Chinese horoscope
The Chinese horoscope consists of a twelve-year cycle represented by twelve animal signs.
The charming legend recounts how the Lord Buddha called all of the world’s animals to him for a meeting and only twelve arrived. As he was pleased with those that did come to see him he decided to honour them by naming years after them. The legend goes on to say that the animals arrived in the following order. First came the sociable Rat, then the hard-working Ox, the courageous Tiger, the companionable Rabbit, the captivating Dragon, the wise Snake, the eloquent Horse, the elegant Sheep, the clever Monkey, the resourceful Rooster, the loyal Dog, and finally the obliging Boar in this order. This horoscope uses the lunar cycles for its interpretations rather than the western method of taking readings from the influence of stars and planets. It tends to be far simpler in its approach to astrology and, as with Numerology and the I Ching, its aim is to bring awareness through self-knowledge. This is why all three procedures are often used together in the Far East. Each individual is born within one of the animal signs, depending upon their year of birth and they are further affected by the element that is attributed to that year and the hour that they were born in.
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