Saturday, January 28, 2017 marked the celebration of the Chinese New Year. For anyone who loves reading about zodiac signs, we are well-aware that there are 12 traditional astrological constellations from which we often analyze and make predictions from.

^{Rooster in watercolor by Meredith Loughran}

Unlike the traditional zodiac where each sign is associated to a month, the Chinese Zodiac is based on year and only repeats every 12 years. For instance, I was born in December, 1971. According to the traditional zodiac, anyone born in the month of December is a Capricorn -- but not all Capricorns are born in the Chinese Year of the Pig -- and not everyone born in the Year of the Pig is a Gold Pig.

What?

^{Yeah, I was scratching my head thinking the same thing.}

History of the Chinese Calendar

According to Calendars through the Ages, in legend, the Chinese calendar traces back to Emperor Huangdi in the year 2637 B.C.E. and developed from exact observations of the moon phases and sun's longitudinal point.

The astronomical calculations are based upon 120 degrees east of Greenwich, which is essentially the east coast of China. Chinese years are not sequential like the Gregorian calendar. Rather, they are cyclical and counted in 60-year loops which include two major components: Celestial Stem and Terrestrial Branch and one minor component: The Elements

Celestial Stem

There are 10 Celestial Stems which coincide with ten days in a week. Where we might be familiar with Sunday through Saturday, their week days are

甲 Jia - first | 乙 Yi - second | 丙 Bing - third | 丁 Ding - fourth | 戊 Wu - fifth
己 Ji - sixth | 庚 Geng - seventh | 辛 Xin - eighth | 壬 Ren - ninth | 癸 Gui - tenth

Visit Master Wu's site for more in-depth reading about
Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches

Terrestrial Branch

Much like the zodiac that Western civilization is familiar with, there are 12 terrestrial branches which are associated with animals.

^{image source}

Unlike their western counterparts, each terrestrial branch is associated to a year not a month. So, if 2017 is the year of the Rooster, we will not have another one until the year 2029.

The Elements

There are five elements: Metal (Gold), Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and each zodiac animal is associated with a fixed element.

According to Your Chinese Astrology they are:

METAL: Monkey & Rooster | WATER: Rat & Pig | WOOD: Tiger & Rabbit
FIRE: Snake & Horse | EARTH: Ox, Dragon, Sheep & Dog

Chinese Leap Month

In the Gregorian calendar, we have leap year every four years and insert an extra day into our calendar. In the Chinese calendar, they actually add an extra month. So instead of the "traditional" ~365 days in a year, they may actually have ~384 days.

How is this determined?

Leap years are determined by how many new moons there are between the Winter Solstice, which always falls in the 11th month of the year and the 11th month of the following year. If there are 13 new moons then it is a leap year and a 13th month is added.¹

^{Picture by Meredith Loughran, 2016}

What do the stars predict in the Year of the Rooster?

Anyone born in the Year of the Rooster is going to have a bit of a roller coaster ride in all areas of their life according to TravelChinaGuide.com. Actually, in their words it's going to be "turbulent".

Setbacks in work and relationships will hound the roosters with some reprieve in June and December. As for the rest of us? Well, I have no idea! But check out the Chinese zodiac to get your own readings.

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Progression of art work

^{Background in blue, green and a little brown watercolor.}

^{Rooster taking shape}

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