Chinese Astrology :
The art of Chinese Astrology is based on the Chinese lunar calendar. Unlike Western astrology, which bases its major system - the Sun signs - on a 12 month cycle, giving a different influence to each month, Chinese astrology is based on cycles of 60 years. Each year is assigned both one of the 12 animals and one of the five elements - wood, water, air, earth and metal - and so the years are more properly defined as the Year of the Water Tiger, The Year of the Earth Pig and so on - sixty in all.
If your birthday falls in the Year of the Rabbit, you are diplomatic and well-liked. If you were born in the Year of the Rat, you are expressive and quick-witted. Similar kind of statements are there for the Year of the Dog, the Ox, the Tiger, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster and the Pig - but to think that this is all there is to Chinese astrology is as simplistic as believing that you can know everything there is to know about a person if you know that they are a Capricorn.
Western astrology focuses on defining personalities and influences. The purpose of Chinese astrology is more direct - to define 'cures' for unfortunate stars by correcting imbalances in the natal chart. Thus, systems like Feng-Shui use the astrological chart as a starting point to prescribe ways to bring balance into one's life. The concept of balance and of Yin and Yang is one that is vital to every aspect of Chinese astrology. Each animal, each element and each year is either Yin (soft) or Yang (hard).
Obviously, every person born in a particular year doesn't share the exact same fate and personality, any more than every person born under a Western astrological sign does. To refine predictions, Chinese astrology uses a complex system of twelve Palaces, similar to the twelve astrological Houses in Western astrology. Zi Wei Dou Shu is used to create a person's entire astrological chart by assigning each of the 'stars' to a Palace. It is the arrangement of these Palaces and stars that determine the influences that a person must affect in order to affect his fate.
There has been virtually no research in the west on the history of Chinese astrology and therefore Chinese astrology never achieved either the complexity and sophistication, or the dominance as a method of divination, that it did in other countries especially in India
Discover Chinese Astrology
The roots of Chinese astrology go back thousands of years. Needless to say in the course of millennia a number of different systems have been used.
There are two main types, those that rely on birth data alone, and those that use birth data but rely primarily on positioning of stars and planets. Most use the lunar calendar (see appendix 1 for more info on the Chinese calendar) which bases its calculations on the cycles of the moon. That is why Chinese New Year falls on a different date every year. Some Chinese systems use the solar year as Western astrology does. Both, however, make use of Chinese five element theory.
The five elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, always being given in that order. It is said to be a productive cycle, that is Wood produces Fire; Fire produces Earth; Earth produces Metal, Metal produces Water, and Water produces Wood, thus continuing the cycle. The balance of these elements and their positioning in a Chinese chart enable the astrologer to tell many things about a person’s personality and life.
As with Western astrology, Chinese astrology has 12 primary signs, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. There are variations in the names. Some people, for example, use Buffalo for Ox or Boar for Pig.
It’s interesting to think about why Chinese astrologers have used these particular animal names. Unfortunately, Chinese astrology is so old that we just don’t have any ancient texts describing the process. Most likely it was done empirically, that is, astrologers looked at human behavior, came up with twelve types (to match their 12 year calendar cycle) and thought about which animal best exemplified each. Chinese animal stereotypes sometimes approximate Western, e.g., the loyal Dog. For the Chinese, however, Rat and Snake do not have the negative connotations characteristic of Western perceptions. In fact, they are two of the most prestigious signs.
Already it can be seen there are both similarities (both have 12 basic signs) and differences (solar and lunar calendar) between Chinese and Western astrology. It is important to understand them to avoid confusion.
Chinese astrologers base their calculations on the moon and its cycles, that is, on the lunar year. Western astrologers base theirs on the solar year. Thus, Western signs are called sun signs. In Western astrology the month sign, for example, Leo, is the primary influence, while in Chinese astrology it is the year sign. Chinese astrology also has month signs. Chinese months are not named (just numbered) and use the same names as year signs. So, there is such a thing as a Wood Sheep year and a Wood Sheep month.
Western signs are usually designated by one word, for example, Aquarius, and change from month to month. Chinese signs are designated by two Chinese characters and change from year to year. One character designates the year’s element and the other its animal sign, for example, Earth Tiger.
The Chinese have used both decimal based calendars as in the West as well as a twelve year based calendar. The two are both used simultaneously by Chinese astrologers, thus resulting in the compound signs.
Actually, Chinese astrology has four signs, one for the year, the month, the day and the hour of birth. In texts these are often referred to as “the four pillars.” This may sound different, but even here there is a similarity with Western astrology. That system, for example, uses hour signs as well, calling them “ascendants.”
If it’s starting to sound like Chinese astrology is complicated, that’s because it is. When you put together the 12 animal signs with the five elements, you get 60 total signs. Then you have to consider that each person has four of these. The practical effect of this is you could be in a high school graduating class of over 8,000 people, all born in the same year, yet no two having exactly the same “four pillars” chart. And, we haven’t even talked about star charts, which use additional factors. Each of us truly is an individual, as no two people on the planet born in the same year have the same Chinese star chart.
There is one more very important thing to know about Chinese astrology. Chinese astrologers are not strict determinists. In other words they do not believe a person’s fate is sealed in stone at the moment of birth. What they do believe is that a person’s time and place of birth set parameters, boundaries within which a person has more or less freedom. What happens within these boundaries is influenced not only by “free will” but also by external factors such as financial status of the family, the culture, and the local economy.
In one way this is just common sense, not unlike what people in the West already believe. If your adult height is five feet one inch, you’re not likely to be a professional basketball player. If your IQ is less than 100, you’re not likely to be a chemical engineer.
There is of course a whole body of Chinese philosophy and culture underlying the precepts and findings of Chinese astrology. The subject of Chinese studies, as fascinating as it is however, is well beyond the scope of this basic introduction.One point worth mentioning, though, is that balance plays a central role in Chinese thought. Even this idea has Western counterparts, Aristotle’s “golden mean” for example. In Chinese thought a star athlete who flunks Algebra is still weak. True strength comes from balance. A strong chart will be balanced in terms of both signs and elements. Ideally a person will have, for example, a mix of strong and gentle signs as well as of elements. And, if a person has a variety of signs as opposed to, say, two Monkey and two Pig signs, so much the better. That means the person has a wider range of capabilities.
Much of the above discussion has been about personality and abilities. Originally, however, the primary purpose of Chinese astrology was fortune telling. The focus is usually on what will happen to people in various stages of their lives/a specific duration of time or on what people should do on a particular day or in a certain month or year.
Chinese Astrology -Years
- Is based on the year of the birth which is assigned to an animalOnce in 12 years the cycle will repeat – 12 animal yearsWhich are as follows Usually the year starts in jan end – feb
years
1960,1972,1984,1996,2008 - RAT YEAR
1961,1973,1985,1997,2009 - OX YEAR
1962,1974,1986,1998,2010 - TIGER YEAR
1963,1975,1987,1999,2011 - RABBIT YEAR
1964,1976,1988,2000,2012 - DRAGON YEAR
1965,1977,1989,2001,2013 - SNAKE YEAR
1966,1978,1990,2002,2014 - HORSE YEAR
1967,1979,1991,2003,2015 - SHEEP YEAR
1968,1980,1992,2004,2016 - MONKEY YEAR
1969,1981,1993,2005,2017 - ROOSTER YEAR
1970,1982,1994,2006,2018 - DOG YEAR
1971,1983,1995,2007,2019,-PIG YEAR
If you have born in the year Feb. 1954 then you have to read the prediction of horse.
