Like any ancient system, a full understanding of Chinese Astrology is extremely complicated, but here are a few basic rules. If you want to get into much greater detail here is a very thorough site on Chinese Astrology.

THE CHINESE ASTROLOGY YEARS

The Year of the Rat – 1900 1912 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008
The Year of the Ox – 1901 1913 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997
The Year of the Tiger – 1902 1914 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998
The Year of the Cat – 1903 1915 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999
The Year of the Dragon – 1904 1916 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000
The Year of the Snake – 1905 1917 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001
The Year of the Horse -1906* 1918 1930 1942 1954 1966* 1978 1990 2002
The Year of the Goat – 1907 1919 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003
The Year of the Monkey – 1908 1920 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992
The Year of the Rooster – 1909 1921 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005
The Year of the Dog – 1910 1922 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006
The Year of the Pig – 1911 1923 1935 1947** 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007**

THE CHINESE ELEMENTS

The five elements: Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth
These elements rotate in a 10 year cycle, when combined with the animal years we get a 60 year cycle. The rotation goes like this:
Yang Wood, Yin Wood,
Yang Fire, Yin Fire,
Yang Earth, Yin Earth,
Yang Metal, Yin Metal,
Yang Water and Yin Water
The elements either support or destroy one another when combined – and this has a great impact on compatibility with others and your luck during a given year. These are also the principles that Feng Shui is based upon.

2008 is the year of the Earth Rat – specifically it is a YIN (female) Earth Rat, also called the Brown Earth Rat. Last year – 2007 was also an Earth year, but it was YANG earth year, in the animal year of the Pig.

Because the Chinese New Year always begins on a New Moon many people make the mistake of believing it follows the Lunar (Moon cycle). This is not true. It would be far more appropriate to say that it follows the Jupiter Cycle – which lasts 12 years, just like the 12 animal years. The Chinese New year does not actually start until the next Chinese New Calendar begins – which takes place when the Tiger Month begins each year. In 2008 this actually happens on FEB 4th.

The FIVE Elements of Chinese Astrology either support or fight with each other. Elements support each other in the following order:

Metal supports Water nourishes Wood feeds Fire gives to Earth grows Metal…

The Destructive relationships are:

• Wood fights with Metal
• Fire fights with Water
• Soil fights with Wood
• Metal fights with Fire
• Water fights with Soil

Since this is an Earth year it is especially good for those born in a Metal year. It will be more challenging for those born in a Water or Wood year.

To find your own years of greatest Balance – and therefore greatest luck in Chinese Astrology go here.

*The year of the Fire Horse. Anyone one born in this year is considered to be so head strong and full of impulse that they are often dangerous and disruptive to the home. It was considered especially bad to be a girl born in this year and is called hinoeuma. In ancient China girl babies born in a Fire Horse year were often drowned, and were considered unmarriageable. In 1966 the abortion rate in China was so high that it was shocking because so many parents did not want to have Fire Horses in their homes. Many other parents simply waited until the following year to register the birth of their child to help the baby avoid the prejudice such Fire Horse children (especially girl children) would receive.

**The year of the Golden Pig. Considered in Chinese Astrology to be the luckiest of all years. The most auspicious time to start a business or other profit making venture. To me this is because of the alignment of Jupiter and Pluto which takes place once every 60 years, and therefore is always present during the year of the Golden Pig. This is a generally lucky influence – but it will ONLY be lucky for you personally if it is making good aspects for YOU.

Tags: cat, chinese astrology, chinese new year, dog, dragon, earth, fire, goat, horse, Learn Astrology, metal, monkey, ox, pig, rat, rooster, snake, tiger, water, wood

This entry was posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 2:47 pm and is filed under Astrology News, Astrology Trends, Learn Astrology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.