Asian Geographic Issue 03/2020 No. 142 | Page 10

CULTURE | THE ELEMENT Fire People You know a fire person when you see one. They take risks and are adventurous, brave, confident, motivated and ambitious. They are honest, enthusiastic, strong, energetic, progressive, quick-witted, inventive and creative, and have excellent leadership qualities. They actively pursue goals and are full of youthful spirit. The element of fire governs a person’s elegance and mannerisms, and if balanced, the person behaves appropriately, elegantly and graciously. Fire also represents passion, and so if a person’s fire is weak, he might get depressed easily and often feel inadequate. Fire types show qualities inherent in summer, so they appear outgoing, warm, lively and sociable. The fire energy is upward and expanding – a strong dynamic, masculine energy which can be restless and highly creative. The negative emotion associated with fire is overexcitement and hysteria, which happens when the energy is unbalanced, and the positive emotion is joy and creativity. A fire person is usually good with relationships, intimacy, and is fun to be around. However, an excess of this element is said to cause aggressive behaviour and sometimes hatred. Fire types are prone to ophthalmodynia (headaches around the eyes), tinnitus, dry tongue, dry mouth, encephalopathy (brain disease), chest pain, hypertension, coronary heart disease, indigestion and skelasthenia (weakness of the legs). The 12 Zodiacs PICTURES: SHUTTERSTOCK AND WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Fire Rat Jan 24, 1936–Feb 10, 1937 Feb 19, 1996–Feb 6, 1997 Characteristics: Energetic, brave, quiet, cordial, self-disciplined Fire Ox Feb 11, 1937–Jan 31, 1938 Feb 7, 1997–Jan 27, 1998 Characteristics: Practical, short-sighted, selfish, narrow-minded, impersonal Fire Tiger Feb 13, 1926–Feb 1, 1927 Feb 9, 1986–Jan 28, 1987 Characteristics: Optimistic, independent Fire Rabbit Jan 29, 1987–Feb 16, 1988 Characteristics: Broad-minded, smart, flexible, unique Iraq Tariq Aziz (1936) Politician Pakistan Malala Yousafzai (1997) Activist, Nobel Prize winner UK David Attenborough (1926) Naturalist, TV personality Japan Nobunari Oda (1987) Figure skater 8