What is Destiny All About?

  A person's capacity in life is what we refer to as Destiny in Chinese Metaphysics. Every individual is born with a certain capacity in life, which outlines their life path. This capacity influences their potential, outcomes, and achievements throughout their lives. When an individual's capacity is properly analyzed and understood, it becomes possible to offer appropriate guidance. This support can come in the form of BaZi advice on how and when to act or through Feng Shui to enhance their ability to reach their full potential while avoiding pitfalls and setbacks in life.

Destiny can be compared to a map of one’s life. This map is unchanging and static—the destinations on it are predetermined at the moment of a person's birth. Destiny serves as a guideline to an individual's personal limits in life. We often hear the phrase, "the sky’s the limit," which implies that with effort, determination, positive thinking (and a bit of luck), a person can achieve whatever they desire. In Chinese Metaphysics, a person's Destiny essentially represents their limits—how far they can go and what they can realistically expect to achieve in life.

Feng Shui cannot alter a person's Destiny. However, Destiny is influenced by an individual's actions and inactions. You might wonder: how can my actions affect my Destiny if it is fixed?

Let’s consider an example: imagine someone is born with the Destiny to be the next Jeff Bezos. This individual won’t become Jeff Bezos simply by sitting idly and doing nothing. Nonetheless, both actions and inactions have their constraints. If it were possible to simply "motivate" or "positively will" oneself into immense wealth or success, we would see motivational speakers and life coaches competing with Feng Shui masters for the top spots on the Forbes list of the world's richest people. Yet, that is not the case!

How many Jeff Bezoses are there? One. How many Elon Musks? One. How many Larry Pages? One. The reason for this is Destiny.

However, a person's life encompasses more than just Destiny. Destiny (Ming 命) is unchangeable, but Fortunes (Yun 運) can fluctuate. The term “Fortunes” is synonymous with “Luck” in BaZi. Fortunes are dynamic and ever-changing, and they can be likened to the paths on the map of your life. Luck cycles represent the quality of the roads on this life map. Thus, when Fortunes are favorable, the destination is reached more swiftly and efficiently, and the journey is smooth. Conversely, when Fortunes are unfavorable, the path to a destination is filled with challenges and obstacles, potentially leading to failure in reaching the goal. Therefore, in Chinese philosophy, Destiny and Fortunes (Ming Yun 命運) are often discussed together.