Lunar New Year turbulence as 'fire monkey' swings into action

As the Lunar New Year of the Monkey swings into action Feb. 8, fortune tellers foresee 12 months of political and financial turbulence at the hands of the mischievous, unpredictable creature.

Hong Kong's respected feng shui masters expect an incendiary mix as the monkey combines with the fire element, but also say the year ahead will be a boom time for clever innovation and women will be in the ascendant.
 
The monkey is seen as belonging to the hard metal element, while fire represents the sun, says Hong Kong-based celebrity feng shui master Alion Yeo.
 
"When the two things combine, it creates an extremely high temperature. We have to be prepared for a lot of disputes, sickness," he told AFP.
 
"One can even associate fire and metal with missiles, bullets or rockets," he said.
 
Feng shui --- literally meaning "wind-water" -- is influential in many parts of Asia, where people adjust their lives and renovate offices and homes to maximise their luck and wealth according to its tenets.
 
It is based on ancient philosophy and the belief that all events are dictated by the varying balances in the five elements that make up the universe: metal, wood, water, fire and earth.
 
Feng shui masters in Hong Kong also combine astrology into their art.    

Hong Kong-based soothsayer Thierry Chow warned of shocking events at the hands of the "fire monkey".    

"Fire is dominant in the five elements. When fire is atop monkeys they will be swinging around, they will be difficult to predict. A lot of things will be unexpected," said Chow.    

The last fire monkey year happened in 1956, when Britain and France invaded Egypt during the Suez Canal crisis, a pivotal event that historians...