Chinese astrology
In Chinese: 生肖
The twelve animals, read from the year, the month, the day and the hour of a birth, and how they meet each other and the years.
Chinese astrology, 生肖 shēngxiào, reads a birth through the twelve animals: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig. Each is one of the twelve Earthly Branches of Chinese cosmology, seen as an animal, and each comes back every twelve years, every twelve months, every twelve days and every twelve double hours.
Most people know their year animal (“I’m a Horse”), and it says how one meets the world. Ulune reads four: the animal of the year, of the month, of the day and of the hour of a birth, as the four pillars of BaZi give them. The month animal is the inner one, the day animal the self one shows to those closest, the hour animal the secret one, kept for oneself; together they make a portrait that two people born in the same year do not share.
Each animal carries a phase of its own, the Horse Fire, the Rat Water, and a polarity, and each year adds the phase of its stem: a person born in 1990 is a Metal Horse, one born in 2026 a Fire Horse. The animals meet one another in set ways, six harmonies, trines of three, clashes across the circle, which say where two people, or a person and a year, find each other easily and where they ask for more care. The pages also read the year ahead, its ruler Tai Sui and one’s own year, the year of one’s own animal, and the animals of two people side by side.
The twelve animals appear in the day books of the Qin dynasty found at Shuihudi (about 217 BC), some of them different from today’s; Wang Chong’s Lunheng, in the 1st century, is the first text to give all twelve as they are known now. Ulune counts the animal’s year from Lichun, about 4 February, as the solar calendar and BaZi do, and says so when the lunar New Year would give another animal. What it says of an animal is the tradition’s portrait, offered as something to recognise or not, never as a fate.
The foundations these pages read, from the five phases and yin and yang to the Heavenly Stems, are in Chinese cosmology; the twelve animals and the four places they are read in have their pages here.
The twelve animals
- Twelve animalsThe Rat, the Ox, the Tiger and their nine companions: the twelve Earthly Branches seen as animals, read for a year, a month, a day and an hour of birth.
- RatThe first of the twelve animals, the Rat of the branch Zi: quick, alert and resourceful, the one who notices chances others miss and makes much of little.
- OxThe second of the twelve animals, the Ox of the branch Chou: patient, steady and strong, it advances step by step and is the one others rely on.
- TigerThe third of the twelve animals, the Tiger of the branch Yin: brave, magnetic and independent, it acts on its convictions and stands up for others.
- RabbitThe fourth of the twelve animals, the Rabbit of the branch Mao: gentle, refined and tactful, it prefers persuasion to force and peace to quarrels.
- DragonThe fifth of the twelve animals, the Dragon of the branch Chen, the only one of legend: confident, ambitious and generous, a bringer of rain and vitality.
- SnakeThe sixth of the twelve animals, the Snake of the branch Si: wise, discreet and intuitive, it thinks before it moves, then moves precisely.
- HorseThe seventh of the twelve animals, the Horse of the branch Wu: free, lively and warm, it loves movement, company and open spaces, and brings energy.
- GoatThe eighth of the twelve animals, the Goat or Sheep of the branch Wei: gentle, artistic and kind, it feels the moods around it and answers them with care.
- MonkeyThe ninth of the twelve animals, the Monkey of the branch Shen: clever, playful and inventive, it solves problems quickly and is never short of an idea.
- RoosterThe tenth of the twelve animals, the Rooster of the branch You: observant, frank and hard-working, proud of doing things well, punctual and dependable.
- DogThe eleventh of the twelve animals, the Dog of the branch Xu: loyal, honest and just, it defends its friends and its principles and can be trusted completely.
- PigThe twelfth and last of the animals, the Pig of the branch Hai: generous, sincere and good-natured, it enjoys life and gives without counting.
Key ideas
- Year animalThe animal of the year of birth, the one most people know: in the tradition, how others see a person, and the roots and generation they share.
- Month animalThe animal of the solar month of birth, the inner animal: in the tradition, a person’s temperament, the self they grow into, and the parents.
- Day animalThe animal of the day of birth, read as the self: who a person is with those closest to them, and with a partner above all.
- Hour animalThe animal of the double hour of birth, the secret animal: in the tradition, the private self shown to few, and the children.
- Own yearThe year that brings back one’s own animal, every twelve years: the tradition’s meeting with the Tai Sui, which Ulune reads as a year of renewal.
Sources
- Shuihudi Qin bamboo slips, day books (Rishu), c. 217 BC
- Wang Chong, Lunheng, 1st century