Recent news reports have covered the dramatic story of a young, idealistic American man, John Chau; a Christian missionary, who while attempting to bring his particular brand of faith to a remote, off-limits tribe, was killed by the very people he was trying to save. The case aroused considerable international interest and controversy. Highlighting as it has, the plight of remote, uncontacted peoples and the potential dangers such encounters raise for these tribes. It would appear that his misplaced enthusiasm for evangelising blinded him to the risks that he, as an outsider, posed to the peoples of North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Archipelago. Contact with such tribes poses a very real and immediate threat to their continued existence, wherever they are found, as they have no immunity to the diseases of the outside world. In previous encounters, even the common cold has been responsible for wiping out large portions…

Traditionally the Chinese have observed both a Solar and a Lunar calendar. We will be using their Solar calendar, also called the Hsia or Farmer’s calendar. This calendar is made up of two inter-connected cycles: One cosmic or astral, represented by the 10 Heavenly Stems (Gan) and, the other earthly or temporal, represented the12 Earthly Branches, (Zhi); better known as the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Together, they are known as the Gan-Zhi and when drawn up, one on top of the other, they make up 4 the Pillars of Destiny. One pillar for the year, one pillar for the month, one pillar for the day and one pillar for the hour. Both upper Heavenly Stems and lower Earthly Branches are in fact representations of the 5 elements of Chinese Yin, Yang theory. This theory posits that all things within the universe are either Yin or Yang. The way…

John Allan Chau’ Four Pillars: 18th Dec 1991 Yang Water Yang Metal Yin Metal Dog Rat Goat Current Luck Pillar from: 2017 (Age 26) Yin Water Rabbit Since we don’t know the time of his birth, we only have the Day, Month and Year of his birth to work from. This is not so important as the hour of birth is related more to one’s children and the later years of life, and we are not considering either of these factors. Further you will notice that we also have a fifth pillar, drawn up, that of his current ten-year luck period. These are known as one’s Current Luck Pillar. They have an impact on the period covered by them and divulge further information for us. By taking the Heavenly Stem of his Day of Birth, and considering the season in which he was born, the water month of the Rat,…

Perhaps the one example that many people, especially here in the Pacific will all know of well, and many further afield too, is that of Captain James Cook, explorer and cartographer extraordinaire. Killed by outraged Hawaiians on his third trip to the Pacific Ocean when he tried to kidnap a paramount chief and hold him to ransom over a boat that had gone missing from one of his ships. For some he is a hero who took his men on an incredible voyage of discovery and scientific exploration, while to others he is a villain, just as bad as Christopher Columbus, one to be reviled and cursed. Captain James Cook’s Four Pillars: 7th November 1728 Yin Water Yin Water Yang Earth Goat Pig Monkey Luck Pillar at the time of his death: Yang Earth Dragon Like John Chau, Captain James Cook was a Strong Water man. Although his Day Pillar…