Chinese astrological animals versus western horoscope
The astrological animals in the Chinese astrology are the counterpart of the sun signs of western/indian astrology. They are different though. Whereas the western sign is base on twelve signs a year, the Chinese zodiac is based on each sign a year.
Chinese Calendrical System
To get to know a little bit about the Chinese astrological signs, some basic knowledge of the way the Chinese define the solar year is necessary. The Chinese system labels the years based on a sixty year cycle in what is now called the hexagenary cycle. Hexagenary means sixty.
Briefly, this hexagenary system is like a numbering system using branches and stems. It is just like using an alphanumeric system which would go like this : A1..B2..C3..
It is simple yet can be confusing but for now just knowing that all in all there are sixty will do.
Stems = animal sign
There are altogether twelve stems and they each have a name. Most astrologers used these names or the animal equivalent interchangeably.
Why name stems after animals
There are many stories told about how the stems came to adopt animal names. One relates that the animals came to pay their last respect to the Buddha at his parinibbana (the passing of the Buddha without remainder). It is a nice tale but highly probably just a tale.
Another story explains why there is no rat. One is that it was supposed to be a cat but as anyone who has watched cartoons will know, the rat is smarter than the cat and by trickery, he arrived earlier than everyone else with the cat last to see the Buddha. He thus held honour as being the first on the astrological hierarchy. There were only twelve places so the cat will for eternity remain to warm the bench.
The animals represent the attributes
My reasoning is that the old ones observed play of nature and discovered the cycles. They also defined the root qualities and used the animals that corresponded to these qualities or attributes. Thus the animals reflect the qualities for example the rat is cool and versatile like water whereas the ox is earthy and stable.
The animals are easier to learn and remember
Using animals instead of the some other term makes learning easier and helps as a memory aid. It was smart and efficient.
Too much emphasis has been placed on the astrological animal for horoscope forecast until it has become a growing industry, especially so when the New Year approaches.
Have some fun but I would not place too much value on these readings and forecast. Have some cheer and laughter over the New Year but there is no need to give any more seriousness than it deserves.
Anyway, as an aid to the learning process, it would be nice to have something in coming writes on these twelve animal signs. Yes, that would be nice.
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