Checking Individual Well-Being for the New Lunar Year
In Bhutanese tradition, to assess one’s well-being for the coming lunar year, many people wait for the release of the Dathog (Almanac). However, the Dathog often arrives quite late. One of its most important features is the annual calculation of the Five Forces, which is considered critical, as it forecasts the overall well-being of an individual or family for the year ahead. Based on these forecasts, people take unfavorable predictions seriously and carry out necessary remedial measures.
In this note, I would like to demonstrate how these calculations are made. The method is very straightforward. Once you understand the principles, you will be able to calculate the Five Forces for anyone, for any year, without depending solely on the Dathog. Using this system, you can check well-being for years ranging from 2023, 2024, 2025, and so on, up to 2046.
Step 1: Understanding Birth Year and Permanent Five Forces
To begin, one must know the birth year and the five elements associated with the Five Life Forces. These permanent elements are fixed for each birth sign. I will not go into complex calculations here. Instead, I have prepared three charts that:
Show each Birth Year with its Element, and
List the elements of the Five Forces (Life, Health, Power, Luck, and Soul) across the sixty-year cycle.
By studying these charts carefully, you can identify your own permanent element for each of the Five Forces.
Step 2: Comparing with the Year’s Elements
To calculate the well-being for a particular year:
Identify the year’s Five Force elements.
Compare them with the individual’s permanent Five Force elements.
Check the degree of harmony between the two.
The results indicate the person’s well-being in that year.
Example 1
Checking Water Monkey (1992) well-being for 2022 (Water Tiger):
| Five Forces | Water Tiger | Water Monkey | Element Harmony |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life | Wood | Metal | OO |
| Health | Metal | Metal | X |
| Power | Water | Water | O |
| Luck | Metal | Wood | XX |
| Soul | Water | Earth | OO |
Step 3: Using the “Degrees of Element Harmony” Chart
To interpret harmony, refer to the chart titled “Degrees of Element Harmony”. The sequence is always presented as:
First element = element of the year being checked.
Second element = permanent element of the individual’s Five Force.
Example 2
Checking Water Monkey (1992) well-being for 2023 (Water Hare):
| Five Forces | Water Hare | Water Monkey | Element Harmony |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life | Wood | Metal | OO |
| Health | Metal | Metal | X |
| Power | Water | Water | O |
| Luck | Fire | Wood | 0X |
| Soul | Water | Earth | OO |
Example 3
Checking Water Monkey (1992) well-being for 2030 (Metal Dog):
| Five Forces | Metal Dog | Water Monkey | Element Harmony |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life | Earth | Metal | OOO |
| Health | Metal | Metal | X |
| Power | Metal | Water | OOO |
| Luck | Metal | Wood | XX |
| Soul | Fire | Earth | OOO |
Conclusion
With this method, you can independently predict the well-being of any birth sign for any year by understanding and applying the Five Forces calculation.
Tashi Delek,
Phub Dorji Wang
