When It Comes To I Ching and Numerology, Apocalypse 2012 Is All About The Numbers
The March earthquake in Japan is eight months early by that forecast. “It doesn’t mean that next year it won’t happen again,” Wong adds.
Many of the concepts of feng shui take root in the system of divination outlined in the I Ching, one of the oldest Chinese texts and mythical in its stature. One of its root principles is the acceptance of change.
“There’s nothing in the I Ching that says the end of the world is coming in 2012,” feng shui grand master Raymond Lo Hang-lap asserts. “There’s no such prediction in Chinese astrology or feng shui or anything else.”
The I Ching – sometimes known in English as the “Book of Changes” – measures life by a repetitive calendar, much like the repetition of the seasons. So it doesn’t make a particular forecast of the end of the world. It’s a system of knowledge that can be understood in many ways, scholars say.
The Sung dynasty scholar Shao Yong did interpret the I Ching in a way that each of its 64 hexagrams translates to a set period in history – but that was his own interpretation. Even following that system, each hexagram lasts for thousands of years. We’re currently only half-way through the eighth hexagram, which totals 129,600 years. Add 50-some similar periods, some of them of much greater length, and we’ve got little to worry about next year.
But 2012 will be the Year of the Dragon, which has traditionally involved earthquakes, and is a water year. December is also a water month.
"If you look at feng shui, in 2012 the elements show that there is more chance of turbulence, financial disasters, big water flooding, earthquakes," Lo says. In December, "there will be a lot of water, and there could be big flooding or even a tsunami — but it doesn't mean the end of the world."
During this 20-year feng shui cycle, countries with water in the southwest and mountains in the northeast should fare well – with money stemming from the water and human harmony from the mountains. Lo believes that bodes well for the economic development of India and South Korea. When it was pointed out that Pakistan has similar features but has seen a lot of recent political strife, Lo noted it was a general theory, with specifics varying in each place.
Next year, Southeast Asia has negative energy, which this year comes from the East. So the next big earthquake is likely to originate there, Lo believes.
Chan, a teacher of numerology at the Hong Kong Tarot Centre, says the information on what's likely to happen next year has come from "channeling," receiving inspiration or messages from spirits and the invisible world. It's not particularly driven by numerology or the confluence of numbers on Dec. 21, 2012.
"There are rumors about the end of the world — but actually it is just a new century, or a new culture is coming," Chan explains.
She endorses taking a fairly relaxed approach based more on self-fulfillment than anything else.
"Don't be too scared – if it happens it happens," she suggests, recommending that you use any dramatic changes in the world around you as the impetus for change in your own life. "Think about who you are and what you really want in life."
Wong believes global stock markets may drop 20% to 30% next year. He believes investors need to be cautious, starting in the fourth quarter of this year. But there's only so much you can do.
"Now we are coming to a bad cycle, so I think we need to take it easy," Wong says. "You cannot be too afraid of all these things because everything is already fixed."
"Apocalypse 2012" will air on Thursday, December 20, 2012 at 9 p.m. and midnight ET on CNBC. The documentary will repeat on Friday, December 21, 2012 at 8 p.m.