CHINESE ASTROLOGY

According to Chinese astrology, the year of your birth tells not only your age but also indicates a certain phase or aspect of a sixty year circle of time.

Chinese astrology follows a 12 years life cycle with each year governed by a particular animal sign. It is believed that all animals have inherent tendencies specific to them. The person born during a particular year is governed by the animal which governs that year.

Legend has it that Chinese Astrology and the order of the twelve animals that define it was determined thousands of years ago by Lord Buddha himself. According to ancient scripts, Buddha realised that the Chinese nation needed a reorganisation. So on the occasion of the Chinese New Year (which occurs on different dates from mid-January to mid-February), Buddha called upon the entire animal kingdom for a meeting. But only twelve animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig) showed up for this meeting.

Buddha then honoured them in the order of their arrival by endowing upon them with a year of their own. From then on, each successive year of the Chinese calendar bore that character of the animal that gave it a name and so, those born in specific animal years are marked by the nature of their natal animal.

Yet, all people born in the same animal are not the same literally and do differ from each other in certain aspects. These differences are determined by the various elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each of these five elements distinguishes one person of the same animal from the other.

In Chinese system of astrology, each year begins early in the calendar year on a new moon and relates to one of the twelve animals. Their qualities "animate" the year and colour it with their distinct natures.

Therefore you may find yourself born in the year of Rat or a horse or even a dragon as the lore says it. People born in a particular animal year share certain common traits in the same manner as people born in common zodiac do.

Thus it is necessary to know not only about the astrological relevance of different types of animals which represent the years but also about the methods used to predict the future in Chinese astrology.

	Rat Years - 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020.		Ox Years - 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021.
	Tiger Years - 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022.		Rabbit Years - 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023.
	Dragon Years - 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024.		Snake Years - 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025.
	Horse Years - 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026.		Goat years - 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027.
	Monkey Years - 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028.		Rooster Years - 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029.
	Dog Years - 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030.		Pig Years - 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031.

The Five Elements

According to Chinese astrology, our universe consists of five basic elements namely Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. Everything, including humans, in the universe must have a relationship with these five elements. So the five elements are applied not only to every physical thing in the world, but also to the Colours, Directions, Seasons and Sounds, Years, Months, Days, Hours, Minutes and Seconds of the Chinese Calendar. These elements, calculated from the date of birth and time ,gives valuable insights in addition to their animal signs into the psyche of the person concerned, their inherent tendencies and their personalities in general.

The Five Elements Chart

Relation between Elements

These element relations are conducive, beneficial, congenial, friendly, supporting and generating. (Affinity Relationship)

Water generates Wood - Water is the mother of Wood

Wood generates Fire - Wood is the mother of Fire

Fire generates Earth - Fire is the mother of Earth

Earth generates Metal - Earth is the mother of Metal

Metal generates Water - Metal is the mother of Water

The elements have the capability to destroy, defeat, overcome and overwhelm the other elements as well. (Destructive Relationship)

• Water can extinguish Fire
• Wood can break the Earth
• Fire can melt Metal
• Earth can make Water disappear
• Metal can break Wood

The elements are also hostile, fighting, resisting, and hurting mutually one another. (Repulsive Relationship)

• Water dislikes Fire
• Wood dislikes Earth
• Fire dislikes Metal
• Earth dislikes Water
• Metal dislikes Wood

Characteristics of people based on the Five Elements

Earth Element People - Persons, whose representative element is the earth, are faithful to their masters, have an idealistic character but are highly ambitious. These persons have dual character. They wish and desire that other persons should accord importance to them, and they desire a loving treatment, in return for for their love. They should avoid and stay away from moisture and marshy lands.

Fire Element People- Persons of fire element have magnetic and attractive personality, remain happy and excited. They wish to remain bound in the love- bounds of their relatives, as they despise seclusion. They are hypersensitive and quick messengers. They should avoid hyper emotively and planes where there is too much heat.

Water Element People - Such persons are imaginative, philosophers and thinkers. They are clever, scholarly and believe in free lancing. They take up multiple professions. They believe in conferring secrets to themselves only. They should avoid water-laden places.

Metal Element People - They are excellent calculators. They wish to lead an orderly and principled life. They also like hygienic and balanced environment. Quality is the creed of their life. They should avoid dry places.

Wood Element People - They are high class artists or artisans and perform their work diligently and remain committed to their work and are adept in their profession. They wish to remain busy, and believe in the sort of life which is hard work oriented. They indulge in wasteful expenditure. They should avoid such places where strong wind blows.

CHINESE LEGEND

Thousands of years ago, the Jade Emperor of China organized a race for animals. The first 12 animals to finish were to be given a place in the Chinese Zodiac and have a year named after them.

The Cat and the Rat, both late-risers asked the Ox to wake them at dawn on the day of the race. Came the day. The Ox tried to wake the Cat and the Rat, but without success. They would open their eyes, turn to the other side and go back to sleep. The race was about to start. Unwilling to leave them, the Ox coaxed them onto his back and started running. The Rat woke up just as the Ox was crossing the last hurdle, a river.

The sly Rat knew that he could never beat the Cat in the race. He took the chance fate offered to him and pushed the cat off the Ox's back. When the Ox reached the other side, the Rat jumped off and scampered to victory, just ahead of the Ox. The tiger came third, but he cheated. He crossed the river by using the backs of the animals swimming across as stepping stones, leaping from one to another.

So the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac begins with the Rat. After him comes the Ox who is followed by the Tiger. After them come the Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, in that order. The cat, it must be noted, has no place in the zodiac. She wasn't among the first twelve.