Lunar Calendar & Zodiac
A lunar year is made up of twelve months with twenty-nine and a half days in each month. Every two and a half months an additional month is added creating a lunar leap year. The beginning of each lunar month is marked by the New Moon on a Western calendar.
The Chinese calendar counts years in cycles of sixty years. Each year has a label consisting of two parts. The first component is the celestial stem being one of the five elements. The second component is the terrestrial branch being one of the twelve animal (zodiac) signs. The equation becomes five multiplied by twelve equaling sixty, or one cycle in the Chinese calendar.
There are five universal elements in Chinese philosophy: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. The elements were associated with five planets in ancient times, Jupiter=Wood, Mars=Fire, Saturn=Earth, Venus=Metal, Mercury=Water. Astrologers read the planets' positioning to understand what influences would be dominant in a person's life.
The elements are also associated with colors: Green (Wood), Red (Fire), Brown (Earth), White (Metal) and Black (Water). The elements are further associated with the animal zodiac signs. Every twelve-year sequence, the animal takes on one of the elements, until all five have been used.
There are various stories about the origins of the twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Some use the Chinese gods, some use Buddha, but the essence of the story is that a higher being called all animals to a meeting and the first to arrive would be chosen. Before all this, the rat and the cat were good friends. But on the morning of the meeting, the rat, in her excitement, forgot to wake up the cat and through various means of trickery (or cleverness, as this rat interprets) got to the gods first and was thus chosen first. The cat slept in and missed the gathering, and since then, the two have been enemies.Here is an index of the twelve animal signs and their associated characteristics:
Year of the Dragon
1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012
*For the sake of simplicity, I have noted the years per the Gregorian calendar. However, since we're talking about the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the New Year can be any time between January and February. If your birthday falls in these months, and you're not sure where you land, use this website to find your zodiac sign.
- Healthy, Energetic
- Short-tempered
- Stubborn
- Honest
- Sensitive
- Trust-worthy
- Gregarious
- Popular
- Intelligent
Monkeys, Rats
Dogs
- Priest
- Artist
- Politician
Susan B. Anthony, Joan of Arc, Pearl Buck, Sigmund Freud, Theodore Seuss Geisel, John Lennon, Florence Nightingale, Mae West
Year of the Rat
Year of the Ox
Year of the Tiger
Year of the Rabbit
Year of the Dragon
Year of the Snake
Year of the Horse
Year of the Sheep
Year of the Monkey
Year of the Rooster
Year of the Dog
Year of the Boar