What an ancient Chinese Calendar Reveals About Marilyn Monroe

For each patient I ask for date of birth, time and location. Everyone assumes that I’m calculating their astrological chart and the truth is I know nothing about astrology, Western or Indian.

My question is so I can create their Stems & Branches chart, which is a Chinese tool to gather a constitutional overview of a patient. It can also be used for divination, but that's outside my area of expertise. It is not Chinese astrology, no star locations are included in the calculations. Everything has a cycle, the day, the moon, the year, our lives, each breath is a cycle. The Chinese noticed that there is a cycle of 60 years, where the patterns of climate repeat.

These patterns were described in myths about 太岁 Tàisuì, the God of the Year. They were aware of the Earth's tilt, which they passed down in a myth about the Water God 共工 Gònggōng fighting with the Fire God 祝融 Zhùróng and they broke one of the pillars holding up the sky during the battle - thus creating the tilt we are now aware of.

The 60 year cycles are now explained with modern scientific recording of the spiralling path of the Moon around the Earth, the Earth spiralling around the Sun and the Sun itself barrelling through space in 828,000km/h also in a spiral.

Path of the Earth & Moon around the Sun

Amazingly the Chinese were both sensitive to these subtle changes, recorded it and were able to calculate where they were in the 60 year cycle. Consequently they have passed on the method of calculating the Stem & Branch for the year, the month, the day and the hour. The Chinese and South American cultures use a Solar-Lunar calendar, meaning unlike our calendar, which only records the transverse of the sun through the year, their months correspond exactly on the New Moon and the month dates will change year to year.The Nèi Jīng or Inner Classic, which was written down 2000 years ago and is probably older, records weather changes across these 60 year cycles. Amazingly clinical manifestations as a consequence of these subtle influences are also recorded, so an acupuncturist is armed with information about what types of illness are likely to appear in clinic and what kind of patient is likely to manifest particular symptoms. In order to access this information and apply it in clinic, I calculate the Stem & Branch for the day and for the patient's time of birth. Now of course there are apps to work all this out in an instant. However I do all my calculations by hand. Firstly I find mistakes on apps too frequently to confidently rely on them. In addition, the process of calculation lets me slowly assimilate, cross check and understand a bigger picture of the patient symptomology.

This is similar to the methods I used as an engineer to assess the soil conditions across a site before designing a foundation. It helps me gather a global pattern for assessment and I choose a considered solution after taking in all the information. I'm looking for patterns, correspondences, types of illness, the Stems & Branches at birth compared with the day of treatment and the time when symptoms first appeared. Of course I'm not treating a piece of paper, it's just information I add to the other assessment tools I use, like listening, pulse taking, tongue reading and body palpation. I like to take an overview and then decide on the prescription for the day.

I also use it to help patients understand their constitution, to remove guilt and work with the healing patterns of nature that will alleviate symptoms. Nature has no care for fad diets or body type fashion, only rhythms, cycles and breath.

A chart for Marilyn Monroe

As an example, I've calculated the Ba Zi (meaning 8 columns) and Stems & Branches for Marilyn Monroe. Famous for her looks, hounded by the media reporting her love life, she was a fellow endometriosis sufferer, which is why I chose to calculate her chart.

Marylin Monroe 1960

From this picture taken a couple of years before she died, we can see the classic swollen belly of an endometriosis sufferer.

Born 100 years ago this month, her chart shows a large proportion of Fire (red) & Water (blue), something I see in creative people. When a creative person is not productive, or doing something uninspiring, it can lead to depression. Her Fire is the part of her personality that made her so attractive to everyone around her.

However, we can see her Day Master is xīnyǒu a rooted Metal (white) centre to her personality, that many didn’t notice. Its common to see a different core to people in their chart for people who feel misunderstood by society. She was an intellectual and her marriage to Arthur Miller was part of her attempt to be taken seriously for her mind. Sadly, people were too busy looking and judging to listen to her.

Lastly, there is a lack of Wood (green) in her chart. I notice that Endometriosis Awareness Month is in March, Wood time of year associated with a strong upward movement. The movement of Metal is straight down and when these opposing forces meet in the body, it can lead to pain. Consequently endometriosis pain is more likely to occur. If I was Marilyn's therapist, firstly I wouldn’t talk publicly about her, it's only because she's dead I'm happy to write about her. But I would support her Earth (yellow), which is the centre of all health issues, but also lacking in her chart. I would take a full history, check her tongue and pulses before making a final diagnosis and choose a prescription, but I will keep in my mind that her Earth will need consideration in the points I choose.

Your body has its own rhythms. Let's listen to them together.

Whether you're living with endometriosis, navigating perimenopause, or simply feeling that something is out of step, Classical Chinese Medicine offers a way of being properly seen and properly heard.

At Acquaviva in Hove, treatment begins with understanding your whole constitution, not just your symptoms. The attention is unhurried, the approach considered, and the wisdom behind it goes back thousands of years.