The Chinese horoscope consists of twelve animals with the following order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. This new Chinese year of 2017 begins on January 28, and will be the year of the rooster. The Chinese believe that a person's horoscope influences their lives by shaping their character.

Among the Chinese people there is the custom of granting a zodiacal sign of animal to the newborn, according to the date of the birth. The Chinese-language zodiac (huangdao dai or 黄 道 带) is also called "birth" and "assimilation." It is, therefore, a traditional way of enumerating the years and calculating the age.

In ancient China, the use of the titles of the emperors and the Ganzhi celestial system was used to enumerate the years, in the year 2937 BC. the first Chinese lunar calendar was elaborated, according to which each sign consists of 60 years - time of the reign of the Yellow Emperor -, distributed in five cycles of twelve years each. It was from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), when the Chinese began to use the twelve signs of animals in order - Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Serpent, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pork-and, like the signs of the Western Zodiac which are also twelve -Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces-, somehow mark the personality of each one of us.

These signs, inspired by the phases of the lunar calendar, exist in Chinese tradition from the sixth century BC, although it was not until the third century BC. when they were incorporated into the formal study of astrology and astronomy.

According to a legend, Buddha sent before all the animals of the Earth before him, nevertheless, only twelve appeared before him. The first to do so was the rat, since as he was perched on the back of an ox, just seeing Buddha, he jumped and ran towards him. TheChineseZodiac.org explains in details all you need to know about the year of the dog 2018 .

The rat represents, then, the first year and the others have the characteristics of the rest of animals that came after her. Of course, the ox was the second, the pig being the last.

Another Chinese legend says that it was the King of Jade who organized a race to determine which animals were the fastest. The first twelve who managed to cross a designated river were the chosen ones to represent the twelve terrestrial branches in which the cyclical order of the lunar calendar is divided.

The sign of each person depends on the year - and therefore the animal - on which he was born and always taking into account that it begins in late January or early February. The characteristics of that animal will determine the personality, luck, misfortune or even the ideal love of any of us.

In China, one of the most frequently asked questions when you meet someone is: "What animal are you?", To know the age of the person to whom we are going, because even children know by heart the succession of the twelve animals and are able to calculate the age of any person immediately.

According to the ancient Chinese philosophers, the five fundamental elements of the universe that combine with the twelve animals and influence their personality are: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Each element reigns two years, one under the sign of Yang and another under the sign of Yin, thus establishing a perfect balance.

THE 12 ANIMALS

The Chinese believe that a person's horoscope influences their lives by shaping their character. Below is a brief explanation of each of the animals in the Chinese horoscope.

Rat

Those born under the sign of the Rat are wise people who like to surround themselves with family and friends, who help in their daily chores and problems. Good workers, savers and good managers of their economy.

Ox

Buffaloes or oxen are quiet, patient animals that radiate a lot of love and love and infuse respect. Great workers, feel comfortable surrounded by order and cleanliness and achieve success thanks to their effort. For them the most important thing is the family, although they are jealous with their partner. They love art and music. They do not like to argue, but they do obey. Signs compatible: snake, rooster, ox. Incompatible signs: sheep, horse, dragon and dog.

Tiger

The people of this sign are very passionate and full of energy. They do not go unnoticed, they are adventurous, independent, witty, impulsive and they like fun. They are friends for life, but they like to be the leader of the group. In the world of couple relationships they are shown the strongest, sexiest and alluring, yet overbearing.

Rabbit

Those born in the Year of the Rabbit bring together extraordinary human qualities: they are prudent, intelligent, affable, discreet, watchful, attentive and benevolent. That is why the rabbit's sign is widely accepted by people.

Of moderate and indulgent character, lover of the peace and the concordia, the rabbit hates the war and the violence. He likes quiet life, tenderness and harmony. He strives to get along with others and almost always achieves it for his human virtues. His great clairvoyance and his resourcefulness in delicate situations make him an excellent diplomat and mediator.

Dragon

Symbol of the Emperor in China, the dragon is imaginative, magnanimous, enterprising, fortunate and powerful. It is full of strength and vitality. It is a true accumulator of energy and if you get angry, you will be so angry that you will lose your temper. It will be difficult to calm him, for he believes neither to anyone nor to anyone. They often give good advice and are fortunate in both money and love. They are very sentimental and fall madly in love. Compatible with tiger, rooster, horse, sheep and rabbit.

Snake

Snake people are clever, they know what they want and how to get it. Their conversation is elegant and fluid. They are intense and prudent at the same time. They are jealous and possessive with their family but loyal. They like to pamper their friends and expect from them a reciprocal attitude. If they feel disdained or fail in their attempts, they may be angry for hours, although they are good at keeping calm and seem calm in difficult situations.

Horse

Popular, optimistic, full of joy, adventurous, eloquent, impatient, enterprising, enthusiastic about life, great lovers and friends. His great passion is money and travel. They like to meet new people, different cultures, speak languages ​​and are the soul of the holidays. Their physical attractiveness and their beauty makes it easy for them to find love: a trap in which they fall without remedy.

Goat

The goat is creative, artistic, positive, elegant, feminine, affable, compassionate, crying, sensitive, dreamy, proud and sad. They do not pursue material wealth and prefer to live on their dreams. They love family, children, home and be in touch with nature. They are very hardworking, although they do not like the pressure of a deadline or a boss.

Monkey

Animal more like the human being, is witty, funny, sympathetic, fast-minded and awake, buyer, persuasive, sociable, able to solve any problem however difficult it is with ease. His love relationships and his friends are often conflictive, because he can not bear not to value him. They are in good health, although their excesses at parties, alcohol and drugs could take their toll.

Rooster

Attractive and seductive, talented and appreciated. They are meticulous, efficient, orderly, good conversationalists, observant, selfish, usurers, pragmatists, and very familiar. In love they are romantic, obstinacy

SCORPIO, EMPHASIS IS IN YOUR 1ST HOUSE. IT RULES:

• success through leadership and drive
• personal contacts and interests
• new products and changes
• self-promotion

YOU ACHIEVE THE GREATEST SUCCESS BY

• displaying optimism and courage
• renewing influential contacts
• using your own innovations
• revising personal habits

YOU SHOULD AVOID

• putting effort into unprofitable ventures
• revealing original plans or ideas
• becoming bitter or discontented
• giving wrong impressions

You'll want to work on your pet personal projects with more zeal and self-confidence on the 7th, 10th, 15th, and 20th, with the Sun traveling through your solar first house until the 22nd. Venus joins the Sun on the 8th and echoes this theme. Venus also favors any changes you might want to make in your appearance on the 9th, 13th, 18th, 20th, and 24th. Mercury joins the Sun on the 7th, so circle the 9th, 17th, 19th, and 25th as days to make improvements in your health and work routines, as well as to contact siblings and neighbors. The New Moon on the 15th brings a new family financial tie, whereas a Full Moon in your seventh house of partnerships on the 1st raises an emotional issue with a significant other. Until the 7th, Mercury in your twelfth house, with Venus there until the 8th, suggests you do some meditation and listen to your intuition for the answers to any perplexing problems on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th. Be sure to avoid any secretive, questionable romantic entanglements on the 2nd and 7th.

Mars, Uranus, and Neptune transit your domestic fourth house. Mars can make a family member more testy than usual on the 5th, 7th, 16th, and 23rd (especially a mate or partner), days to be more careful around the house to avoid accidents. The cost of buying a neat high-tech item for the house can upset your mate on the 1st. Having friends over is especially exciting on the 1st, 4th, 12th, 17th, and 21st. A family member can be experiencing some health problems that worry you on the 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th. Retrograde Saturn transiting your eighth house can bring some financial snags and delays that are tied to events of last summer, especially on the 2nd, 5th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 18th, and 23rd, days when an older person in your circle might not be doing well. The Full Moon in the same sector on the 30th further fuels some temporary uncertainty concerning these areas.

Pluto (your ruler) in your second house of money is joined by the Sun on the 22nd and Mercury on the 26th, which is a boon for more funds flowing in your direction on the 8th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 21st, and 26th, days to make lucrative investments. Jupiter in your ninth house goes retrograde on the 2nd, so some travel plans and legal maneuvers can go awry temporarily, as well as some ongoing dealings with in-laws. However, making adjustments concerning these matters on the 17th is very helpful.

 You can almost smell it in the air. You can feel it on your skin. And in that deep and darkest part of your soul, you know that change is coming to us all!

While it would be nice to ignore it - we cannot. For this is a time of growth and spiritual development for each of us.

From an astrological standpoint, nothing could reflect this coming change more than what we have going on in the Universe at this time. On November 11th, 2018, PLUTO will move into the sign of SAGITTARIUS, where it will stay until well after the turn of the century (2020).

Two months later, on January 12, 1996, URANUS will also move into its home sign of AQUARIUS. Both of these planets have to do with CHANGE. They bring their changes in their own special ways - but still it is change. And the effect will be to carry us into a potentially turbulent time as we head toward the next century!

PLUTO is currently preparing to leave its twelve year march through its home sign of SCORPIO. Since Pluto rules Scorpio, Pluto has had a "field day" here. There have been ENORMOUS changes in the world in every single area of our lives. The list is very long - but think: the Berlin Wall came crumbling down; AIDS was identified and became a recognized epidemic; governments have toppled; massive changes in the sexual behavior of all of us; remarkable advances in medicine; violence has increased; and on and on the litany goes.

This has been a particularly turbulent time for the FIXED signs of TAURUS, LEO, SCORPIO and AQUARIUS. The intensity of Pluto has been amplified in Scorpio, and the changes have been dramatic indeed. Is there one among us that cannot recall a friend who has had MASSIVE problems? Some have been very ill; others have lost homes and jobs and spouses, only to start over again and emerge like the Phoenix from the fires of destruction. Always remember that astrology is SYMBOLIC of what is surrounding us.

We are always given free will in what we do. But the potential of what we may encounter is reflected in the symbolism of Astrology. The symbology of Pluto in Scorpio has been clear - total and complete transformation on almost every level.

The lesson of"letting go" has been one that has come hard for many of us. And there are few among us who have not been called upon to learn this lesson. Letting go is never easy - but it must be done in order to make room for the new and good. In short - a vacuum must be created in order for the new and wonderful to fill it.

Many of us have learned that it is not necessary to have a lot of material wealth in order to be happy. We have come to recognize that the love of our families and other close associates is more valuable than any material wealth could ever be.

As Pluto moves into SAGITTARIUS, we will be asked to address new issues. Clearly, lessons in "religion" will be high on the agenda. Pluto briefly moved into Sagittarius earlier this year, from January 17th through April 19th. Think about what happened then to give you some clues about the future.

There already exists in this country the potential for great religious disputes. Clearly, this will accelerate during this transit. Great opportunities for spiritual growth will be with us, but we must be open and ready to accept these opportunities. And it is important to know that what we feel will be felt on a very deep soul level. Other changes we can expect will be in travel, schooling and relations with foreign countries and foreigners in general. Remember, there is already a move on to change the immigration laws in this country. Pluto in Sag reflects this - and it also says there will be a power struggle to effect it. This great snowball effect will be felt globally, and all will be called upon the make decisions about spiritual values and aspirations.

Look also for major changes in the Judiciary. Our legal system is long overdue for major changes. The last few years have given us legal fiascoes in the court system, beginning in Los Angeles with the various trials surrounding Rodney King and the destructive results. The Menendez Brothers came next and now we have the great drama wrought by OJ'S trial. Clearly the system needs MAJOR overhaul and the Pluto in Sag transit will highlight these things and no doubt bring the long needed reform.

How will it affect you on a personal level? Your astrological chart has the answer to that question. Of course, it is important to remember that to answer that, one must look at the progressions in your chart first to see what the potentials might be. These are where the major activities of your chart are shown. However, the transit of Pluto will also highlight an area of your life and it will tell you what you most likely will be dealing with in the upcoming years in general terms.

The first week of September witnesses a conjunction between the planets of Venus and Jupiter in the sign of Libra. The two benefics, as the planets are called in traditional astrology, fuse together and join in temporary matrimony in the peace-loving and artful sign of Libra. Certainly not an influence for hard work and labor, rather the planetary pairing is perfect for celebrations and socializing of all kinds: parties, weddings, outings, and reunions. Jupiter and Venus in a conjunction create an ease, flow, and grace between people, so much so that even wallflowers can temporarily blossom and become the life of the party. Even the problematic expression of a Jupiter-Venus pairing overindulgence and excess may be qualities to be enjoyed as a Jupiter-Venus conjunction happens, on average, only once a year.

Jupiter also forms a potent sextile (or sixty degree aspect) to Pluto for the entire month of September. Although not as noticeable and powerful in expression as a conjunction or opposition, the sextile aspect has a creative, energizing quality to it. In this formation, Jupiter and Pluto excite and stimulate each others' possibilities. From the depths, Pluto can give extreme and intense expression to Jupiter's proclivities for social and religious heights. Conversely, Jupiter can expand and amplify the primal passion and power of Pluto. Not known for subtlety and understatement, Jupiter and Pluto in combination prefers massive and large-scale displays of social power that make an indelible impact on people. Awesome and epic, Jupiter-Pluto experiences have the power to truly move people. In the other extreme, Jupiter-Pluto manifestations can be swollen by excess and lack sensitivity for the impact it has on individuals.

In the second week of September, Mercury opposes Uranus. In this pairing of "lower mind" and "higher mind," typically announcements or news is released that has a shocking, alarming, or unexpected quality to it. Ranging from the exciting to the plain bizarre, Uranus-Mercury news items can range from the heralding of something avant garde and truly cutting edge to announcements that stimulate the funny bone. As the Uranus-Mercury pairing is the uniting of the cosmic tricksters, typically the week or so alignments of the two planets correlate with events that disrupt and disturb status quo functioning; Uranus-Mercury alignments can manifest as a monkey wrench in a well-oiled but ever-so-monotonous social arrangement. Like an unexpected handclap, Uranus-Mercury experiences can serve to wake us up out of our habitual patterns and sleepwalking states.

As Mercury journeys onward in Virgo, it forms a contentious and difficult square aspect with the planet Pluto by mid-month. As the Sun is also involved in this formation, the middle part of September may be the most challenging, particularly where matters of communication and expression are involved. Although there are a variety of manifestations with this pairing, Pluto and Mercury can create case scenarios of verbal mudslinging and heated, contentious debate. As lord of the underworld and the unconscious, Pluto expresses itself through Mercury, the planet associated with thinking, communication, and language. Thus, when these planets are conjoined by aspect there is a tendency for the thoughts and ideas that we typically repress to find them selves out in the open. In the heat of the moment under a Pluto-Mercury pairing, we may find ourselves thinking, "My god, did I just say that?" Ranging to the off-color to the downright murderous, Pluto-Mercury expressions of mind usually grab attention for their intensity and brutal honesty. On the more positive end of the spectrum, Pluto-Mercury alignments ask us to dig deeper, to probe beneath the surface to find the roots of any situation. Thus, while there are problematic expressions of the Pluto-Mercury combination, with consciousness, the combination can lead to deep penetration and intensity of thought.

Reaching within seven degrees of an exact opposition, Saturn and Neptune form arguably the most important alignment of the next two years. Part of a thirty three year cycle, the last time Saturn and Neptune formed an opposition to each other was in the early 1970's. Typically signifying a time of collective disillusionment and collective mourning, Saturn-Neptune alignments challenge us to discriminate between what is real and what is fantasy in our worlds. With Saturn-Neptune aspects, we learn that even our most stable and secure foundations are not permanent. For more on the potentials of the Saturn-Neptune opposition read the essay, "The Desert of the Real" available on this website.

Today’s horoscope for Virgo

Improved influences are likely to focus your attention and fine- tune your senses. Be on the lookout for some incoming information, which could provide a bit of a mood boost. For some Virgos this news could be career related, although the area that most likely to benefit is romance!


Today’s horoscope for Taurus

A sensitive vibe may still linger, but in a positive way. You can certainly take advantage of the subtle forces at work, especially if you utilize a discreet boost of confidence in the right way. It’ll be easier to get people to agree with your ideas if you’re not too pushy or too obvious!


Today’s horoscope for Scorpio

Yesterday’s fickle approach should be replaced by a much more reliable one and you’ll be in a strong position to recognize the positives of this. Sensitivity levels are high enough to benefit romance and friendships. That said; you could go a little overboard when it comes to financial matters!


Today’s horoscope for Sagittarius

Practical and material matters should be easier to address, and there could be a very positive signal with regard to a work/career issue. Incoming advice should not be dismissed out of hand, since it’s likely to occur at a point where you are going slightly off-track!


Today’s horoscope for Pisces

If yesterday’s vibe was a little draining, then today’s merrier vibe should ease the pressure a little. This is partly due to the fact that your general approach will be much more adaptable. New thoughts, ideas and designs should be recorded somewhere for future reference!


Today’s horoscope for Libra

You’re likely to wake up in a rather impulsive mood, with an inclination towards fun, but you may tend towards over- indulging later in the day. Insensitive responses on your part may be a problem too. It’s a day to offer assistance and support, especially in the afternoon!


Today’s horoscope for Gemini

Thoughtful influences reign, enabling some wise words in the form of a friend. This could precipitate a whole new approach. You’ll certainly be put on the right track, but you’re definitely better off just listening to the advice for now, rather than taking decisive action!


Today’s horoscope for Leo

Communications will be slightly more reliable than of late. Understandings should be much easier to reach. That said; certain exchanges may provide a slight jolt in what emerges out of it. React to the new information sensitively to avoid the chance of any friction!


Today’s horoscope for Capricorn

Friendlier influences are likely to assist romantic matters, and as long as you can keep certain unrealistic notions at bay, there’s much to be extracted from the day. You may need to pay attention to dialogue in particular, because something said could strike the right note at the right time!


Today’s horoscope for Cancer

There’s no reason why the day shouldn’t be rewarding on a material level, although there is a slight downside, and that may be a distraction, which you will either need to avoid altogether or deal with fully. This is quite likely to be related to romance. Leaving loose ends won’t help!


Today’s horoscope for Aries

A boost of confidence could bring an about-turn or reversal of some kind. While this may be a positive development in itself you may need to know when to call it a day. If sensible types start advising you to rein it in and apply yourself, then take note. Don’t overdo it, especially this evening!


Today’s horoscope for Aquarius

There’s a very cooperative vibe, which some might describe as lucky. Be alert to any little hints and signals that will enable progress on the work front. This may even come from an authority figure of some kind. Try not to misinterpret and dismiss this vibe as a pushy one!