CHINESE ASTROLOGY

Eastern astrologers have been practising their art for thousands of years, yet Chinese astrology continues to weave its fascination and rouse our interest to this day. There are twelve signs in the Chinese horoscope, each of them named after one of twelve animals. There are also five elements that have a certain impact on each sign, as they enhance or tone down that sign’s basic traits. No one knows exactly how the signs got their names, but there is this legend:

On a Chinese New Year, Buddha invited all the animals in his kingdom to come before him. For reasons known only to them, only twelve animals showed up. The first to arrive was the Rat. Then came the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and finally the Boar.

To show his gratitude, Buddha decided that each year shall bear the name of one of the animals, while people born during that year shall borrow part of the ruling animal’s personality. This is why Dog-year people are loyal and faithful as only a dog can be, while people born in Ox years are hard-working, determined and stubborn as… an ox. It’s impossible for a person to manifest all of their sign’s basic traits, but it’s nearly incredible how many similarities there are, so the fascination we feel towards the Chinese horoscope is quite understandable.

• HORSE

• SHEEP

• MONKEY

• ROOSTER

• DOG

• BOAR

• RAT

• OX

• TIGER

• RABBIT

• DRAGON

• SNAKE