Science defines identical twins as two individuals who have nearly the same genes being genetic replicas of each other. In medical terms, identical twins are known as “monozygotic”, which occurs when a single fertilized egg forms a zygot that divides into two embryos. Technically then, if you believe “DNA” defines how people behave and function, then two people born with exactly similar genetic make-up should also behave in exactly the same way. This in reality is not always the case!
There is the astrological viewpoint as well. Take the case of TWINS. When you cast a Paht Chee chart or do a Vedic astrological reading for a pair of twins, their charts would be virtually identical! And yet their lives may not turn out to be identical at all! Two people born in the same place, on the same day and within minutes of each other can end up very dissimilar and exhibit very different personalities! They need not be alike at all when it comes to the way they react, respond or think things through.
Let me share a case of two brothers who have been my friends since we were teenagers. They lived in my neighborhood and they are monozygotic twins born within five minutes of each other; but Eric and Aaron are very different personalities; and later, as we grew older, I realised that their lives in the years that followed became as different as the sun and the moon!
They look alike. Aaron and Eric look nearly identical, sharing the same tall physique, similar features and hairstyles. Few could tell them apart unless they dressed in different clothes, which they often did. Aaron preferred sports attire or proper shirt/pants, while Eric was more into the punk rocker look – metal-studded caps, torn jeans and rock t-shirts!
We often joked that all their parents’ “conservative” genes had gone into Aaron (the first born) because in so many ways, Aaron was such a star compared to Eric! At school, Aaron was definitely the more popular of the two, always getting better grades, excelling in sport and sciences, while Eric opted was more inclined towards music, literature and gothic culture. Of the two, Aaron came across as the “big brother” – chatty and confident, outgoing and sociable. He was into extreme sports while Eric preferred solitary moments spent sketching and creating pop art!
Aaron was the first to have girlfriends and was quite a flirt, enjoying the company of many girls through high school and college; Eric was introverted and lacked confidence. It took him five years to pluck up enough courage to pursue a girl he liked, but he admired her from afar, sending her secret letters and Valentine’s cards, simply because he was too shy to ask her out! Eric was always the quiet half of this pair of twins. We used to think of him as being quite unsociable.
I remember our visits to their home with our gang of friends; while Aaron entertained us with his daredevil rollerblade stunts, Eric mostly ignored us, preferring to turn up the volume of Metallica while he played computer games! Yes indeed, he was quite the loner while his brother was the daredevil.
Post graduation, Aaron moved out, travelled the world, got married and had two children. Eric continued living with his parents and is still not married. Both boys are doing well in their careers, but they continue to lead very different lives, living in different countries, mixing with different people and pursuing completely different interests.
How is it that two brothers who share the same genetic origins, same parents, same upbringing, same house and same birthdates turn out so differently? Why is it that so many accurate systems of fortune-telling fail to explain the subtle differences in the luck of twins?
1 THE SOUL AND ITS KARMA
Perhaps the explanation for the differences we see in Aaron and Eric is that the two brothers are two different souls. They are different souls, but both share strong affinity with their parents and with each other. Nevertheless, they are different individuals who come into the world with different past lives and past karma.
Buddhists and Hindus believe that a person’s future life is determined by his or her past karma, so it is definitely logical when we think of Aaron and Eric, that their present lives reflect their different past karmas. It is possible they have different purposes for existing in this life. The difference in their respective past karmas play out through their growing up years and continue to play out now – from their environmental karma as well as their individual karma, as you will see when we investigate the feng shui of the house in which they grew up.
For starters, Aaron has the karma to be born before Eric, and this is what created the big difference in so many aspects of their lives, starting from the moment they left their mother’s womb!
Let’s take a look.
2 DESTINY READINGS REVEAL PATTERNS & STRENGTHS, NOT FATE
The reason why Astrology and Destiny readings cannot truly provide a complete picture of a person’s future is that it does not have a monopoly over your luck or your destiny. You also have the factor of choice. Each time you make a life-changing decision, the decision affects the outcome.
The Chinese explain that the components of luck in its entirety is divided into three inter-dependent parts – TIEN TI REN – Heaven, Earth and Mankind Luck. Heaven Luck is the luck you are born with and this is often read from destiny charts using your date/time of birth. Mankind luck refers to the luck you create for yourself with the decisions you make while Earth luck is the luck that your living environment brings to you, your upbringing and the feng shui of your living space.
Destiny analysis and astrology come under the umbrella of HEAVEN LUCK; such readings reveal the luck patterns in your birth charts, but they cannot reveal the exact circumstances or situations to how your good fortune or misfortunes will actually ripen.
Your destiny reading reveals the “hand of cards” you are dealt at birth. But how the game actually plays out and ends depends on how you play the game, which in turn is influenced by many other factors. It is what you actually do with the cards you are dealt that determine how you play and how you end.
For sure, Heaven Luck exercises a critical influence in destiny, but it does not have the final say on how life turns out from year to year. I call these the “destiny blindspots”; the loopholes whose detailing rarely shows up in destiny readings. Birth charts cannot reveal the way good fortune or misfortune ripens, and in the case of twins, their respective destinies are influenced by the other factors in their lives.
3 ENVIRONMENTAL KARMA & FENG SHUI OF THE HOUSE
A big part of anyone’s future life is shaped by the circumstances surrounding our growing up years. In the case of Aaron and Eric, the feng shui of their family home played a big role in their subsequent luck. Aaron and Eric each held a different rankings in their family, and here is where they were each affected differently, feng shui wise by the layout of their parents home. Aaron was the eldest son, while Eric was the younger son!
In feng shui, each of the eight compass locations represents a different family member. We have previously highlighted the importance of maintaining the NORTHWEST (Patriarch) and SOUTHWEST (Matriarch) in good condition to benefit the father and mother. Here we highlight how other sectors of the house can affect the luck of other family members, depending on their position in the family.
A. The eldest son is ruled by the East
In this story of the twin brothers, Aaron enjoyed excellent luck while growing up because he was born first, and the luck of the house was very favourable for the Eldest Son. This was evident since childhood as his mother often told us Aaron was the “easier” child of the two – with no problems with feeding or falling asleep during nap times. He learnt to walk and speak faster than Eric, and would take the natural lead in all their childhood activities. Why did Aaron seem to do better than Eric? Simple. Because they lived in a house that faced EAST!
Being the first twin to leave his mother’s womb confirmed Aaron’s position in the family as the ELDEST SON. Under the Later Heaven Pa Kua, the luck of the Eldest Son is governed by the East location and is represented by the trigram CHEN, the “Arousing”. The East location is the natural abode of the Dragon, suggesting spring’s luxurious growth!
CHEN is an energetic trigram that embodies significant growth potential and its element is Big Wood. Here, Aaron had the good karma to live in a house that brought him a lot of good luck. Their entrance foyer in the East was decorated with a pair of guardian elephants and adorned with plenty of flowering plants. It was the main door used by all who lived there, activating Aaron’s luck right up till the day he moved out and got married!
B. The Youngest Son Is Ruled By The Northeast
Eric developed a very different personality because he was born later and hence became the second son, and since there were only two sons in the family, Eric became the YOUNGEST SON in feng shui ranking.
In the yang Pa Kua, the youngest son’s luck is influenced by the Trigram KEN, placed in the Northeast of the compass.
So you see, while CHEN in the East is energetic, ever-changing, full of growth and life, KEN in the Northeast is the Mountain – solid and still. KEN is mysterious, with the promise of secrets, wonder and gold! It is the trigram of the current period of 8, and it is this period that Youngest Sons thrive and maximize their luck (excellent news for Eric!)
While growing up however, Eric often complained that he felt “ignored” by his parents and everyone at school. Perhaps this was because his luck was missing from the house. Their house was a semi-detached duplex, designed with an L-shaped configuration leaving one sector outside the house where the car is parked. Their house had a missing Northeast on the ground floor, which tainted his luck to some degree. Thankfully on the second floor, the Northeast was partially occupied by the master bedroom where his parents stayed.
Note: Although Eric didn’t have the complete luck of the Northeast on his side, he still benefitted from the East house, because both Aaron and Eric were born in the year of the Rabbit. He might not have been as popular as Aaron, but Eric did well enough to make it to university. When they were at university, their parents renovated their house to regularize the shape, claiming back the Northeast as part of the house. This improved Eric’s luck and he is now enjoying a great career. He continues to live in the same house.
CONCLUSION
Although this case study highlights the case of twins, the same logic applies to other cases involving the luck of siblings of the same gender. In any household, different corners of the house represent different members of the family, and in carefully safeguarding the relevant corners, you will be safeguarding the well-being of each child in the family.
If you have a child who seems to be falling behind in his or her development, or experiencing significantly lower levels of luck, check the corner of the house that represents him/her. Correct the feng shui of this sector and it is sure to improve the luck of your child!
