There are many different versions of Osama Bin Laden's birthday. However, I have chosen this one as I feel it looks more like this gentleman, considering his background, his image and his ups and downs in the past. The day I have chosen is 10th March, 1957 at about 5.00 a.m. This is converted to the Chinese calendar as follows:

The Chinese calendar is a unique tool for fortune-telling as it reflects the composition of elements at the moment of birth of a person. So through examining the relationship between elements, we can read a persons fortune in detail. The system contains two parts, Destiny and Luck. Destiny reflects the composition of elements at the moment of birth, it shows the in born quality of a person, his background, his personality, potentials…etc. The Luck is a series of elements that a person has to travel through as he grew up. It is like a passage of life and on such journey, a person will encounter different chances and opportunities at different period of time. The Luck is divided into ten year stages, each stage a person will be under the influence of different pair of elements, which brings ups and downs to the persons' life.

How do we read a persons fortune on basis of this traditional Chinese fortune telling system - very well known as "The Four Pillars of Destiny"? The first step is to look at the day of birth as the element on the day of birth is the "self-element" - representing the person who owns such birthday.

In the case of Osama Bin Laden, he was born on a yin metal day. Hence we can define him as a yin metal person. Yin metal is small metal, jewelery metal and decorative metal. A yin metal person usually appeared to be moderate and gentle, slightly feminine outlook. The other elements surrounding the yin metal represents people surrounding the self, and the environment of the self. The first thing we can notice is that all the Four Pillars are yin elements. Showing a person of deep hidden strength and elaborate thinking. The elements appearing on top are called "Heavenly Stems" which shows how the man appears on the surface - his superficial image. The elements underneath are called "Earthly Branches" which reflects the true inner self.

Let us examine such elements one by one, starting from the year pillar. The first element on top in the Year pillar is Yin fire, fire conquers the self element metal. So this fire represents control, discipline. We called it "power" element, as it reflects a persons status and position. This is especially important for a political figure as status and control is the most important thing for such person. This power element is a Yin fire, which the Chinese called "Shar Chi" - the "Killing look". This means more threatening, harsh and extreme kind of power - suitable for a Kung Fu fighter, a police chief, or a military commander.

The second element on top is yin water - water is produced by the self element metal. Hence it represents his creativity, intelligence and skill. This water is a very important element, it not only gives Bin Laden an intelligent outlook, it also serve as a protective buffer between the fire in the Year pillar and the self element metal on the day pillar. Without this water, the fire will attack the metal. So the water element actually represents his wits to control the power so he can manipulate his forces under his fingers.

The 3rd element on top is his Day Pillar. The Yin metal represents Laden himself. The 4th element on top at the hour pillar is also a Yin metal, symbolising his supporters and followers.

As such, the Heavenly stems painted a picture of an intelligent man who can manipulate military power and has a lot of followers.

Now let us examine what is underneath in the Earthly Branches. The first Earthly Branch, the Rooster, is a stronghold of metal, it supports the self elements and provides a strong foundation. So it means he can establish himself with strong foundation with followers and supporters. The 2nd and the 4th elements are the same - the Rabbit, which are wood elements. Wood is the element conquered by the self metal. Hence wood represents his Money. The position of these money elements also convey a message. The month pillar represents parents, and the hour pillar represents children or servant. So money appearing in these 2 places shows he has money from a wealthy family background and he also has money from supporters and followers. The day pillars is the fire snake, another power element directly under him, showing that he is sitting on power, a powerful leader.

The luck pillars reflect his history and ups and downs in life. Being a metal person, he will be more comfortable if he is supported by earth element in his luck, and he will be more aggressive and showing off his talents if there is strong water - his intellgence element. The earth support appeared in his second luck pillar between the age of 11 to 21. And from the age of 21 to 31, he encountered a luck of metal and water, meaning more challenges, more chance to show his talent, and more friends - this is exactly the period that he was fighting Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan between the year 1979 and 1988.

Now let us examine his current luck - which started from age 41 until today. It is a luck of double earth, yang earth on the Dog. Apparently the earth elements support his metal and he should be more relax and comfortable. This may be true if he is an ordinary merchant. However, he is a man of power and skill and so the key to his ups and downs is more to do with his power element - Fire, and his skill to manipulate power - water. As such, there are serious drawback in this luck. The Yang earth will combine and conquer his yin water, resulting in less chance to use his skill and intelligence, and the Dog is considered to be the "Grave of fire" meaning he is losing his power. And now at the age of 44, he is just entering the period of the Dog.

Then what happened in 2001 Sept.? The Chinese calendar shows it is a month of Yin fire sitting on the metal rooster. On the Heavenly stems, the Yin fire clash against his yin water and attack his metal-self element, stimulating his water - intelligence element - aspirations and fighting spirit. On the Earthly Branches, the metal month also gave strong support to his water to resist the fire. So he has to stand up to face strong challenges. The next month - October, is a month of Yang earth sitting on the Dog. This is exactly identical to his current luck pillar, the yang earth took control of his water, and the Dog puts his fire power into grave. So the direct clash could be over.

This is an article just speculating on the possible accuracy of Bin Laden's birthday. As such, my analysis could be totally wrong in case the birth data is not correct. Therefore I have to warn readers against taking this article as a prediction for future developments. Please just treat this piece as an exercise to enhance the understanding of the art of Four Pillars of Destiny.