Kousha Navidar: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I'm Kousha Navidar, filling in for Brian today. Today, we've gone through some heavy topics, but there are also a lot of reasons to celebrate. For instance, Lunar New Year. Let's end the show with your Lunar New Year celebrations. Tuesday marked the start of the year of the fire horse in the Chinese zodiac tradition. Did you know that in addition to the 12-year animal cycle, and I just learned this, each year is also ascribed one of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

The fire horse only comes around every 60 years, and it's supposed to be very intense is my understanding. How do we make the most of it? Joining me now to help us celebrate Lunar New Year and catch some good luck, maybe, is Master Pun-Yin, feng shui master and Chinese Zodiac expert. She was the feng shui consultant in the revitalization project of Times Square and Unisphere at Columbus Circle. Master Pun-Yin, welcome to WNYC.

Master Pun-Yin: Thank you. My pleasure, Kousha.

Kousha Navidar: Listeners, Lunar New Year festivities will be taking place until March 3rd. I want to know how you're celebrating. What are your family or community traditions for this time of year? Are you hosting an event? Here's your opportunity to plug it on live radio. Even if you're not a part of the culture per se, how do you join in on the fun? Call or text us with Lunar New Year in New York City. Plans, suggestions, memories. We are at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-3692. Okay, so Lunar New Year is often called Chinese New Year, but it's not just China that celebrates it, right, Master Pun-Yin? Which countries and people celebrate this holiday?

Master Pun-Yin: That's right. Besides China and Hongkongers, people in Taiwan, Korea, and throughout Southeast Asia, as well as people from those countries around the world, celebrate the Lunar New Year because that existed before the Solar New Year came about. It's a 15-year festivity. Now until March 3rd, that completes the New Year cycle. It is important for all of us for good luck to be doing things that make us happy, calm, and see positive people.

Kousha Navidar: What's the origin story of Lunar New Year? What are we exactly celebrating?

Master Pun-Yin: That is the time for people who celebrated to get together as a family, like a reunion likened to the Thanksgiving in America. Also, we pay respect to the divine energy, our elders, our ancestors. Everybody together have great food and be in happy spirit to receive the new cycle like we nurture a seed to bloom for good things, wishing each other the best, because thought has power, and what we choose, when we share love, and we give each other well wishes. That is one that gives it a good beginning.

Especially now, this Year of the Horse is a rocky one. Last year, I spoke at the Harvard Club and MOCA Museum for fundraising. I mentioned that it's ever more important for people to be careful with our thought and stay away from things that would make us upset so that we could be at peace and have clarity through this rocky year, whether you just talked about Iran or anything, because, right now, the politics in America and geopolitically is challenging. As individuals, we got to be smart to plan our money, plan our life differently with reserve, with better long-term plan financially, so that we could be flexible and not be caught off-guard.

Kousha Navidar: Let's go to Deborah in Branchville, New Jersey, because I want to dive in a little bit more about these signs. Deborah, hi, welcome to the show.

Deborah: Thank you. Back in the '70s, there was a wonderful book called The Book of Chinese Horoscopes. It was very comprehensive, even to the point of if you were born as I was in the Year of the Horse, in 1954, which the element for that year was wood, it would also ask what your sun sign was, so you could look up Taurus, born in the Year of the Horse. Now, what I understood from that book was that for those born in the year, so this is a year of my birth, that we don't do well, that you don't do well in the sign of your own animal during that year.

Because I had another situation where something for a close relative of mine, I looked up her year in the book. It said that that year, 1989, was a year of disaster for her, and it was definitely a failed disaster. I've come to take these things somewhat seriously. I just wanted your opinion on, for all of us born in the Year of the Horse, whether it was 1954 or any of the other years that I can recall, what might we be likely to experience in that year? What can we do, whether through practice or wearing certain things or colors, to hopefully improve our fortune?

Kousha Navidar: Deborah, thank you so much. Master Pun-Yin, what do you think?

Master Pun-Yin: Well, very good question. You have a listener so well-read in the subject. Yes, the Chinese astrology and feng shui has been around for a few thousand years. Traditionally, there are some signs according to this year, besides the Year of the Horse, that would be challenging also for people born in the year of the rat, ox, and air. In theory, also, people that's good luck would be of the sheep, chicken, rooster, and boar. Then, like the Tin-Sun lineage, I am of the 12 generations of this art.

We take it further to not only the Chinese zodiac sign of 12 categories of what can happen to people, but taking that further by using the destiny blueprint strategy. That is the five elements composition from the time that people were born. That gives insight to the true core energy and destiny of the person. That's why even if the zodiac sign-- Right now, they share pressures with everybody, all 12 signs, I tell you, because of the president of the United States really creating a new world order that have been talking about for three years among the press. Everybody needs to be more doing things to calm themselves down, unplug, and stay away from the news at night.

Kousha Navidar: It sounds like Deborah could benefit from what you're saying of unplugging and calming down. Let's go to Eugene in Suffolk County. Eugene, I understand that you want to share how you're celebrating Lunar New Year?

Eugene: Yes. Hello, everybody.

Kousha Navidar: Hi.

Eugene: I celebrated it in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, where they call it Losar. It's very similar to the Chinese Lunar New Year of the male fire horse. We had a sangha, which is our religious community, and our lama, who is trained in Tibet or trained with Tibetan lamas. We have a nice party, a lot of people. We did pujas, which are the religious ceremonies, and had a little party afterwards. It was a very nice time for everybody. It was good to be with the sangha, with the community, the religious community.

Kousha Navidar: That's wonderful, Eugene. Did you celebrate with a lama? Did I hear that correctly?

Eugene: Yes, with a lama. Yes, Lama Rangbar Nyimai Özer.

Kousha Navidar: That's wonderful, Eugene. Thank you so much for sharing that. Listeners, we want to hear how you are celebrating your Lunar New Year festivities. Give us a call or send us a text. That's 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. We've got some more texts coming in. One reads, "Queens Center Mall is having a Lunar New Year celebration this Saturday, February 21st, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, featuring a lion's dance and performance by AAPI Jazz Collective performing classic Asian songs in a jazz style."

That's Peter Lin from Bloomfield, New Jersey. Peter, thank you so much. I can say for myself personally, I love going to DeKalb Market, where they often have a Lunar New Year that is a celebration that's similar to what Peter is describing. We've got another text here that says, "Well, I'm Jewish, but the Lunar New Year always coincides with Rosh Chodesh, which is new month for us because we also use a lunar calendar, so we do some extra prayers, which is wonderful." Master Pun-Yin, we've got a question here that's asking about how you actually determine the signs. There is the animal, and then there is also the element. What goes into determining those two pieces?

Master Pun-Yin: From the birth year, month, day, and time, then we figure out the five elements of the individual. Therefore, what to do for the year and what to do as feng shui to improve the energy is also customized, which is beyond these commercialized books of just selling trinkets to bring you good luck, because the most powerful form of strengthening your core energy and be confident about the future is to know the five elements, destiny. Then it wouldn't matter which year of the zodiac sign it is. You are in a balanced energy environment at home. You can rest well, and you have the clarity for the future to make life better.

Kousha Navidar: This year is the Year of the Fire Horse. What does that mean? What does the fire horse symbolize?

Master Pun-Yin: It's supposed to be vitality and courage and fast-paced. When this is paired with the world leader of the president of the US right now, who was born Year of the Dog and his astrology was full of fire and earth. Therefore, it's going to be a year that of more drama, confrontation, and unpredictability all around, whether it's the stock market or the geopolitical situation.

That's why people need to be careful with their own time to not let these big issues affect you emotionally as a person. Watch your mental health and people around you to support each other. Then, also, this is the year that's also missing the water element. It will be ideal for people to, as much as possible, go to somewhere that you can see the water, whether it's the ocean or a pond. If possible, submerge yourself in water so that the water element that's missing, that is the life source. That's the healing and calming can come into your life and your aura.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. We've got just under a minute left. I'm wondering for you, how are you celebrating Lunar New Year this year?

Master Pun-Yin: Well, on the 17th, Chinatown had a big event, but I was at my spiritual site that day for the prayer and the celebration of the people. Then there's also, in February 28th and March 1st, there will be activities going on in Chinatown as well, line dance, and celebration. If people missed the one on the 17th, there's two more opportunities.

Kousha Navidar: Really quickly, where can people find out more about your services?

Master Pun-Yin: My website is punyin.com, P-U-N-Y-I-N.com.

Kousha Navidar: Wonderful. We have to leave it there. My guest has been Master Pun-Yin, feng shui master and Chinese zodiac expert. Thank you so much for hanging out with us, and happy Lunar New Year.

Master Pun-Yin: Same to you, and good luck to everybody.

Kousha Navidar: That is our show for today. Thanks to the team at The Brian Lehrer Show, Lisa Allison, Mary Croak, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum, with help today from Sasha Linden Cohen. Our interns are Arlo Bivins and Jack Walker. Shayna Sengstock and Milton Ruiz are at the audio controls. It's been such a pleasure hanging out with you all today. Thank you for listening. Happy Lunar New Year. I'm Kousha Navidar, and this is The Brian Lehrer Show. Hey, stay tuned for All Of It right after this.

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