The shocking and senseless bombing at 7 pm on the 7th August at the famous Erawan Shrine, one of Bangkok's busiest shopping and business precincts may well have been aimed at foreign visitors who along with many locals crowd the Shrine at this time of day. Whatever the insane motivation for such a bloody, cowardly act, the Four Pillars of such an event make for interesting analysis.
This is a fascinating and intriguingly accurate ancient Chinese system for understanding any major event. Based on the ancient Chinese Xia or Farmer's Calendar, it is predicated on the idea that everything within the universe can be divided into Yin and Yang and that the way in which Yin and Yang interact is through a process of interchanges or transformers; usually translated as the Five Elements of Chinese Metaphysics. In turn, the calendar observes two primary aspects, a cosmic or heavenly aspect and a temporal or earthly aspect. These are known as the ganzhi or 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches, the latter better known to Westerners as the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The former are representations of the 5 elements in either their yin or yang forms. The latter also, are actually the five elements in either yin or yang form; thus the Tiger is actually Yang Wood, the Rabbit is Yin Wood, the Snake is Yang Fore, the Horse is Yin Fire, Monkey is Yang Metal, the Rooster Yin Metal, the Rat, Yang Water and the Pig Yin Water. The Dragon and the Dog are Yang Earth while the Ox and the Goat are Yin Earth. The reason there are four Earth animals is that they act as the four seasonal interstices.
Here we can see the Year, Month, Day and Hour of the event:
Yang Fire
Yin Wood
Yang Wood
Yin Wood
Dog Earth
Ox Earth
Monkey Metal
Goat Earth
Within this system, two primary sign posts of major events are disturbances known as Clashes and Penalties. Clashes occur when two opposing animal signs appear at the same time. They are opposing simply because they sit opposite one another within the circle of twelve.
This year is the year of the Goat. This is in direct Clash with the Day of the Ox since the Goat and the Ox are in Clash against each other, sitting opposite one other in the Chinese zodiac as they do. Such a clash is a serious one and can indicate major disturbances. The hour is the hour of the Dog. These three animals (Ox, Goat and Dog), form what is known as a 3 Earth Penalty; also a serious disturbance; one that signifies a major event near or just under the ground. This is because the Dog is known as the Gate of Hell. Events related to this Gate of Hell, frequently see quite large death rates. It is significant that one New Zealand medic who attended the site, described pulling the living from out under piles of the dead.
That it was such a strong explosion, is indicated by the large amount of wood that surrounds the Yang Fire Heavenly Stem of the Hour. Furthermore the Goat and the Ox both add to this fire by their own hidden fire elements. (Each of the twelve animals hides such unseen aspects. The fire hiding within the Goat and the Ox is Yin Fire. Yin fire is related to sudden and violent explosions.)
One final factor that helps us further understand the events of the 17th August in Bangkok and why this particular location could be expected to be a focal point for such a violent event is the very potent and aggressive Drawn Bow emanating against the Erawan Shrine from the nearby Sky Train line (opened 1999). This raised rapid transit system, runs directly in a convex line across the famous Ratchaprasong intersection at which the site of the Erawan Shrine is situated. Such sharp convex lines are known as Drawn Bows for their resemblance to a drawn bow and arrow. They are famous in classical feng shui for emanating violence. This is not the first time in recent years that this intersection has seen considerable civil unrest and outright violence. Laying at the heart of one of Bangkok's major shopping and business precincts, this area has seen numerous violent clashes between the Red and Yellow Shirts during the recent years of civil unrest.
The sharp Drawn Bow emanating off the Sky Train line and onto the site of the Erawan Shrine at the Ratchaprasong Intersection
Red Shirts occupy Ratchaprasong Intersection 2010; Drawn Bow of the Sky Train cuts a convex line directly across the Erawan Shrine to images left. Image © Holger Bauer
Auckland too has many of these drawn bows. One especially nasty one is that which cuts across the intersection of Great North Rd into Railside Rd, Henderson and is notorious for the number of violent encounters within it. Myer's Park, in the inner city is another with a long history of violence, often ending in death is caught between two Drawn Bows which come off Mayoral Drive and Spaghetti Junction.
Myer's Park cut by Drawn Bows from Mayoral Drive and Spaghetti Junction