What is Chinese astrology? Know what it is and how it affects your life and personality

The possibilities with receiving direction and guidance when it comes to the expansive world of astrology, are vast. There are many layers and interpretations when it comes to astrology, particularly the zodiac signs. A prominent branch of the same is Chinese astrology. Much like other branches of astrology, like elemental astrology for instance, the twelve signs of the zodiac stand redefined with completely different labels and insignias.

What is Chinese astrology?

The core of Chinese astrology is the 12-year cycle it follows in close tandem with the lunar calendar. This is right in alignment with the zodiac having twelve signs. Each year from the 12-year cycle corresponds with a certain animal on the chinese zodiac. Much like the twelve conventional zodiac signs, each of the zodiacs as per Chinese astrology have a set number of years which allocate people their groupings. Not just this, each grouping reflects a similarity of perspective, trajectory and personality.

Chinese astrology stems from ancient Chinese culture and was a huge part of Chinese folklore and oral history. The primary difference between conventional astrology and Chinese astrology is the fact that while the former is determined by one's birth date and month, the latter is solely dependent on one's birth year.

What are the different signs in Chinese astrology?

Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig are the twelve signs when it comes to Chinese astrology. The corresponding astrology zodiacs for these are Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio respectively.

Each of the Chinese zodiacs also correspond to an overarching theme largely seen in the people belonging to the specific categorisation. For instance, rats are adventurous while oxes are reliable, tigers are fearless and rabbits are artistic, dragons are adventurous while snakes are sensual, horses are curious while goats are dreamy, monkeys are clever while roosters are hard-working, dogs are loyal while pigs are passionate.