Aug 05 2008
What is Chinese Calendar Astrology?
Chinese astrology is based on a twelve year cycle which in turn in part of a 60 year cycle. Each of the twelve years corresponds to a symbolic animal with specific personality traits and tendencies, and each twelve year cluster corresponds to a Chinese element that modifies the personality traits of the animals. Five x twelve = sixty years.
This 12 and 60 year cyclic calendar was originally based on the Chinese agricultural calendar and is very different from the western calendar and is also very different from western astrology. The five elements: water, earth, fire, metal, and wood, do not correspond so much to physical states of matter but rather to subtle forms of change. In addition to all this, each year is also modified by a yin or a yang direction. Most westerners think of yin as feminine and yang as masculine, but again this not really the Chinese meaning of those terms. Both yin and yang refer to specific subtle qualities that may or may not be related to gender.
Chinese Calendar Astrology can be very challenging for westerners to understand because its understanding of time, matter, elements, and change are rooted in a culture that is unfamiliar. Even so, taking the time to understand an ancient tradition that is new to the west can result in insights we could never obtain using our own systems and tools. For the determined student, it is totally worth the effort.
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