It is said that when Lord Buddha knew his time to depart the earth was upon him he summoned all the animals to bid him farewell but only twelve of them came so as a token of his appreciation he named a year after each animal, in the order they showed up.
First came the Rat, then the Ox, the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and, finally, the Boar. The animal that rules the year of your birth is said to exercise a profound influence over your fife. Hence, the Chinese have coined the saying, "This is the animal that hides in your heart."
Almost everyone I have asked over the last few weeks seemed aware of their Chinese animal but very few people seemed aware of how the personality of this animal might be playing a role their lives and not a single person had any idea of which animals make the perfect partners (business, relationship or otherwise) for their associated animal, making me wonder how many opportunities have likely passed them by because they did not understand this subject beyond a single word. I am still very new to it but will share with you now some of what I have learned in an effort to get you interested enough to follow up this post with some research of your own so that you may make better choices about your relationships and even perhaps about the countries in which you choose to put your roots down.
All the images and highlighted passages in this post are from The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes by Theodora Lau which has largely inspired this post.
A few words from Lau before i begin to help you see why this subject is so important.
The knowledge acquired in this book should help you to both make and maintain good relationships. It may enable you to dismiss the occasional crankiness of your Dog boss, and deal with the changeable and capricious mind of a Horse client, the domineering but expansive ways of a Dragon friend or the serene but skeptical attitude of a Snake. You may be surprised to find that your local handyman, who is capable of fixing everything, was indeed born in the year of the dexterous Monkey, and that your slow, sure and conservative banker just happens to belong to the year of the reliable Ox. Again, you may be more patient with that annoying associate who is always the first to complain and cry wolf, when you discover he was born in the year of the Sheep. And you may laugh to learn that the business colleague who wears such atrocious ties was born in the year of the flamboyant Rooster. Perhaps after reading this book, you may believe enough to listen to the wise counsel of the Snake, look for sympathy from the gentle Sheep, go along with the clever schemes of the Monkey, have fun with the ever-youthful and carefree Horse, rely on the Rabbit's good taste and unerring diplomacy, or depend on the strength of the indomitable Dragon. You may get your way by humoring the critical Rooster, reasoning with the fair-minded Dog, joining forces with the optimistic Tiger, or bargaining with the indefatigable, cost-conscious Rat. It's up to you to use the knowledge gained to make life easier and more productive for yourself and others.
For the convenience of those who don’t know their animal here is a handy chart:
If you were born later than 2007 i commend you for being on this platform! And i feel sure you will figure it out for yourself.
The Animal That Hides in Your Heart
There was once a time when relationship matchmakers were an indispensable part of Chinese society because success in life was associated not so much with your knowledge but your relationships.
As soon as a child is born their natal chart can be created, giving rise to a need for optimum connections which the parents will be able to seek out in advance of the child's awareness so that 'all the right' people will simply be there when the child grows up.
Even my own father who spent a lot of time in Asia doing business with the Chinese used to repeat this over and over to us as children with words like "tell me who your friends are and i will tell you who you are" and also the classic, "it's not what you know, it's who." As an American based in the Philippines perhaps he didn't understand the full depth of what he was saying to us and certainly as children we had no idea, but now i can see why he felt drawn to remind us of this so often. Not money, not wisdom, not luck but relationships are the key to success.
With this in mind i present you now a connections chart on which the different coloured lines offer different levels of compatibility between animals, with the blue lines being your strongest connections.
(Please note this image is not from Lau's book and has substituted the Boar with the Pig and the Sheep with the Goat).
As a Dragon my strongest connections are with Monkeys & Rats and i've had a lot of fun over the last few weeks identifying them! Turns out my mother is a Monkey and her partner my step-dad is a Rat, which is why i get on so well with them both.
Do not be dismayed if you find upon looking at the chart that you have no connections at all with your life-long partner or best buddy. It isn't as simple as this.
We are in fact born with a second animal in our heart, known as our ascendant. This one is dictated not by the year of our birth but by the time of day. So the exact hour of our birth is key to unlocking our relationship chart.
It gets complicated because certain animals are dominant over others so if for example you are a Dragon born in the hours ruled by the Sheep (which is the case for me) your dominant animal, in this case the Dragon, will usually remain the dominant aspect of your character. But if for example you are a Sheep born in the hours ruled by the Tiger, it will be your ascendant sign the Tiger who is dominant, making the connections chart impossible to read accurately without that crucial time of birth information.
Once you have your two animals you can refer back to the relationship chart and observe if they are compatible? If they are not, this could be the reason why you are such a complicated character. But again, do not be dismayed! Learning this stuff is the key to changing it and you are never too old to broaden your understanding of who and what you really are.
The Five Chinese Elements
Adding to the mix of our character we also have one of the five Chinese elements (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) appointed to us at birth as our main element, in sync with a rolling 60 year cycle which has been in play since Emperor Huang Ti first introduced it in 2637 B.C.
These five elements are further divided into active and passive sides (or stems). The active side is identified as positive—yang, or male; the passive—yin, or female. The Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey and Dog (the odd-numbered signs) belong to the positive yang. The Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Sheep, Rooster and Boar (the even-numbered signs) are negative yin.
Looking at the years between 1960 and 1972 we can see how each one has a positive or negative element attached to it, so this too becomes critical information in relation to our character.
I was born in a Fire (+) yang masculine year and my sister was born one year later in a Fire (-) yin feminine year, connecting us at a deeper lever than perhaps either of us currently understand. Like the yin and yang of our shared element we are forever interdependent and always equal in strength.
Each of the elements is attributed to a season and a geographical region while guarding one organ in our body and also controlling one other element.
The second element controlling our character can be found behind the 'fixed' element of our animal.
I am a Fire Dragon by birth but the fixed element of my animal is Wood, so there is more than one element at play in my character.
There is a constant interaction too between all the other elements (the people around you), in line with their elemental qualities.
Some are known as conductive relationships. Water for example has a conductive relationship with Wood because wood needs water to grow. While Fire has a conductive relationship with Earth because it reduces everything to ash, nourishing the earth.
But then we also have controlling relationships. Metal is controlled by Fire, forcing it into any shape, while Wood is controlled by Metal because even the largest tree can be felled by the metal blade of an axe.
I am predominantly Fire while Sabrina is predominantly Water so it should be no surprise that she wears the trousers around here, controlling me very well. Water is of course the only element which can control Fire. The conflicts which sometimes arise between us come largely because my dominant Dragon doesn't like being controlled by her Boar. The Dragon does not in fact like to be controlled by anyone, which is why i have ended up in a situation where no one (except my Water mistress!) can control what i do.
On the other hand Fire controls Metal so i will have more success bending Metal subjects to my will.
Balanced elements = balanced human
Looking at all of the information displayed in a person's natal chart one should in fact be able to identify four elements which make up the totality of their character. Oftentimes a person might have two or even three of the same element, making their character sway prominently in this direction.
I am imbalanced with two Fire elements in my chart while missing Water & Metal. As a Fire/Fire Earth Wood my personality is largely governed by the fire of the Summer which is the guardian of the heart and i will be most balanced when surrounded by characters who are predominantly Water & Metal. Especially if they are Rats and Monkeys, in which case we will move mountains together!
The usual way to remedy 'elemental deficiencies' in China was to compose a name for the child which contained the character of the missing element.
So, if the Metal element was missing, the child would have the Gold character in his or her name. Likewise, if the Water element was missing, adding the character for lake, rain, clouds, would incorporate Water into the child's life composition. Characters for trees, plants and flowers symbolise the addition of the Wood element. Characters for flames, the sun or burning do the same for Fire."
With this in mind i may finally have found a reason to get my first tattoo, perhaps the Chinese characters for Gold & Water? Permanently marked upon my skin to signify my recognition of their importance in my ongoing search for spiritual balance.
Each Chinese animal is also associated with a Western solar sign, adding to the already complicated mix of who we are.
What this means is that we actually have two star signs and both should be considered when weighing up the character of a person.
Lau goes on to tell us this:
Although the Western calendar, which is based on the movements of the sun, is more consistent and easier to follow, the East's lunar calendar is more accurate in registering the changes in the seasons and the growth of all life in the universe. Chinese farmers originally used the calendar as an almanac for selecting the most favorable days of each year to sow and reap their crops. And, long before modern science developed ways to forecast the weather, the Chinese relied heavily on the horoscope to predict their rains. (This holds true even at the present time.) Gradually, over the years the calendar began to be consulted for such things as the most auspicious days to visit the barber, start building a home, get married and, of course, to figure out when to hold the numerous Chinese festivals. An authentic lunar calendar contains all the Do's and Don'ts for each day of the year, down to the most favorable and unfavorable hours of each day. This complete calendar-almanac is still published yearly in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It requires a special technical knowledge to interpret it, but no self-respecting fortune teller would be found without it.
This concept resonates strongly with me as someone who buys Steiner's biodynamic planting calendar every year which is published based on region to know exactly as they say "the Do's and Don'ts for each day of the year". As i see it no self-respecting gardener should be without one.
Countries have birthdays too
It is extremely interesting to note that countries are also formed under lunar signs and their activities, choice of allies and form of government will display qualities common to their lunar birth sign.
China, for example, was formed anew in 1949, the year of the Ox. True to form, she has progressed largely through her own hard work and the dedication of her people. China will have different fortunes in a given year than, say, France, 1958 (the 5th Republic), a Dog; or Canada, 1867 (British North American Act), a Rabbit; or colorful Hong Kong, born in 1842 (the Treaty of Nanking), a Tiger. Japan and Germany were formed anew in 1945 under the industrious Rooster, and Israel was born in 1948, the year of the innovative and progressive Rat. And is it a coincidence that America, born 1776, the year of the Monkey, is renowned for her inventiveness, communication skills and leadership in commerce? While the Soviet Union was born following the communist revolution of 1917, the year of the Fire Snake, it was reborn as the Russian Federation in December of 1991, the year of the Sheep. Will the new Russia be more conciliatory and peace-loving? Only time can tell.
Why does it not surprise me that Israel was formed in the year of the Rat? It is run by cunning and industrious Jews who knew very well what they were doing by forming this supposed nation under their preferred sign. All by design.
There are a few systems for finding our perfect country in which to live but the most basic one it would seem, in line with this post, is to observe the compatibility of your dominant animal with the animal of your country. So for me as a Dragon i am living in a Dog country (assuming France is still in the 5th republic?) and this is not a good sign! Sitting opposite each other on the relationship chart Dogs tend to not get on with Dragons, so this could very well explain why i struggle with the language and have so few friends here. This new knowledge may even see me uprooting altogether at some point and leaving this land behind, in place of one more suitable for my Dragon character.
I highly recommend getting yourself a copy of Lau's book (soon to be posted in the @survival-archive account) in order that you can read the very important chapter which describes the character of your animal, giving you tips about yourself you really don't want to miss.
Have been blown away by its accuracy.
Final Thoughts
There is evidently a lot to think about here but even as a newcomer to this i have been able to make some really interesting observations about the different relationships going on in my life today. As i mentioned already, Dragons struggle with Dogs, who generally don't trust us. And it just so happens that i know a Dog here who fits this picture perfectly. But now that i know this i can approach him in a different way, appealing to his sense of family (pack) loyalty, a trait synonymous with Dogs.
Something i recommend you all do is write down the years of your life which correspond to the year of your animal and look for patterns. These patterns, if you can find them, will repeat over and over as long as you remain in your body, so you may want to take advantage of them.
As a Dragon i wrote down the following years and took some time to consider if anything significant changed for me in these periods: 1976,1988,2000,2012,2024.
Well, it turns out that each of these dates represents a highly significant turning point in my life! The pattern is unmistakeable.
1976 - Birth. The experience of entering this world was intense! Especially as some idiot cut the end of my penis off the moment i started to breathe, a trauma which does in fact stay with circumcised men forever.
1988 - I lost the Young Magician of the Year Competition and this led to a crazy desire to win, which i did the following year with a completely new routine. This was a significant moment for me (at the age of thirteen) because i began earning my own money for the first time working as a professional magician and i realised i could do anything at all with my life.
2000 - I started working for a film company in London where i was able to gain the trust of a British film director who took me under his wing and in 2001 i worked on a Hollywood feature film, rubbing shoulders with celebrities for the first time. But this experience ultimately made me realise i did not want to work in that industry, leading my life on a very unexpected tangent. The porn industry! This was also the year of my father's death, without which i never would have been brave enough to leave feature films for porn.
2012 - @sebcam my porn star buddy moved into my London home and i began my spiritual journey by eating raw vegan, taking off my shoes and looking at the sun every day with him. In 2013 i went to America to see my brother, the weed plants in the spare bedroom were discovered by the police while i was gone and i was left no choice but to leave London and begin my barefoot journey toward Sabrina.
So it seems to me that something always happens in my Dragon year which leads to decisive action the following year.
I therefore have a lot of interest in what's going to happen for me next year?
2024 has been so much about my land i find it hard to believe that next year will be about anything else. The business account will be started with a strong intention before the end of my Dragon year (specifically on the 28th Jan 2025 because 28 is a number which brings great fortune to new ventures) and then i intend to fill that bank account with profits from our electroculture/agricultural exploits which continue to expand and amaze at every turn.
Reviewing my Dragon chapter i was most interested as a Gemini to read this description.
Seems rather fitting to me and as I have in fact been paying a lot of attention to the details for the last twelve years i feel ready now to move my life into a new elevated chapter which will continue to run its glorious course for the next twelve years!
Finally, my heart was warmed to see the following words.
Fate would have it that i was born on the hottest day in May 1976 and as far as i know, the sea was calm. And yes, i do indeed feel protected 🙏
How much there is still to learn about what makes us us!
Am genuinely humbled by it all over and over.
Thank you to those who inspired this post (which has somehow been written in a single day) and thank you to those who showed up to read it!
Please let me know your animals & elements in the comments.
Let us use this wisdom now to forge new alliances and move forward together as a more effective team, fully capable of combatting those who have been using this same information against us for centuries.
Love & Light everyone 🌱