Chinese astrology

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|} Chinese astrology (as it is known today) is the divination of the future from the Chinese calendar, particularly its 12-year cycle of animas, referred to as the Chinese Zodiac. This fortune-telling system is derived from the principle characteristics of the system: the Zodiac, the five elements of Chinese thought, calendrical cycles based on astronomy, and ancient Chinese religion.

The Chinese Zodiac refers to a pure calendrical cycle: there are no equivalent constellations like for the occidental zodiac. In imperial times there were astrologers who watched the sky for heavenly omens that would predict the future of the state: but this was a quite different practice of divination than the popular present-day methods.

Background

The ancient Chinese astronomers called the five major planets by the names of the element they were associated with: Venus corresponds to Metal (gold); Jupiter to Wood; Mercury to Water; Mars to Fire; Saturn to Earth. It is said that the position of these planets, along with the positions of the Sun, Moon, any comets in the sky as well as time of birth and Zodiac Sign can determine a person's destiny according to Chinese Astrology.

A laborious system of computing one's fate and destiny based on one's birthday and birth hours (known as Zi Wei Dou Shu 紫微斗數 zǐwēidǒushù) is still used regularly in modern day Chinese astrology to divine one's fortune. The twenty-eight Chinese constellations (宿 xìu) are quite different from the eighty-eight Western constellations. For example, the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) is known as 斗 dǒu; the belt of Orion is known as 參 shen, or the "Happiness, Fortune, Longevity" trio of demigods. The seven northern constellations are referred to as xúanwǔ (玄武). Xuan Wu is also known as the spirit of the northern sky or the spirit of Water in Taoism belief.

In addition to astrological readings of the heavenly bodies, the stars in the sky form the basis of many fairy tales. For example, the Summer Triangle is the trio of the cowherd (Altair), the weaving maiden fairy (Vega) and the "tai bai" fairy (Deneb). The two forbidden lovers were separated by the silvery river (the Milky Way). Each year on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese calendar, the birds form a bridge across the Milky Way. The cowherd carries their two sons (the two stars on each side of Altair) across the bridge to reunite with their fairy mother. The tai bai fairy acts as the chaperone of these two immortal lovers. See Qi Xi for more versions of this story.

Cycles

The cycles of years that are in use nowadays are derived from the age-old sexagenary cycle of 60 days that has been documented at least since the time of the Shang Dynasty. This basic cycle has been constructed from two cycles: the 10 heavenly stems and the 12 earthly branches, and this has later been applied to years instead of days.

There is a binary Yin Yang cycle, which enlarges the five elements cycle to a cycle of 10 (seen below). Even years are yang, odd years are yin. Since the zodiac animal cycle of 12 is divisible by two, every zodiac can only occur in either yin or yang: the dragon is always yang, the snake is always yin, etc. This combination creates a 60-year cycle, starting with Wood Rat and ending with Water Pig. The current cycle began in the year 1996.

Five elements

The Yin or Yang is broken down into Five Elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth) on top of the cycle of animas. These are modifiers and afflict the characteristics of each of the 12 signs. Each element has features that apply to both years and the animals. Each of the 12 animals are governed by an element plus a Yin Yang Direction. Divided into 4 groups

Metal "governs" Monkey, Rooster and Dog. These three signs form the Chinese Autumn season, between 7 or 8 of August and 6 or 7 of November, approximately. The major "gods" (heavenly stems) of these signs are geng (yang Metal), xin (yin Metal) and wei (yang Earth)respectively.

Metal (金)

The West ( 西方 )
Respiratory system (呼吸系統 )
Lungs ( 肺 )
Useful ( 有用 )
Faith ( 信念 )

Sophistication ( 優雅 )
Sadness ( 悲傷 )

'Governs' Monkey, Rooster and Dog.

Wood ( 木 )

The East ( 東方 )
Nervous System ( 神經系統 )
Liver ( 肝 )
Creativity ( 創造性 )
Nurturing ( 哺育 )
Growth ( 成長 )
Honesty ( 誠實 )
Anger ( 憤怒 )

Governs Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon

Water ( 水 )

The North ( 北方 )
Skeletal/Excretory System ( 骨骼 /排泄系統 )
Kidneys ( 腎臟 )
Communication ( 溝通 )
Intuition ( 直覺 )
Sensitivity ( 敏感 )
Fear ( 恐懼 )

'Governs Pig, Rat, Ox

Fire ( 火 )

The South ( 南方 )
Circulatory system ( 循環系統 )
Heart ( 心臟 )
Passion ( 激情 )
Intelligence ( 智能 )
Movement ( 動作 )
Humor ( 幽默 )
Aggression ( 侵略性 )

'Governs Snake, Horse, Ram

Earth ( 土 )

China ( 中國 )
Center ( 中心 )
Digestive system ( 消化系統 )
Spleentomach ( 脾臟/胃 )
Balance ( 平衡 )
Foundations ( 基礎 )
Reliable ( 可靠 )
Worry ( 憂慮 )

Additionally, there is Earth, which to some governs the signs of the Dragon, Dog, Ram, and Ox. It is the central balance of all elements and can lend qualities to all 12 animals as well.

The elements are also associated with colors. The traditional correspondences are green to Wood, red to Fire, yellow to Earth, white to Metal, and black to Water. Some websites denote the years by the colour and zodiac sign (as opposed to animal sign and element).^[1]

The twelve animas

Each individual personality is associated with an animal which represents it. This is where many Chinese Astrolonomy descriptions in western society draw solely from. Each year in the 60 year cycle contains twelve animals, each with five possible elements, which distinctively vary the base animal's personality which equals to 90 possible combinations.

The twelve zodiac animals with their respective elements

rat - 水
ox - 水，土
tiger - 木
rabbit - 木
dragon - 木，土
snake - 火
horse - 火
sheep - 火，土
monkey - 金
rooster - 金
dog - 金，土
pig - 水

Inner animals and secret animals

It is a common misconception that there are only the singular animals assigned by year. These yearly cycles represent what others perceive you as being: while a person might appear to be a Dragon they might actually be a Snake internally and an Ox secretively. Combined with 5 elements, this makes for 8460 combinations (5 elements, 11 animals, 11 months, 11 times of day). The inner animal is assigned by the month of birth. This dictates your love life and inner persona and is critical to a proper understanding of your compatibility with other signs. It may be considered what the individual wishes to become, or believes to be their true self. The secret animal is determined by exact time of birth and is your own true sign which your personality is based on. It is important to compensate for daylight savings or any clock adjustment performed by your country, as it is mapped according to the sun's location and not the local time.

These are said to be critical for the proper use of Chinese astrology. Many Western displays of the Chinese zodiac omit these, as well as the elements, for easier consumption and understanding.

The months

The twelve animals also apply to the lunar months. The month born affects a person's inner animal, as stated above. Remember, the Chinese Calendar is offset to start in the traditional February, or even in late January.

Solar Longitude	Segment Name	Lunar Month (Ordinal - Name)
314°	立春 lìchūn	1st - 鼠 Rat
329°	雨水 yǔshuǐ	1st - 鼠 Rat
344°	啓蟄 qǐzhé (驚蟄 jīngzhé)	2nd - 牛 Ox
0°	春分 chūnfēn	2nd - 牛 Ox
14°	清明 qīngmíng	3rd - 虎 Tiger
29°	穀雨 gǔyǔ	3rd - 虎 Tiger
44°	立夏 lìxià	4th - 兔 Rabbit
59°	小滿 xiǎomǎn	4th - 兔 Rabbit
74°	芒種 mángzhòng	5th - 龍 Dragon
89°	夏至 xiàzhì	5th - 龍 Dragon
104°	小暑 xiǎoshǔ	6th - 蛇 Snake
119°	大暑 dàshǔ	6th - 蛇 Snake
134°	立秋 lìqiū	7th - 馬 Horse
149°	處暑 chùshǔ	7th - 馬 Horse
164°	白露 báilù	8th - 羊 Sheep
181°	秋分 qiūfēn	8th - 羊 Sheep
194°	寒露 hánlù	9th - 猴 Monkey
211°	霜降 shuāngjiàng	9th - 猴 Monkey
224°	立冬 lìdōng	10th - 雞 Rooster
244°	小雪 xiǎoxuě	10th - 雞 Rooster
251°	大雪 dàxuě	11th - 狗 Dog
271°	冬至 dōngzhì	11th - 狗 Dog
284°	小寒 xiǎohán	12th - 豬 Pig
301°	大寒 dàhán	12th - 豬 Pig

The hours

The Chinese zodiac is also used to label times of day, with each sign corresponding to a "large-hour" or shichen (時辰), which is a two-hour period. (24 divided by 12 animals) The larger hour a person is born is their secretive animal, as stated above.

23:00 - 01:00: rat
01:00 - 03:00: ox
03:00 - 05:00: tiger
05:00 - 07:00: rabbit
07:00 - 09:00: dragon
09:00 - 11:00: snake
11:00 - 13:00: horse
13:00 - 15:00: ram
15:00 - 17:00: monkey
17:00 - 19:00: rooster
19:00 - 21:00: dog
21:00 - 23:00: pig

Origin stories

The 12 Zodiac animal signs (生肖 shengxiao) are, in order, the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram (or goat), monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. There are many legends to explain the beginning of the zodiac (see Origins of the Chinese Zodiac). One of the most popular reads, in summarized form, as follows:

The rat was given the task of inviting the animals to report to the Jade Emperor for a banquet to be selected for the zodiac signs. The cat was a good friend of the rat, but the rat tricked him into believing that the banquet was the next day. The cat slept through the banquet, thinking that it was the next day. When he found out, the cat vowed to be the rat's natural enemy for ages to come.

A variation of this describes the Jade Emperor holding a great banquet in his palace; the cat does not hear the initial announcement so the rat tells him that there is going to be a royal party but instead tells him it is on the day after the actual date. All the animals who arrived on the night were granted a special place as a zodiac animal - the cat arrived the next day only to find out that the banquet was over. u Another popular legend has it that a race was used to decide the animals to report to the Jade Emperor: (taken from http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.2137.html)

While we are all aware of the hatred between a cat and a rat, these two animals were actually very good friends once. Good friends they may be, but these two animals are the worst swimmers in the animal kingdom. Although bad swimmers, they were both intelligent. They decided that the best and fastest way to cross the river is to hop on the back of the ox. The ox, being a naïve and good-natured animal, agreed to carry them across. However, when there is a carrot dangling in front, it is sometimes difficult to stick to friendship and the crafty rat decides that in order to win, it must do something and promptly pushed the cat into the river. Because of this, the cat had never forgiven the rat, and no doubt, hated the water too. After the ox had crossed the river, the rat jumped ahead and reached the shore first, and it cleverly claimed first place in the race!

Following closely behind was the strong ox, and it was named the 2nd animal in the zodiac. After the ox, came the tiger, panting away while explaining to the emperor just how difficult it was to cross the river with the heavy currents pushing it downstream all the time. But with powerful strength, it made to shore and was named the 3rd animal in the cycle.

Suddenly, from a distance came a thumping sound and out pop the rabbit. It explained how it curossed the river: by jumping from one stone to another in a nimble fashion. Halfway through, it almost lost the race but the rabbit was lucky enough to grab hold of a floating log that later washed him to shore. For that, it became the 4th animal in the zodiac cycle. Coming in 5th place was the gallant dragon, flying and belching fire into the air. Of course the Emperor was deeply curious as to why a strong and flying creature such as the dragon should fail to reach first. The mighty dragon explained that he had to stop and make rain to help all the people and creatures of the earth, therefore he was held back a little. Then on his way to the finish line, he saw a little helpless rabbit clinging on to a log so he did a good deed and gave a puff of breath to the poor creature so that it could land on the shore. The emperor was very pleased with the actions of the dragon and he was added into the zodiac cycle. As soon as he had done so, a galloping sound was heard and the horse appeared. Hidden on the horse's hoof is the slimy sneaky snake whose sudden appearance gave the horse a fright thus making it fall back and gave the snake 6th spot whilst the horse took the 7th.

Not long after that, a little distance away, the ram, monkey and rooster came to the shore. These three creatures helped each other to get to where they are. The rooster spotted a raft, and took the other two animals with it. Together, the ram and the monkey cleared the weeds, tugged and pulled and finally got the raft to the shore. Because of their combined efforts, the Emperor was very pleased and promptly named the ram as the 8th creature, the monkey as the 9th, and the rooster the 10th.

The 11th animal is the dog. His explanation for being late although he was supposed to be the best swimmer amongst the rest was that he needed a good bath after a long spell, and the fresh water from the river was too big a temptation. For that, he almost didn't make it to finish line. Just as the emperor was about to call it a day, an oink and squeal was heard from a little pig. The term "lazy pig" is due here as the pig got hungry during the race, promptly stopped for a feast then fell asleep. After the nap, the pig continued the race and was named the 12th and last animal of the zodiac cycle. The cat finished too late (thirteenth) to win any place in the calendar, and vowed to be the enemy of the rat forevermore.

Some versions of the tale say that the cattle nominated a water buffalo to represent them because he was more proficient at water. The trade was acceptable because both animals are members of the family of bovines.

Another version of the tale expands the race. The route ran through a forest, over ranges of plains and grasslands, and along a stream, before finally crossing a lake to the destination town.

Yet another variation tells of two different races. The first involved all the animals, in two divisions to avoid the fast animals dominating the top, and the top six in each division would "make the cut" for a second round, which would then determine the order of placement of the animals in the zodiac.

In yet another variation, each animal was called before its peers and had to explain why it deserved a position at the top of the Zodiac. The Boar, at a loss, proceeded to claim that the meat on its bones 'tasted good.' This explanation was apparently considered unsatisfactory, because the Boar was placed at the very end of the Zodiac.

Interestingly, the cat does make it into the Vietnamese Zodiac, in place of the rabbit (see below).

The lunisolar calendar

Since the (traditional) Chinese zodiac follows the (lunisolar) Chinese calendar, the switch over date for the zodiac signs is the Chinese New Year, not January 1 as in the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, a person who was born in January or early February may have the sign of the previous year. For example, 1990 was the year of the horse, but anyone born from January 1 to January 26, 1990 was born in the Year of the Snake (the sign of the previous year), because the 1990 Year of the Horse began on January 27, 1990. The start of a new Zodiac is also celebrated on Chinese New Year along with many other customs.

Many online sign calculators will give a person the wrong sign if he/she was born in January or early February.^[2]

There are some newer astrological texts which follow the Chinese Agricultural Calendar (the jie qi), and thus place the changeover of zodiac signs at the solar term li chun (beginning of Spring), at solar longitude 315 degrees. (See Chinese calendar)

Table of the lunar calendar and zodiac

Chinese Zodiac for the past and present century (Note: first & second columns: 1900-1960. Third & fourth columns: 1960-2020.)
1900-1960		1960-2020		Element	Sign
Begin	End	Begin	End	Element	Sign
1900 Jan 31	1901 Feb 18	1960 Jan 28	1961 Feb 14	金 Metal	鼠 Rat
1901 Feb 19	1902 Feb 07	1961 Feb 15	1962 Feb 04	金 Metal	牛 Ox
1902 Feb 08	1903 Jan 28	1962 Feb 05	1963 Jan 24	水 Water	虎 Tiger
1903 Jan 29	1904 Feb 15	1963 Jan 25	1964 Feb 12	水 Water	兔 Rabbit
1904 Feb 16	1905 Feb 03	1964 Feb 13	1965 Feb 01	木 Wood	龍 Dragon
1905 Feb 04	1906 Jan 24	1965 Feb 02	1966 Jan 20	木 Wood	蛇 Snake
1906 Jan 25	1907 Feb 12	1966 Jan 21	1967 Feb 08	火 Fire	馬 Horse
1907 Feb 13	1908 Feb 01	1967 Feb 09	1968 Jan 29	火 Fire	羊 Ram
1908 Feb 02	1909 Jan 21	1968 Jan 30	1969 Feb 16	土 Earth	猴 Monkey
1909 Jan 22	1910 Feb 09	1969 Feb 17	1970 Feb 05	土 Earth	雞 Rooster
1910 Feb 10	1911 Jan 29	1970 Feb 06	1971 Jan 26	金 Metal	狗 Dog
1911 Jan 30	1912 Feb 17	1971 Jan 27	1972 Feb 14	金 Metal	豬 Pig
1912 Feb 18	1913 Feb 05	1972 Feb 15	1973 Feb 02	水 Water	鼠 Rat
1913 Feb 06	1914 Jan 25	1973 Feb 03	1974 Jan 22	水 Water	牛 Ox
1914 Jan 26	1915 Feb 13	1974 Jan 23	1975 Feb 10	木 Wood	虎 Tiger
1915 Feb 14	1916 Feb 02	1975 Feb 11	1976 Jan 30	木 Wood	兔 Rabbit
1916 Feb 03	1917 Jan 22	1976 Jan 31	1977 Feb 17	火 Fire	龍 Dragon
1917 Jan 23	1918 Feb 10	1977 Feb 18	1978 Feb 06	火 Fire	蛇 Snake
1918 Feb 11	1919 Jan 31	1978 Feb 07	1979 Jan 27	土 Earth	馬 Horse
1919 Feb 01	1920 Feb 19	1979 Jan 28	1980 Feb 15	土 Earth	羊 Ram
1920 Feb 20	1921 Feb 07	1980 Feb 16	1981 Feb 04	金 Metal	猴 Monkey
1921 Feb 08	1922 Jan 27	1981 Feb 05	1982 Jan 24	金 Metal	雞 Rooster
1922 Jan 28	1923 Feb 15	1982 Jan 25	1983 Feb 12	水 Water	狗 Dog
1923 Feb 16	1924 Feb 04	1983 Feb 13	1984 Feb 01	水 Water	豬 Pig
1924 Feb 05	1925 Jan 24	1984 Feb 02	1985 Feb 19	木 Wood	鼠 Rat
1925 Jan 25	1926 Feb 12	1985 Feb 20	1986 Feb 08	木 Wood	牛 Ox
1926 Feb 13	1927 Feb 01	1986 Feb 09	1987 Jan 28	火 Fire	虎 Tiger
1927 Feb 02	1928 Jan 22	1987 Jan 29	1988 Feb 16	火 Fire	兔 Rabbit
1928 Jan 23	1929 Feb 09	1988 Feb 17	1989 Feb 05	土 Earth	龍 Dragon
1929 Feb 10	1930 Jan 29	1989 Feb 06	1990 Jan 26	土 Earth	蛇 Snake
1930 Jan 30	1931 Feb 16	1990 Jan 27	1991 Feb 14	金 Metal	馬 Horse
1931 Feb 17	1932 Feb 05	1991 Feb 15	1992 Feb 03	金 Metal	羊 Ram
1932 Feb 06	1933 Jan 25	1992 Feb 04	1993 Jan 22	水 Water	猴 Monkey
1933 Jan 26	1934 Feb 13	1993 Jan 23	1994 Feb 09	水 Water	雞 Rooster
1934 Feb 14	1935 Feb 03	1994 Feb 10	1995 Jan 30	木 Wood	狗 Dog
1935 Feb 04	1936 Jan 23	1995 Jan 31	1996 Feb 18	木 Wood	豬 Pig
1936 Jan 24	1937 Feb 10	1996 Feb 19	1997 Feb 06	火 Fire	鼠 Rat
1937 Feb 11	1938 Jan 30	1997 Feb 07	1998 Jan 27	火 Fire	牛 Ox
1938 Jan 31	1939 Feb 18	1998 Jan 28	1999 Feb 15	土 Earth	虎 Tiger
1939 Feb 19	1940 Feb 07	1999 Feb 16	2000 Feb 04	土 Earth	兔 Rabbit
1940 Feb 08	1941 Jan 26	2000 Feb 05	2001 Jan 23	金 Metal	龍 Dragon
1941 Jan 27	1942 Feb 14	2001 Jan 24	2002 Feb 11	金 Metal	蛇 Snake
1942 Feb 15	1943 Feb 04	2002 Feb 12	2003 Jan 31	水 Water	馬 Horse
1943 Feb 05	1944 Jan 24	2003 Feb 01	2004 Jan 21	水 Water	羊 Ram
1944 Jan 25	1945 Feb 12	2004 Jan 22	2005 Feb 8	木 Wood	猴 Monkey
1945 Feb 13	1946 Feb 01	2005 Feb 9	2006 Jan 28	木 Wood	雞 Rooster
1946 Feb 02	1947 Jan 21	2006 Jan 29	2007 Feb 17	火 Fire	狗 Dog
1947 Jan 22	1948 Feb 09	2007 Feb 18	2008 Feb 6	火 Fire	豬 Pig
1948 Feb 10	1949 Jan 28	2008 Feb 7	2009 Jan 25	土 Earth	鼠 Rat
1949 Jan 29	1950 Feb 16	2009 Jan 26	2010 Feb 23	土 Earth	牛 Ox
1950 Feb 17	1951 Feb 05	2010 Feb 24	2011 Feb 2	金 Metal	虎 Tiger
1951 Feb 06	1952 Jan 26	2011 Feb 3	2012 Jan 22	金 Metal	兔 Rabbit
1952 Jan 27	1953 Feb 13	2012 Jan 23	2013 Feb 9	水 Water	龍 Dragon
1953 Feb 14	1954 Feb 02	2013 Feb 10	2014 Jan 30	水 Water	蛇 Snake
1954 Feb 03	1955 Jan 23	2014 Jan 31	2015 Feb 18	木 Wood	馬 Horse
1955 Jan 24	1956 Feb 11	2015 Feb 19	2016 Feb 7	木 Wood	羊 Ram
1956 Feb 12	1957 Jan 30	2016 Feb 8	2017 Jan 27	火 Fire	猴 Monkey
1957 Jan 31	1958 Feb 17	2017 Jan 28	2018 Feb 15	火 Fire	雞 Rooster
1958 Feb 18	1959 Feb 07	2018 Feb 16	2019 Feb 4	土 Earth	狗 Dog
1959 Feb 08	1960 Jan 27	2019 Feb 5	2020 Jan 24	土 Earth	豬 Pig

Chinese zodiac in other countries

The Chinese zodiac signs are also used by cultures other than Chinese. For one example, they usually appear on Japanese New Year's cards and stamps. The United States Postal Service and those of several other countries issue a "Year of the _____" postage stamp each year to honor this Chinese heritage. However, those unfamiliar with the use of the Chinese lunar calendar usually just assume that the signs switch over on Jan 1 of each year. Those who are serious about the fortune telling aspect of the signs can consult a table, such as the one above.

The Chinese zodiac is also used in some other Asian countries that have been under the cultural influence of China. However, some of the animals in the Zodiac may differ by country.

For example, the Vietnamese zodiac is identical to Chinese zodiac except the fourth animal is the cat not the rabbit, while the Japanese zodiac includes the wild boar instead of the pig. The European Huns used the Chinese Zodiac complete with "dragon", "pig". This common Chinese-Turkic Zodiac was in use in Balkan Bulgaria well into the Bulgars' adoption of Slavic language and Orthodox Christianity. Following is the Hunnish or Turkic Bulgarian Pagan zodiac calendar, distinctive from the Greek zodiac but much in conformity with the Chinese one: Kam-Boyan Calendar.

Torè calendar

Names of years

Kuzgé - [Year of] Saravana
Shiger (Syger) - Artom (Taurus)
Kuman (Imén)
Ügur - Tiger Myachè Ügur - Tiger
Taushan - Rabbit
Samar - Dragon Birgün (Bergen, Birig, Baradj)- Dragon
Dilan - Snake
Tuki (Tykha) - Horse
Téké - Ram (Sheep or Goat)
Bichin, Michin - Monkey
Taguk - Rooster, Hen
It - Dog
Shushma - Boar (Türk, Russ "Kaban" - Translator's Note)

The Thai Zodiac does not differ from the Chinese zodiac except for one minor exception. It uses a Naga instead of a dragon.

The Four Trines

The First Trine The first trine consists of the Rat, Dragon, and Monkey. These three signs are intense and powerful individuals, capable of great good or great evil (historically, Japan ruled by the dragon and Germany ruled by the Rat were causes of WWII and major atrocities, including the holocaust). They make great leaders, but the three have different approaches. Rats and Dragons have a tendency to be quite dictatorial and autocratic, whilst monkeys are more diplomatic. Frustrated when hampered, these signs are ruled by highly potent energy and unpredictability. They are intelligent, magnanimous, charismatic, charming, authoritative, confident, eloquent and artistic. They can also be tyrannical, bombastic, prejudiced, deceitful, imperious, ruthless, power-hungry, and megalomaniacal.

The Second Trine The second trine consists of the Ox, Snake, and Rooster. These 3 soul mates conquer life through endurance, application, and slow accumulation of energy. Although, each sign is fixed and rigid in opinions and views, they are genius in the art of meticulous planning. They are hardworking, discreet, modest, industrious, charitable, loyal, punctual, philosophical, patient, and good-hearted individuals with high moral standards. They can also be self-righteous, greedy, critical, judgemental, narrow-minded, petty, and pessimistic.

The Third Trine The third trine consists of the Tiger, Horse, and Dog. These three signs seek one another, and are like-minded in their pursuit of humanitarian causes. Each is a gifted orator and excels at verbal communication. Relationships and personal contact, are of highest priority and each one seek their intimate soul mate. Idealistic and impulsive, the Tiger, Horse and Dog follow the beat of their own drummer. Defiant against injustice, these three signs wilt without large amounts of physical affection and loyal support for causes. They are productive, enthusiastic, independent, engaging, dynamic, and honorable. They can also be rash, rebellious, quarrelsome, hot-headed, reckless, anxious, moody, disagreeable, stubborn, and vain.

The Fourth Trine The fourth sign consists of the Rabbit, Goat, and Pig. The quest for these three signs, is the aesthetic and beautiful in life. They are artistic, refined, intuitive and well-mannered. These souls love the preliminaries in love, and are fine artists in their lovemaking. The Rabbit, Goat and Pig have been bestowed with calmer natures than the other 9 signs. These three are compassionately aware, yet detached and resigned to their condition. They seek beauty and a sensitive lover. They are caring, self-sacrificing, obliging, sensible, creative, empathetic, tactful, and prudent. They can also be naive, gullible, pedantic, lazy, insecure, cunning, indecisive, and pessimistic.

References

^ See http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/ (Notice the title "Red Dog Year".)
^ (such as http://javascript.internet.com/math-related/astrological-calculator.html

Shelly Wu. (2005). "Chinese Astrology". Publisher: The Career Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56414-796-7

External links

Template:Cmyth

[1] See http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/ (Notice the title "Red Dog Year".)

[2] (such as http://javascript.internet.com/math-related/astrological-calculator.html

[1]

[2]