Michael Jackson, King of Pop, King of Heart

Dear Friends,

  image from pitchfork.com 

There is immediate affinity with Michael Jackson for those of us who have grown with him through the same time-space. (re space-time, read posting Walking with Empress Cixi (象) ).

Personally I like mostly his pre-Thriller numbers like:

• Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough,
• Off The Wall
• Beat It,
• Billie Jeans

One has to respect his ability to connect with his audience and his influence on Pop music. His energy level is simply boundless.

In the summer of 1992, in his UK tour at Wembly Stadium, the opening scene was :

1. MJ jumped up from below the stage floor to stand still on stage, with sun glasses, motionless ==> hysteria from the crowd,
2. after 1 minute, MJ removes his sun glasses, the crowd totally went wild,
3. MJ has done nothing yet, not uttering a single word, the crowd was already exhausted.
4. that’s the power of his connectivity.

I have no doubt that MJ’s planned 50 shows in London would have been just as hysterical.

MJ was borned on Aug 29, 1958. It was 戊戌年 (“Wu-xu Year”).

• As you may recall, any year of 戊 (“wu”) is donimated by Strong Heat (as in the case of 2008, being a 戊子年 (“wu-zi Year)).
• However, in 1958, the Strong Heat of  戊 was accompanied by two major sub-forces, Cold Water and Damp Earth.
• Aug 29 falls in the the 4th Major Qi Period of that year, which was subjected to two additional sub-forces of Dampness and Windiness.

MJ’s Strong Heat was to a large extent neutralised by Colder Water.  He managed to get through the Strong Heat with Dryness of 2008.

Take a look at the forces in play in June 2009 versus MJ’s Personal Cosmic Orientation :

                  MJ’s PCO                    2009 June

• Cold Water                     Damp Earth
• Wind Wood                    Damp Earth
• Strong Heat                   Damp Earth (Lesser)
• Damp Earth                   Strong Heat
• Damp Earth                    Cold Water

Out of 5 forces, MJ resonated with 4 of them, driven mainly by Strong Heat and Damp Earth, a very uncomfortable environment. In fact he resonated with all the 5 external forces at play in June 2009.  (夏至, “xia-zhi”, the arrival of the Peak Summer, fell on June 21).

• The Cold Water force has helped to hold in check the Strong Heat element in his body, you get the clearest glimpse of this with his boundless energy on stage, who was otherwise a rather reserved person back stage.

• This Cold Water, though is blocked by Damp Earth. When Damp Earth force is too strong, it over-blocked the Cold Water which reduces its ability to suppress the Strong Heat.  It also didn’t help as his skin was getting paler. Colour Black is Water and would have provided additional check on the Strong Heat.

• Strong Heat disturbs the Heart system and one of the immediate effects are disturbed mind and loss of sleep. 天王补心丹 (“tian wang bu xin dan”) might have come handy for some of the symptoms. (of course it is dangerous to jump to conclusion without knowing more detail of his actual situation, though this could have been helpful).

• The name “天王补心丹” incidentally means “Heart Remedy for the King” or “The King of Heart Remedy”. (The Heart in TCM typically refers to the Mind, rather than the physical heart itself).

MJ’s personal doctor might have erred and wrong in injecting powerful anaesthetic propofol to help him sleep. Had his doctor understand a bit more about the root cause of his inability to sleep, then may be the approach and outcome might be very different.

The King of Pop, whichever the outcome,  will remain the King for a long time.

Note: I was given a chance to go watch MJ live at Wembly Stadium in 1992. Some how I turned down the offer. That’s the magic of 缘份 (“yuan-fen”).

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