The Ji-Si Tai Sui: General Guo Can

A snake on a warm stone

Ji is yin earth, soft dark soil that feeds everything. Si is the snake in high summer, lying still on a sun-warmed rock, calm on the outside and lightning-fast when it moves.

General Guo Can guards this year. People born in Ji-Si years often look quiet, but they read the room early and act at exactly the right moment.

The most unforgettable face

His face is deep red, with two flame-shaped points rising from his forehead and a third eye in the middle that sees into people's hearts. His eyes are wide and sharp, and his mouth has a little smile that is hard to read.

He wears a bright yellow cloak over colorful armor and holds a long, straight jade staff, as if to say, "I knew you were coming."

Three days on the mountain

According to legend, he was Guo Can, born into a Taoist family south of the Yangtze that was known for driving out evil spirits. As a boy he could already calm a village with charms.

One summer, something dark settled on a nearby mountain. Visions drifted into the villages, and young men grew weak for no reason. Guo Can climbed the mountain alone, set up a ritual circle, and fought the dark force for three days and nights. At last he sealed it inside a stone and threw the stone into a deep pool.

When he came down, he just said he had "cleared a bit of bad air" up there. The villagers only understood later, when they found the sealed stone.

Rising to heaven

He spent his life protecting people and passed away peacefully one midsummer day, sitting in meditation. Heaven named him the Tai Sui of the Ji-Si year.

A jade staff in his hand and the wisdom to clear the way: that is his gift to everyone born in the Year of the Snake.

Born in 1989

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