fought for peace in our time are still in living memory.

Why Number 1, Origin Stories and Context Matter in Chinese Metaphysics 

In classical Chinese Metaphysics, assessments of potential outcomes turn on context. 

Stories. The holistic view. The bigger, moving picture; painted in revealing detail by dynamic patterns of Qi.

How stories emerge from their particular time, place, and culture – and how they might evolve.  

We see their interplay or trinity of Heaven Luck (seasonal patterns), Earth Luck (Feng Shui) and Man Luck (BaZi). 

What does this mean for you? For one, we’re transitioning into the new era of Period 9 where Fire is the dominant element. 

Fire’s transformative qualities are causing climate change to manifest differently around the world, whether you live in city or country, by the coast or up in the hills.

How natural phenomena and economic circumstances affect us on the individual level can be read from the Feng Shui of our living environment and BaZi birth charts, down to a fine degree of detail and accuracy.

Here’s the thing. As part of the Heaven, Earth, Man Luck trinity, our decisions and actions can steer our circumstances one way or another – if we understand and see clearly what’s ahead.

In classical Chinese Metaphysics, Star 1 is associated with Water, the element of Winter, that begins a new seasonal cycle. That’s right now. January 1, 01.01: get ready to ride the Fire Horse.