Chinese Astrology

Chinese astrology is not based on the constellations that are used in Western astrology. It still uses the concept based on twelve houses, but animals are used instead. It is based on the Chinese calendar and is a combination of astronomy and ancient Chinese philosophy. There are no constellations that match the signs of the Chinese zodiac.

The Chinese zodiac is also based on twelve year cycles where each year represents a single animal. For example, 2008 is the year of the Rat. This zodiac starts on February 7, 2008 and goes through to January 25, 2009. 2009 will be the year of the Ox. As mentioned above, this pattern repeats every twelve years, so if a person knows the order of the Chinese zodiac, they can determine what year they were born in.

Since the zodiac is same for everyone throughout the year, a person’s Chinese astrology chart becomes based on other factors. The animal represents a person’s basic personality. From there, the Chinese use five elements (wood, earth, fire, metal, and water) and the concept of Yin and Yang to break down the elements of a person’s personality even further. There are also inner animals, seasons, and hidden animals that can be taken into consideration by an experienced Chinese astrologer that help solidify the entirety of a person.

The signs of the Chinese zodiac include: the rat, who is forthright, disciplined, hardworking, charming, or manipulative, selfish, critical, and scheming ; the ox which are dependable, calm, patient, steady, modest, tenacious or narrow-minded, rigid, and demanding; the tiger, unpredictable, colourful, passionate, stimulating, sincere or reckless, impatient and obstinate; the rabbit who is gracious, sensitive, artistic, flexible, or moody, superficial, opportunistic and lazy ; the dragon, vigorous, strong, proud, passionate, generous and loyal, or arrogant, tyrannical, eccentric and brash; the snake is a deep thinker, mystic, wise, sensual, prudent, ambitious, constant, yet a loner, possessive, hedonistic, and distrustful; the horse is cheerful, popular, agile, intelligent, open-minded, but can be fickle, anxious, rude, stubborn and gullible; the sheep, who is righteous, mothering, creative, gently, and shy, yet moody, indecisive, a worrier, pessimistic and a complainer; the monkey is the inventor, the improviser, innovative, polite, objective, competitive, and intellectual, although they can be egotistical, vain, selfish, cunning, jealous, and suspicious; the rooster is neat, meticulous, organized, alert, practical and responsible, but can also be over zealous, critical, abrasive, and opinionated; the dog, honest, loyal, attractive, amiable, sociable, open-minded and affectionate, but also cynical, lazy, and a worrier; and the pig (or boar), who is honest, sturdy, loyal, hard-working, thoughtful, understanding, passionate, and calm, but also naïve, over-reliant, gullible, fatalistic, and materialistic. Each of these signs has their own quirks and idiosyncrasies that are then broken down further based on the elements, Yin and Yang, and other aspects.