For example, a person's animal sign is a rat if they were born in the year of the rat. The year a person is born determines their animal sign. Each animal is known to have certain characteristics that a person born under the sign would demonstrate. Horoscopes were developed around animal signs to predict personality traits and destiny.
Assigning each of the five elements to the 12 years creates 60 different combinations that results in a 60-year cycle. The five elements are assigned to the 12 animals (years), giving different characteristics to each animal (year). The five elements are metal, water, wood, fire, and earth.Įach year of the Chinese Zodiac is represented by a different animal: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
The calendar is based on two cycles that interact with each other?the Chinese zodiac, which is divided into 12 parts, and the five elements. Unlike the Gregorian calendar used in China today, the traditional Chinese calendar features a cyclical dating method that repeats every 60 years. The twelve animal signs of the Chinese calendar Related Links