SHALL WE CHEER THE OX?

So 2008, the Year of the Rat, turned out to be really, really miserly, and all the astrologers' forecasts about last year's harvest turned to dust. Had last year been the Year of the Pig, we could have asked: who would have brought such a pig of a thing as the financial crisis? And some kind of logical explanation could at least have been found for what has happened. But what's worse is that the scourge of 2008, which has shaken the world since the summer, has moved smoothly into 2009, the year of the Yellow Ox. What is to be done? Who is to blame? Surely not the Ox? Hardly, if you take into account the fact that under the eastern lunar calendar, the Year of the Ox does not begin until 26 January 2009, which means that there is plenty of time to assess all that the rat has done.

Was it an eventful year? Yes, it was. And it doesn't take any great gift or analytical mind to answer this question - it's enough to look at events from the perspective of the European Football Championships, the Beijing Olympics, the switching on of the collider, the presidential elections in Russia, the five-day war in Georgia, Russia's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the restive Somali pirates, the world economic crisis, the presidential elections in the USA, the earthquake in China, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the near war between India and Pakistan. You cannot list everything and it would not fit into one article. And when you have felt sad about what happened, these past events could gradually be erased from your memory and the next page of history turned, were it not for one "but". The planet will feel the repercussions of 2008 for a long time to come in the changed political emphases on the world stage on which Russia will continue to show that it exists, is back on its feet and does not have to be in the last row of violins in the Caucasian region and the new administration in the White House will be its echo in this orchestra, while old Europe, divided into east and west, will probably be the USA's main competitor for solos. Western Europe really does not want to live behind the energy wall which Russia wants to put up between itself and the eastern European countries that do not support its great power ambitions. Of course, one of the main soloists in the world orchestra is Azerbaijan, which proved its right to leadership in the region in 2008 by the democratic presidential elections, its balanced policy, which was especially important during the five-day war in Georgia, and, of course, its expanding prospects for energy and transport projects. A positive fact - all this has already become a good launching pad for our country in promoting state interests in 2009. 

However, the countdown has already begun. The Year of the Ox is the second year in the eastern calendar's 12-year cycle; fear the red, there will be six eclipses - there were seven in 1917. The ox is a respected animal in the east. Power, authority, male fertility - it's a varied symbol of divinity, kingliness and nature's elemental forces. As the embodiment of many near eastern gods, the ox was one of the more important sacred animals.  In rites and iconography the ox was represented as the moon, the sun, the earth, the sky, the rain and drought, the forces protecting women, matriarchy and patriarchy, death and birth. As a symbol of death and rebirth he was a central figure in the pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion. In Christianity the ox symbolizes a fierce force and is the emblem of St Eustace, one of the first great Christian martyrs, tortured in a bronze statue of an ox. Some cultures thought that the ox summoned earthquakes when he taunted the Earth with his horns and then everyone would hear his wrath. If astrologers are to be believed, 2009, the Year of the Yellow Ox, is destined to remind people of their own divine purpose, to remind them of their errors and that all who dwell on Earth should live for today, live and enjoy their existence. The Year of the Ox will not be a simple, quiet period, when humanity can relax and calmly live through the year. Some global, and very probably, catastrophic events will shake the foundations of human society, stressing deeply hidden contradictions and flaws. From the point of view of political trends, the horoscope for 2009 could bring mankind some surprises. Despite the hope provided by the election of new leaderships in various countries in 2008, the battle for the future of Planet Earth is far from over.  Despite the shield of good intentions, geopolitical interests have not disappeared, as oil, the financial crisis and the establishment of a new world order against the backdrop of the break-up of some countries, mainly in Asia, will be the main topics of political battles in 2009, the Year of the Earth Ox, astrologers say.

True, the economic crisis is not the only thing that the succeeding years have in common - we have not, to put it bluntly, been pleased by the Rat, and it's not known what the Ox will bring, the Yellow Ox. Therefore, we mortals can only hope that this colour, symbolizing wealth, will bring financial success after all and as a result the Ox will mellow. And seriously, you may ask? Well, seriously, when the New Year celebrations are over and 2009 takes up its legal rights and brings us face to face with our everyday problems, we will understand once more that nothing unusual has happened. So don't believe in predictions and live as your heart prompts you. Happy New Year, friends!