Introduction
The Chinese lunar calendar is the longest
chronological record in history, dating from 2637 B.C. when the first
cycle of the zodiac was introduced. One complete cycle takes 60 years
and is made up of five simple cycles of 12 years each. The 78th cycle
started on February 1984, and will end on February 2044. Twelve animals
were assigned to each of the 12 years when, according to legend, the
Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed
from Earth. Only twelve animals came to bid him farewell. As a reward
he named a year after each one in the order that it arrived. First
came the mouse, then the Ox, the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse,
Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Thus, we have the twelve animal
signs of today. The animal ruling the year in which you were born
exercises a profound influence on your life. "This is the animal
that hides in your heart".
In order to apply the art of Chinese horoscopes
one must study the animal of the year in which he/she was born, the
lunar sign that ruled the hour of birth, the moon sign that corresponds
to the sun sign, the element of the year of birth and the fixed element
of his/her animal sign. By integrating these factors, their attributes
and the effects of positive and negative forces and all the possible
combinations and variations, you will discover - if you don't already
know - what hides in your heart, and the heart of others. Not only
will you then understand your own total self, but you should be able
to predict what you can expect from your personal and professional
relationships, as well as from a given year.
It may shed light on why you dislike certain people, while with others
you have an almost instant rapport. You will find signs you will be
most or least likely to be compatible with. But, please bear in mind
that there are bound to be exceptions depending on the sign that influences
the time of your birth and the sign governing the month of your birth,
too.
The section on how each sign fares in different years, as well as
the marriage combinations and compatibility tables, serves as a general
guide, with the supposition that we are dealing with pure of strongly
dominant lunar signs. A Snake born during the hours of the Snake is
a "pure" sign. A Dragon born during the hours of the Rabbit
will most likely maintain his more "dominant" Dragon characteristics.
But a Sheep born during the hours of the Tiger may display the "stronger"
Tiger traits of his ascendant sign, and be compatible with a Dog,
which would normally not be the case according to the compatibility
tables. As a result, when consulting the marriage combinations and
compatibility tables, it is important to keep in mind that other factors
in the horoscope may affect the relationship between two signs. For
instance, most people display a strong affinity for persons born in
their ascendant sign, even if it is the sign most incompatible with
their own birth sign. Thus, a Pig lady born during the hours of the
Snake may get along very well with Snake persons, who would otherwise
be anathema to a Pig.
When a person is born during the hours of the sign most incompatible
with his birth sign, it is often very difficult to predict what traits
will be most likely to come to the fore in him. Take, for instance,
a Rooster born during the hours of the Rabbit. He may turn out to
be an extremely shy Rooster secretly harboring grand designs and lofty
ambitions, or a loquacious one who is shrewd, diplomatic and strictly
noncommittal in spite of all the noise he makes. Needless to say,
such people are usually complicated in nature and volatile in temperament.
A sure way to determine which sign dominates such a person is to observe
the lunar signs of the people he prefers to work with or finds himself
attracted to. |
