A shopping complex in Glodok, West Jakarta, came to life on a recent Tuesday at 9 a.m., when most shop owners started to open for business.

Some people, however, sat on chairs in front of a clinic on the third floor of the building, waiting for their turn to meet feng shui expert Suhu Yo.

As Imlek (Chinese New Year) draws near, Indonesians of Chinese descent are eager to have their fortunes read for the upcoming Year of the Pig, which will begin on Feb. 5.

One of them is Daniel, not his real name, who spent his time that Tuesday chatting with the Suhu Yo clinic’s staff members. Their conversation looked friendly and comfortable as it was not Daniel’s first visit.

“I’m a regular. It’s almost New Year and I need to talk with Suhu Yo to predict my fortune in the upcoming year,” said the 65-year-old.

Suhu Yo has been telling fortunes for more than two decades. He does not consult individuals but also small businesses and big corporations. Aside from handling face-to-face consultations in his clinic, he also accepts invitations from many companies.

“Banking, finance, property, automotive and even [the culinary sector]. Hence, I’m not only using my feng shui to analyze [the future] but also make business outlooks for business experts,” Suhu Yo told The Jakarta Post.

Feng shui-wise, Suhu Yo usually focuses on company logos because they are the face representing the business entity. For service-oriented businesses like banks or restaurants, he also analyzes the building and interior design.

In individual consultations, meanwhile, Suhu Yo reads a person’s fortune by reading their palm and analyzing their luck based on their date of birth. He also pays attention to the person’s facial expressions and body language, believing that these reveal one’s personal characters.

“People usually ask about their health and wealth. They need suggestions because they plan to buy a house, a car or have another child. Basically, they just need an outlook on where the year would lead their life,” he explained.

Suhu Yo said that in giving suggestions to both corporates and individuals, he tried to help them change their mindset in facing challenges instead of giving them some sort of amulet to bring luck.

“After all, fortune and misfortune begin in our mind,” he said.

According to Suhu Yo, the Year of the Pig is a year of opportunities.

“The Pig is the last sign in the Chinese horoscope, and it symbolizes a new beginning,” Suhu Yo said.

Every year in the Chinese zodiac is assigned a sign that may affect the hap (fortune) or ciong (misfortune) of people born in that year.

“People who will be lucky in the Year of the Pig are those who are and have the characteristics of the Rabbit and Lamb signs; those who are honest, genuine, patient and agile,” he added.

Another way to reveal one’s fortune is through ciam si, a ritual based on birth dates and conducted in a temple involving several tools and poems.

In ciam si, anyone who wishes to know about their fortune or has questions regarding a problem in life must shake a glass containing dozens of bamboo sticks in front of the Kwan Im statue while stating their question or wish.

They must keep shaking until one stick falls out of the glass, then check a number written on one end of the stick.

Next, they must take two blocks of siao poe (wood) and then throw them into the air. If the blocks fall on the same side, they must re-do the process.

If the siao poe blocks fall on different sides, they may proceed to take a piece of paper with the same number that was written on the stick. There is a poem written on the paper that would reveal their fortune.

A temple in Jakarta that offers the ciam si ritual is Dharma Bakti or Kim Tek Let temple, also in the Glodok area. One of the temple’s management representatives, Wiguno, said that anyone from any ethnicity or religion is allowed to do ciam si.

“Ciam si can be practiced any time in a year. In fact, we don’t suggest that visitors do it during Imlek celebrations. The gods and goddesses receive too many guests,” he said as quoted by kompas.com recently.

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