The Chinese Zodiac and the Chinese Astrology Calendar

Understanding and knowing your zodiac sign relating to Chinese customs and traditions can tell a great deal about your personality. Every person is represented by one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac like the dog. These animals are representative of the 12 year, rotating cycle that's the basis of the Chinese zodiac. You've probably heard of a specific year as the “year of the dog.” Legend says that these were the animals that appeared before Buddha (or the Jade Emperor, depending on the story) as they responded to an invitation. The Chinese zodiac animals represent the animals' arrival order. Tales and legends characterizing each animal's pilgrimage will vary a bit, but the order that prevails is the following: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Chinese astrology traces back thousands of years to ancient Astronomy in China. The predictions of Chinese astrology horoscope charts are predicated upon the Chinese calendar built by these ancient Chinese astronomers. After some time, astrologists in China made an advanced group of beliefs about how the celestial bodies effect the lives of everyday people.  The Chinese zodiac calendar familiar zodiac animals and the Chinese zodiac calendar arise from Chinese astrology.

Most people's understanding of the Chinese zodiac doesn't usually go very far beyond what they read on the paper place mats covering the tables of their favorite Chinese restaurants. But really, there's so much more to understand and know about this doctrine that dates back more than two thousand years. The Chinese zodiac is a guide to figure out the very best and most compatible matches between people in both romance and work. Each of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals has specific other zodiac animals with which it is thought to be most compatible. Chinese astrology dating compatibility is used to make a determination about an individual's best romantic match. It is critical to remember that there are other aspects of Chinese astrology that go past which animal you are represented by, that also are thought to be crucial in making a determination regarding people that are most compatible.

The Chinese zodiac calendar not only involves the 12 animals of the zodiac, but also has additional relationships that are more complex and elaborate. In addition to the animals, the Chinese Zodiac also involves 5 elements: water, metal, wood, fire and Earth. These elements are connected with the 5 major planets: Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn. The combinations presented by the 5 elements and the animals actually unite to make the 60-year cycle of the Chinese calendar. This chart, along with directions, the moon and sun positioning, a person's date and time of birth, and Yin and Yang are all used to help predict a person's future in more elaborate detail than just using one's zodiac animal as a guide. While the Chinese zodiac animals are important, the way the Chinese zodiac elements interact and collaborate really have to be utilized in order to develop a full understanding of an individual person. To completely understand the Chinese Zodiac, it's important and necessary to also understand the relationship between all the elements, which is something most don't get from a general overview of the Chinese zodiac.