The Chinese Astrology Calendar and the Chinese Zodiac
Knowing and understanding your zodiac sign relating to Chinese tradition can divulge a great deal about your individual personality. Everyone is represented by one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac such as the rat. These 12 animals are representative of the twelve year, rotating cycle that is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. You've likely heard people refer to a particular year as the “year of the rat.” According to tales, these were the animals that came to Buddha (or the Jade Emperor, depending on which story you are referencing) when they responded to an invitation. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals correspond to the animals' order of arrival. The legends and tales portraying each animal's journey will vary slightly, but the predominant order is as follows: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.
The Chinese calendar doesn't only deal with the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, but also has additional relationships that are more complicated and complex. In addition to the 12 animals, the Chinese Zodiac entails 5 elements: water, wood, fire, metal and Earth. These elements are associated with the 5 core planets: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. The connections that are presented by these animals and the 5 elements actually join to create the 60-year cycle of the Chinese calendar. This chart, and a person's date and time of birth, Yin and Yang, the moon and sun positioning, and directions are all used to help predict the future of a person in more elaborate detail than only using one's Chinese zodiac animal as a guide. While the signs of the Chinese zodiac are important and essential, how the Chinese zodiac elements collaborate and interact should be used to build a clear understanding of a person. To fully understand the Chinese Zodiac, it is imperative to also understand the relationship between all the Chinese zodiac elements, which is something that most people won't get from an ordinary overview of the Chinese zodiac.
The understanding that most have of the Chinese zodiac doesn't extend very far beyond what they read on the paper place mats that are on the tables of their favorite Chinese restaurants. But really, there is so much more to know about this ancient doctrine dating back more than two millennium. The Chinese zodiac is used as a guide to figure out the most compatible and very best matches between people in love and work. Each of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac has specific animals with which they are thought to be most compatible. Chinese zodiac compatibility can be used to determine the best romantic match for individuals. It's imperative to bear in mind there are other features of Chinese astrology that go beyond which animal you are, that also are thought to be imperative in making a determination regarding those who are most compatible.
Chinese astrology traces back more than two thousand years to ancient Astronomy in China. The predictions of the Chinese are based upon the Chinese zodiac chart created by these ancient Chinese astronomers. Over time, Chinese astrologists developed a highly-developed organization of beliefs about how the celestial bodies effect the everyday lives of people. The Chinese zodiac and the familiar zodiac animals emerge from Ancient Chinese astrology.
