The Negative Zone (below 200): when we are swept along by "Nghiệp"
There are periods in life when we no longer "choose" our reactions; instead, the reaction chooses us. The mind is like something dragged by a fierce undercurrent: the more we resist, the more exhausted we grow; the harder we strain, the deeper we sink.
The zone below 200 (Force) on the Hawkins scale carries exactly this quality—a state of being swept along by fear, grief, and old scripts of injury. In the language of Mệnh (the Given) – Nghiệp (the Pattern) – Ý Thức (Awareness / the Choice), this is when the force of Nghiệp seizes the wheel. Ý Thức (the Choice) is still present, but faint as a lamp in the wind.
We study this zone not to disparage it or fear it, but to recognise: when am I sinking, and where is the buoy to grab hold of and rise?
1. LEVEL 20: SHAME ("The Black Hole of Consciousness")
Shame is the lowest level, yet it inflicts the deepest wound. It does not merely say: "I have just done something wrong" (behaviour), but whispers in your ear: "I am a mistake" (essence).
At this level, a person no longer sees life as a series of challenges, but as a verdict reserved for them alone. When the mind has convicted itself, every stray glance from outside is easily translated into contempt or rejection.
How to recognise it:
| Criterion | Expression at Level 20 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Extreme shame, a sense of humiliation, wanting to sink into the ground. The feeling of not deserving to exist. |
| Typical thoughts | "I’m worthless," "I’m only a burden to others," "My existence is a mistake." |
| Behaviour | Withdrawal, avoidance of society (self-isolation), a bowed head, or, more seriously, a tendency toward self-harm. |
| View of life | Guilt & tragedy. Life is a chain of irredeemable mistakes. |
| View of the cosmos | Abandonment. Feeling that Heaven / the universe hates and is punishing them. |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: the ghost of "Hóa Kỵ"
Why does a person get stuck here? Under the lens of Tử Vi (Purple Star astrology), this vibratory level is often closely tied to the negative energy of the Hóa Kỵ star (obsession, obscuration) combined with debilitated Sát tinh (malefic stars) or Bại tinh (ruinous stars).
Certain chart structures carry a "tendency" to slide into this zone without cultivation:
Mệnh/Thân with Hóa Kỵ + debilitated Thái Âm: Prone to melancholy, low self-worth, and nightly self-torment. The emotions are like a swamp: the more you thrash, the deeper you sink.
Mệnh with Không – Kiếp: A feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness, of falling short of life (especially after great losses).
Debilitated Cự Môn: Haunted by words of judgment (the karma of speech), building up barriers that wall oneself off from the world.
Note: The chart is only "Mệnh" (the initial temperament). How long you sink here is due to "Nghiệp" (psychological habit), and whether or not you climb out is due to "Nguyện" (the Choice—the will to transform).
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (A psychological view)
Shame is often the result of a Shadow repressed for too long. Some part of you (your fragility, your need to be loved, or a past mistake) has been judged as "not permitted to exist." Over time, it hardens into a core belief: "I have no right to be here."
🔑 The way out: where does the anchor of 200 lie?
The way out of level 20 is absolutely not to force yourself to "be positive" or go out partying. Your energy is far too weak for that. The solution lies in a minimum of gentleness:
Dis-identify: Silently repeat the mantra: "I am feeling shame—but I am not the shame. This is only a dark cloud; I am the sky."
Take a small step up to Level 30 (Guilt): It sounds strange, but moving from "I am a mistake" (20) to "I did something wrong" (30) is a great advance. What is "done wrong" can be corrected; "being a mistake" is hopeless. Acknowledge the specific fault (if any) instead of condemning your whole self.
Care for the "Body": When the "Mind" is in pain, return to the "Body." A hot meal, a night’s sleep, or a touch of your hand to a plant. This is how you tell the subconscious: "I am still worthy of care."
A message: If you find yourself or a loved one lingering in this zone, seeking professional support (a doctor, a psychologist) is an act of Courage (Level 200), not of weakness.
2. Level 30: Guilt ("The Courtroom in the Mind")
If Shame (20) whispers "I don’t deserve to exist," then Guilt (30) speaks in a different voice, seemingly more responsible, but still forcing us to bow our heads: "I am always wrong."
At level 30, a person still has energy to live and work, but that energy is veiled by a fog of self-reproach. The mind carries the past like a sandbag on the shoulder: it can walk, but heavily. And because it is heavy, we easily choose self-punishment over healing.
The most dangerous thing about Guilt is that it often dresses itself in the robe of "morality." The mechanism of Nghiệp deceives us into thinking: if I keep myself in suffering, it means I have "made amends" enough.
How to recognise it:
| Criterion | Expression at Level 30 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Torment, remorse. Always feeling indebted to someone or owing life an apology. |
| Typical thoughts | "It’s because of me that things turned out this way," "I ruined everything," "If only I hadn’t done that back then." |
| Behaviour | Accepting unjust suffering (because they think they deserve it), sabotaging their own joy, apologising endlessly. |
| View of life | Crime & atonement. Seeing faults everywhere that must be corrected. |
| View of the cosmos | Punishment. Believing in a harsh law of cause and effect, "a blood debt paid in blood," instead of learning the lesson. |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: the whip of "Thiên Hình"
In the Tử Vi chart, this energetic level is the playground of stars carrying the qualities of "obsession" and "penal law":
Debilitated Thiên Hình (Mệnh/Thân/Tật): This is the archetype of the "inner judge." People with this configuration are usually extremely harsh with themselves. Even a small fault is magnified by them into a monstrous crime. Unconsciously, they seek out punishment (accidents, losing money) in order to feel relieved.
Hóa Kỵ (Mệnh/Phụ Mẫu/Tử Tức): An obsession that will not let go. Hóa Kỵ is like a dark cloud covering the intellect, making a person chew over an old mistake again and again. Especially in the palaces of kin, they easily carry the feeling: "I am a burden to my family."
Tang Môn: A symbol of melancholy, always worrying about what has not yet come or grieving over what is past. Their mind is perpetually in a state of "mourning" for a dead past.
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (A psychological trap)
Guilt creates a Moral Illusion. The ego believes: "If I suffer enough, the universe / that person will forgive me." Suffering here becomes a currency to buy peace. But the truth is: suffering does not automatically transform into value. It only wears you down. Nghiệp is resolved only when you use Ý Thức to recognise the lesson and change your behaviour—not by torturing yourself.
The inescapable loop: mistake → self-condemnation → self-punishment → exhaustion / loss of self-respect → another mistake.
🔑 The way out: from "Punishment" to "Responsibility"
To escape level 30, we need to step up to the level of Acceptance (350), or at least Courage (200), by changing our definition of "fault":
Distinguish Guilt from Remorse:
Guilt (Force): "I am a bad person." → Leads to depression, self-harm.
Remorse (Power): "That action of mine was wrong." → Leads to correction, amends, growth.
Practise Self-Forgiveness: Forgiveness is not indulgence or a denial of responsibility. Forgiveness is ceasing to keep abusing yourself so that the energy can go into repair instead. The mantra: "I forgive the less-knowing version of myself in the past. Now I know more, and I choose to act differently."
An inner check-in: Whenever you find yourself suffering, ask: "Am I suffering to solve the problem, or only to satisfy a feeling of guilt?" Simply seeing this truth (Ý Thức) lets the burden fall away of itself.
3. Level 50: Apathy ("Hibernating in the Middle of a Storm")
Apathy is not "having no emotion." It is a form of emotional paralysis. It is the numbness formed after too many disappointments, too much effort with no way out in sight. At level 50, a person no longer has enough energy to be angry or to weep. All that is left is one short phrase, like the slamming shut of hope’s door: "Never mind."
Looked at deeply, this is a survival mechanism of Nghiệp: when consciousness believes the future is utterly hopeless, it chooses to "freeze" in order to conserve the last of its energy. Not because they do not want to live, but because they are too tired to live the old way.
How to recognise it:
| Criterion | Expression at Level 50 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Despair. A sense of total helplessness, seeing oneself as a victim with no way out. |
| Typical thoughts | "Trying is useless," "What’s the point," "Whatever." |
| Behaviour | Giving up, neglecting oneself (hygiene, eating), sleeping addictively or lying inert in one spot. Vacant eyes, drained of vitality. |
| View of life | Hopeless. Seeing the future as a tunnel with no light. |
| View of the cosmos | Not caring (condemning). Feeling that the universe / Heaven has abandoned them, and they cannot be bothered to care back. |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: when the flow of energy is "cut off" (Triệt)
In the Tử Vi chart, this state is often linked to structures that carry a quality of "disconnection" or "stagnation":
Mệnh/Thân meeting Tuần – Triệt (especially Triệt): Triệt is like a cut straight across the flow. When a great event strikes, a person with Triệt easily goes into "shock" and falls into a state of disconnection from reality, retreating into a shell.
Debilitated Thiên Đồng: By nature a childlike star of blessing; when debilitated and facing setbacks, Thiên Đồng easily gives rise to a "sulking with life" mentality—giving up, laziness, a lack of will to overcome hardship.
The Mộ star (in the Life Cycle): Mộ ("the tomb") is burial, darkness. Consciousness falling into "Mộ" is a state of dullness, stagnation, reluctance to change, acceptance of decay.
Vô Chính Diệu + Sát tinh: A house with no master, and under attack by bandits (Sát tinh), leading to extreme bewilderment and then giving up and surrendering to fate.
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (A neurological mechanism)
Do not confuse Apathy with Laziness.
Laziness: A choice (you can do it but don’t want to).
Apathy: A loss of capacity (you want to, but the system does not respond).
From the perspective of neuroscience (Polyvagal Theory), this is a state of Dorsal Vagal Shutdown. When the nervous system judges the danger to be too great to Fight or Flee, it "throws the breaker" and plays dead. This is a state of drained battery in both Body and Mind.
🔑 The way out: tiny little steps
The way out at level 50 is usually very narrow and very small.
Reconnect with the "Body" (Body First): Do not try to use reason to counsel yourself ("Cheer up"). Useless. Begin from the body.
The task: Take a hot bath, step out into the sun for 5 minutes, drink a glass of water, tidy one small corner of your desk.
The meaning: These actions send a signal of "safety" to the nervous system.
Accept the negative emotion (Move to Grief – 75): This is the paradox of healing: feeling Grief (Level 75) is a step forward from Apathy (Level 50). When you begin to be able to cry, it means the ice has melted, the flow of emotion is moving again. Crying is a sign of life. Allow yourself to be sad; do not force yourself to be cheerful right away.
Seek "energetic resonance": A person at level 50 finds it very hard to pull themselves up (the battery is dead). They need a "jump start." Stay near people with steady energy (they need not be too lively), or simply keep a pet or tend a plant. Life is contagious to life.
A message: Level 50 is a silent trap. If you stay here too long, Nghiệp will set into character. Support from a medical or therapy professional is absolutely necessary and is a sign of wisdom, not of weakness.
4. Level 75: Grief ("The Sigh of the Past")
Grief is a very "human" level. It is not numb like Apathy (50), nor does it self-condemn like Guilt (30). It is the sigh of a heart that has just lost something precious.
At level 75, we can still feel, and because we can still feel, there is still life. However, without Ý Thức to support it, sorrow easily becomes a closed room where we live on forever in the past. The unspoken question of Grief is usually: "Why me? Why have I suffered such loss?"
How to recognise it:
| Criterion | Expression at Level 75 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Regret, sorrow. A sense of loss, as if a hole had been carved out of the heart. |
| Typical thoughts | "If only I had done it differently," "How beautiful the old days were," "I’ll never be that happy again." |
| Behaviour | Complaining, weeping, dwelling on old stories ("recounting past hardships"), refusing new joys. |
| View of life | Tragic. Life is a chain of losses and partings. |
| View of the cosmos | Pitiable. Feeling oneself a pitiful victim of fate, deserving compensation from the universe. |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: the "Six Ruinous Stars"
In the Tử Vi chart, this sorrow takes a very concrete form through the set of Bại tinh (ruinous stars):
Tang Môn – Bạch Hổ: This is the pair of stars of sorrowful karmic bonds. A person with Tang – Hổ guarding the Mệnh (especially when debilitated) usually carries an unaccountable sadness, an anxiety about parting and loss. They are heavily attached and find it hard to release the past.
Thiên Khốc – Thiên Hư: "Khốc" is the sound of weeping; "Hư" is the sound of sighing. This is an expression of complaint and gloom radiating outward. When debilitated, it is a plaintive, mournful weeping. (But when well-placed, it is a great resonance, something that moves the human heart.)
Debilitated Thái Âm + Xương Khúc: An oversensitive soul, prone to "being moved to feeling by the scene," seeing even falling rain as the sorrow of life. This is the type of the artist who lives on nostalgia.
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (Clinging)
Grief is in fact a form of Attachment to the past. The ego believes: my suffering is the proof that I love what was lost. If I stop hurting, it means I betray that memory. Complaining at this level is at first a release (good), but gradually it becomes a "home" (bad). We feel safer inside familiar sorrow than stepping out into unfamiliar light.
🔑 The way out: redirect the question
To rise from level 75 is not to force yourself to "cheer up," but to shift the focus of your attention:
Change the question (Shift Focus):
From "Why has life taken this from me?" (the victim)
To "What still remains with me?" (the survivor) This question helps the mind return to the Present—where life is happening.
Turn pain into action (Move to Fear/Desire – 100/125): It sounds strange, but Fear (100) has higher energy than Grief (75). Grief lies still, while Fear makes us run, do, earn, protect. Use the fear (of poverty, of death, of falling behind) as fuel to stand up and do something concrete. Action breaks the stagnation of sorrow.
Practise "gratitude for the memory": Instead of hurting over the loss, be grateful that it once existed. The mantra: "Thank you that it happened, and thank you for the lesson it left behind. Now I let go to receive the new."
Note: Grief is natural. Tears are the medicine that washes away the dust of the world. But let the tears flow as a stream (circulating), and do not let them pool into a puddle (stagnant).
5. Level 100: Fear ("The Prison of the Word 'If'")
Fear does not always appear as extreme panic. Most of the time, it shows up as a very familiar opening phrase: "What if…" "What if I fail? What if I’m judged? What if I lose everything?"
At level 100, the mind lives entirely in dark future scenarios, while the body lives in a prolonged state of hyper-vigilance. We have not yet fallen, but our legs already ache. We have not yet lost, but our heart already hurts.
Fear is the survival instinct that helped humankind avoid wild beasts. But when it becomes a permanent "climate," it no longer protects us—it keeps us under house arrest.
How to recognise it:
| Criterion | Expression at Level 100 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Anxiety, dread. Always feeling that the world is riddled with lurking dangers. |
| Typical thoughts | "What if...", "In case...", "I’m not safe enough / not good enough." |
| Behaviour | Avoiding risk, procrastination, micromanagement in search of a false sense of safety. |
| View of life | Frightening. Life is a minefield. |
| View of the cosmos | Punishment. Fear of retribution, fear of being reproached by the gods (a fear-based faith). |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: the net of "Đà La" and the shadow of "Cự Kỵ"
In the Tử Vi chart, fear usually dwells in the following "caves":
Đà La (the net): This is the star of hesitation and creeping obsession. A person with debilitated Đà La (especially in Mệnh/Thân) tends to have thoughts that go round in circles, worrying over nothing. They want to move forward but feel as if an invisible thread holds their feet back (Đà La means the net that is spread).
Cự Môn + Hóa Kỵ: A social fear (Social Anxiety). Fear of gossip, fear of misspeaking, fear of others’ judgment. They often build a wall of suspicion to protect the fragile self within.
Linh Tinh: A fear that erupts (Panic Attack). Easily startled, constantly worrying about sudden disasters.
Debilitated Thất Sát: A survival fear. The feeling of always having to fight to stay alive, never allowed to let one’s guard down.
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (The avoidance loop)
Fear comes from the "reptilian brain" (Reptilian Brain / Amygdala). This mechanism cannot distinguish between a wild beast (a deadly danger) and a scolding boss / a failure (a psychological danger). It equates them all.
The Karmic Loop forms as follows: fear (Nghiệp) → avoid action → feel temporarily safe (reinforcement) → the belief "the world is truly frightening" is strengthened → next time, even more fear.
The more we avoid, the more the comfort zone shrinks, until you have no more room to breathe.
🔑 The way out: Fear means "Keep going"
Why does Hawkins rank Fear (100) above Grief (75)? Because Fear has Kinetic Energy. When afraid, you run; your heart races. You want to live! Grief lies still and waits to die; Fear is the energy of survival.
To transform Fear (Force) into Courage (Power):
Distinguish: danger vs. discomfort: Ask: "Is what I fear a threat to my life, or does it only make my ego uncomfortable?"
A wild beast = danger (need to run).
Speaking in front of a crowd = discomfort (need to do it). Most fears today are only discomfort.
Small action (Move to Desire/Anger – 125/150): Do not wait until the fear is gone to act. "Do it scared." Just one small action (sending an email, stepping outside) and the nervous system receives a new signal: "Ah, I did it and I didn’t die. Turns out it wasn’t as frightening as I thought." That is the moment Đà La (the net) is cut.
Dialogue with Hóa Kỵ: Instead of believing the scenario "What if…" (negative), practise writing the next line of the script: "If that happens, what will I do to handle it?" Shift from a state of "passive worry" to "active preparation."
6. Level 125: Desire ("The Thirst of Salt Water")
Desire is an extremely powerful engine of the material world. It has the power to help us rise up after Fear (100), to pull us out of Apathy (50). It sets the current of life moving again: we go to work, we earn money, we search for a partner.
However, at level 125, desire usually does not spring from creative joy (Inspiration). It springs from a very quiet feeling: Lack. And when "lack" becomes the foundation of consciousness, we come to live under a hypnotic inner command: "I must have…" "I must have more money," "I must have a lover," "I must have that position."
Desire at this point is like drinking salt water: the more you drink, the thirstier you become.
How to recognise it:
| Criterion | Expression at Level 125 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Craving. A restless, uneasy feeling, always sensing that it is "not enough." |
| Typical thoughts | "If I get X, I’ll be happy forever," "Just a little bit more." |
| Behaviour | Addiction (shopping, sex, power, stimulants). Chasing external goals to fill an inner void. |
| View of life | Disappointing. Because once attained it soon bores, life becomes a series of days spent chasing shadows. |
| View of the cosmos | Denying. Feeling that the universe is stingy, refusing to give what one wants. |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: Tham Lang and Song Hao
In the Tử Vi chart, this energy is represented by the "stars of pursuit":
Tham Lang (the greedy wolf): This is the major star (Chính Tinh) that governs desire (material, romantic, spiritual).
In the Force state (debilitated/weak): Tham Lang is boundless greed, sinking into wine and sex, gambling, carnal pleasures to escape reality.
In the Power state (well-placed/exalted): Tham Lang transforms into creative ambition, a thirst to learn, and skilful social grace.
Song Hao (Đại Hao – Tiểu Hao): Water forever flowing away.
A person with Song Hao in Mệnh/Tài usually has a "never enough" mentality. Even with mountains of money, they still feel a lack, still feel they must earn more or spend it. This is the "bottomless barrel" of consciousness.
Vũ Khúc + Không Kiếp: A craving for money taken to the extreme (triggered by Không Kiếp), treating material wealth as the sole measure of a person’s worth.
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (The hedonic treadmill)
Desire is not wrong. The error lies in the core belief: "Happiness lies in what I do not yet have."
Science calls this the Hedonic Treadmill. When you reach a goal (buy a new car, get a promotion), the brain releases Dopamine. You are happy. But very soon after, the brain adapts and the level of happiness returns to the starting line. You feel empty again and set a higher goal. The loop: want → have → get used to it → grow bored → want something else.
In truth, Desire is a painkiller. We rush outward to search so as not to face the loneliness or the wounds within.
🔑 The way out: sacred anger
How do we escape this loop of addiction? Not by forcing ourselves to "extinguish desire" (the energy is not yet enough), but usually by growing angry with ourselves.
Step up to Level 150 (Anger): It sounds negative, but Anger has higher energy than Desire. When you cry out: "I’m sick of living this dependent life! I don’t want to chase money/affection like a dog anymore!" That anger (if aimed rightly) cuts the chain. It helps you set boundaries and reclaim your autonomy.
Turn inward (Introspection): Instead of asking "How do I get that?", ask: "Why do I need that so much? What feeling does it represent that I am missing?" (Safety? Recognition? Love?). When you find the root, give yourself that feeling instead of begging for it outside.
Note: Desire is very cunning. It can disguise itself under the cover of "self-development" or "spiritual practice." If you go to learn meditation or study Tử Vi only to prove yourself "higher" than others, that is still Desire (Level 125)—merely swapping the toy from the material to the spiritual.
7. Level 150: Anger ("The Two-Faced Flame")
Anger is a flame. It can burn down a whole forest of merit, but it can also be the engine that forges the sword of wisdom. At level 150, this flame flares up when we feel insulted, oppressed, or robbed of what we consider "deserved." The question bursts out as an automatic reflex: "How dare they do this to me?"
This level has one especially important trait: it is stronger than Fear (100) and Grief (75).
The fearful person shrinks back.
The angry person springs up. They have the energy to act. But without Ý Thức (Awareness / the Choice) holding the reins, this flame will burn both the torchbearer and the opponent.
How to recognise it:
| Criterion | Expression at Level 150 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Hate, fury. Feeling hot blood rush to the head, wanting to smash things or scream. |
| Typical thoughts | "This is so unfair," "They’re wrong," "I have to teach them a lesson." |
| Behaviour | Attack (verbal/physical), fierce argument, retaliation. Or quiet opposition (passive-aggressive). |
| View of life | Antagonistic. The world splits into two camps: Us (right) and Them (wrong/enemy). |
| View of the cosmos | Vengeful. Believing in punishment, taking pleasure in seeing the wicked meet immediate retribution. |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: Thất Sát and Hỏa Linh
In the Tử Vi chart, this energy is very clearly present through the Sát tinh (malefic stars) and the Hao tinh (stars of loss):
Thất Sát + Kình Dương (the dagger): The temperament of a warlord. In the Force state (debilitated), they are extremely hot-tempered, autocratic—"submit to me and live, defy me and die." They react very fast and mercilessly.
Hỏa Tinh (yang fire): Anger that erupts like a volcano. Coming and going quickly, but with great destructive force. Prone to misspeaking and causing harm (the karma of speech).
Linh Tinh (yin fire): A smouldering anger, long-held grudges, a long memory. This is a more dangerous form of Anger because it gnaws at a person’s heart for years (often turning into illness in the body).
Hóa Kỵ (when accompanying a Sát tinh): Envy, resentment, the inability to accept another’s success.
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (The mechanism of blocked Desire)
The nature of Anger (150) is Desire (125) that has been blocked.
You want to be respected → you are looked down on → anger.
You want quiet → you are disturbed by noise → anger.
The most dangerous thing at this level is the feeling of "Righteous Indignation." The ego feels a great "high" from playing the role of the judge, the holder of truth. This sense of superiority makes a person addicted to anger and unwilling to let it go.
🔑 The way out: from "Destruction" to "Protection"
We do not "eliminate" anger (for it is a living energy); we "transform" it. We turn Thất Sát from a killer into a general guarding the frontier.
A 6-second pause: When Hỏa Tinh flares up, breathe deeply. Do not act at once. Give the brain a chance to shift control from the amygdala (emotion) to the prefrontal cortex (reason).
Ask the "protection" question: Instead of asking "How dare they do that?" (aimed outward, in attack). Ask: "What is this anger trying to protect within me?" (aimed inward, in understanding).
Is it protecting a wounded self-respect?
Is it protecting a personal boundary?
Set a boundary: Shift the energy from punishing others to protecting yourself. "I am angry, which means my boundary has been violated. I will speak clearly and firmly: I will not allow this to happen again." This is the moment you step up to the level of Courage (200) or Pride (175).
8. Level 175: Pride ("The Glittering but Brittle Armour")
Pride is a very subtle level. It does not carry the discomfort of Fear or Anger. On the contrary, it usually comes with a feeling of satisfaction: I have made it through, I am better, I belong to the elite. Precisely because of this pleasant feeling, Hawkins likened Pride to the "opium" of the Ego. It is a comfortable chair—once you sit in it, it is very hard to stand up.
At level 175, the ego no longer fights headlong like Anger (150). It shifts to a higher strategy: standing above. Its inner mantra is: "I am more special than they are."
How to recognise it
| Criterion | Expression at Level 175 |
|---|---|
| Dominant emotion | Scorn. A sense of self-satisfaction, looking down on those "less capable" or "less fortunate" than oneself. |
| Typical thoughts | "I’m right, they’re wrong," "How can they be so stupid/ignorant?", "Without me it all falls apart." |
| Behaviour | Boasting (subtle or blatant), refusing to admit fault, denying flaws, building a perfect image. |
| View of life | Demanding. Life must treat me specially because I am a special person. |
| View of the cosmos | Partial (indifferent). Believing oneself the "favoured child" of the universe, while others suffer because they deserve it. |
🔍 The Tử Vi Tâm Thức view: the trap of the "Emperor Stars" and "Hóa Quyền"
In the Tử Vi chart, this is usually the blind spot of those with grand configurations or stars of authority:
Tử Vi, Thiên Phủ (the Emperor Stars): The stars of leadership. Lacking cultivation, they easily catch the illness of "sitting on the golden throne," growing detached from reality, wanting only to hear flattery and allergic to criticism.
Hóa Quyền (power / the self): Hóa Quyền increases self-regard. In the Force state, it turns into autocracy, empty pride, "better a glorious death than a shameful life." They would rather strain and suffer than ask for help, for fear of losing face.
Thái Dương (the sun): Governing honour. A person with Thái Dương (especially when debilitated or meeting Kỵ) has an extremely high self-regard. Even a small piece of advice can feel to them like a slap in the face.
🔬 Why do we get stuck here? (A spiritual trap)
Pride is the final station of the Force zone. Why is it dangerous? Because it creates an illusion of safety. A person at the level of Pride feels they are already "fine." They have money, power, or knowledge. They use these things to build a wall separating themselves from the "weak" part within.
Especially in the world of the occult / the spiritual, this is where the Spiritual Ego is born:
"I am vegetarian, I practise, I understand cause and effect… so I am superior to those vulgar ordinary people."
"My chart is a supreme configuration; I cannot live an ordinary life." They use spirituality to feed the ego, instead of using it to let the ego go.
🔑 The way out: true humility
Hawkins said: Pride is hard but brittle. It can shatter over a single small failure. Power (200+), by contrast, is supple. To pass through the gate of 200, we need a single key: Humility.
Accept "the possibility of not knowing": Admit that: "However fine my chart, however much I have studied, I am still only a grain of sand in the universe. I can still be wrong." The words "I don’t know" do not make you lesser; they open you to receive the new.
Let go of the burden of "having to be right": Ask yourself: "Do I want Happiness (Power) or do I want to be Right (Force)?" Pride always wants to win every argument, but loses the war for inner peace.
Shift from "I am special" to "I am useful": Instead of using your talent (Mệnh) to prove yourself better than others, use it to serve others. Then Pride transforms into Courage and Willingness.
A message: If you find yourself at this level, do not hate it. Pride once did the service of helping you rise from the mud of Shame and Fear. It is the armour that protected you while you were still weak. But now, when you want to go further, iron armour has become too heavy. Take it off, so the wings of Ý Thức can spread wide.