Life Pillars and the Time Oracle Project
About us
The idea for the TIME ORACLE PROJECT started when we realised there are very few places one can discuss, study or share, divination systems that have been developed throughout millennia by different civilisations
As part of the TIME ORACLE PROJECT, alongside the compilation efforts, tests are conducted to juxtapose the biographical details of both celebrities and anonymous individuals with their corresponding birth charts. These charts encompass both astrological and Bazi readings, determined by the moment and place of birth.
The study of these subjects is both deep and profound and that’s why we decided to start with the East. Due to our team’s prolonged contact with China, it made sense to start our journey with the ancient art of Bazi and share what we know within the English-speaking community. We put our heads together and voila, that’s how LIFE PILLARS (both website and APP were born).
On a more theoretical plane, the Timer Oracle Project and the Life Pillar Website/ App seek to situate these divinatory systems within their historical epochs and the cultural and philosophical milieus in which they evolved.
Meet the team that makes the project possible…
Just as our project, our team too is diverse and inclusive. In essence, we are a group of people with different cultural and academic backgrounds who share similar passions. What brought us together, most of all at least, was the desire to understand phenomena commonly associated with the occult, in an academic framework.
Luís Ortet
The one who started it all!
Luís unique path started with a Medicine Degree in one of Europe’s oldest universities, the University of Coimbra, Portugal. After this experience however, he decided to take on a Journalism career.
A Portuguese Cape-Verdean from birth, life took him to Macau, China in 1985, where a profound interest for everything Chinese ensued. In-depth studies in subjects like Chinese traditions, culture and language resulted in a number of articles, books and general research projects in these subjects.
His latest day-on was as editor-in-chief of MACAU magazine (Portuguese edition), a publication dedicated to promoting, among other subjects, the relationship between Macau and the Portuguese speaking wold, as well as unique aspects of local heritage and cultural scene.
The interest in subjects related to the world of Divination — viewed by both Ancient China and classical antiquity in Europe— accompanied Luís for most of his life, but always with the emphasis of analysing it through the scientific eye. A long-life passion for creating something like the Time Oracle Project was thus always on the back of his mind, just awaiting the difficult combination that is timing, availability and the right team.
Rafael Affonso
In short, the science person!
A Brazilian by birth, his knowledge-thirst guided him to a degree in Biotechnology at the Montes Claros State University and then all the way to the University of Missouri and Illinois Institute of Technology. It was after focusing and deepening his understanding of science that he developed an interest in “the occult”. For him at least, a scientific understanding of the world does not have to exclude the understanding of phenomena we currently categorize as “supernatural”.
It was with this in mind that, after moving to Lisbon, Portugal, that he decided to study the Usui Method of Reiki. These teachings, he believes, were what awoken his fascination for the Eastern “mystical” culture. He also undertook the Traditional Astrology Course by the Astrological Studies Academy in Lisbon, a prestigious learning centre for Divination as used in classical antiquity in the West.
When he met Luís Ortet, the two joined forces to both continue their studies and create a platform to share their combined knowledge with different people around the world.
He is now focused in advancing his understanding of Traditional Western Astrology as well as the Bazi Method applied to biographic cases.
Raquel F.
The Yin Water mind (read about Yin Water Here)!
As a Mozambican Portuguese raised in Macau, China, Raquel grew up immersed in several cultures. Also a history lover, she studied History and Social Anthropology at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom before returning home, Macau, and beginning career in communications. She worked for over a decade in that field, doing a little of everything from magazine articles to event management.
Now based in Lisbon, Raquel is dedicating more of her time to deepen her knowledge of philosophy — subject chosen for her Masters degree— and her understanding of the “occult”.
Long-time inhabitant in the East, an interest in the Chinese divinatory and mystical arts, along with its rituals and traditions came natural to her. Joining the Time Oracle Project combined two of her greatest passions: communicating and researching.