Chinese Astrology
The Chinese are very much into horoscopes and astrology. Their astrological beliefs and traditions are based on astronomy in terms of the planets and alignments as well as ancient Chinese philosophies beliefs. Chinese astrology is the attempt of predicting the future.
Part of Chinese astrology is of course the animal zodiac. Each year the Chinese assign the year as a symbol of an animal. You may have heard of "Year of the Dragon" or "Year of the Rabbit". The Chinese animal zodiac system is actually based on the lunar (moon) cycles.
There is a 12 year cycle of animals and this is half of the main cycle called the sexagenary cycle which is a 60 year period. The other half are the 10 heavenly stems which are the five elements in their yin and yang forms.
The five elements are wood, fire, metal, water and earth. Each animal is governed by a particular element as well as a direction of yin and yang.
The following list outlines which elements govern which particular animal:
- Wood: rabbit, dragon, tiger
- Water: rat, pig, ox
- Metal: dog, rooster, monkey
- Fire: sheep, horse, snake
- Earth: dragon, rat, ox
The list of 12 animals that the Chinese involve in astrology are:
- Rat
- Ox
- Tiger
- Rabbit
- Dragon
- Snake
- Horse
- Sheep
- Monkey
- Rooster
- Dog
- Boar
The animals are also categorized into two groups. One is the Romance group and the other is the Power group. The power group consists of the rat, ox, tiger, dragon, monkey and snake. The Romance group holds the pig, dog, rooster, sheep, horse and rabbit.
Chinese astrology is a complicated but interesting tradition. If you are traveling in China you may be able to visit an astrologist who can explain it to you in detail as well as predict your future based on the signs and tales of Chinese astrology.