Chinese Zodiac

Today I decided to do a little research about Chinese Zodiac and what it says about the Rat. I'm not a big believer in this thing, but it's just something interesting to look into. Anyways, it looks like the little wuster will be a wooden rat (土鼠).

Chinese Zodiac is based mostly on birth year based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. There are 12 animals and 5 elements, and basically they each rotate independently with the animals on an annual basis while the elements change every two years.. There's bunch more info else where that explains all this a lot better than I can:

• Chinese Zodiac
  
• 60 year cycle
• Origins of the Chinese Zodiac
  

So, based on what wikipedia says, rat is supposed to be: Forthright, disciplined, systematic, meticulous, charismatic, hardworking, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable, shrewd. Can be manipulative, cruel, dictatorial, rigid, selfish, obstinate, critical, over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant, scheming. (ok.. seems a bit self-contradicting.. forthright yet manipulative? maybe it's the translation from Chinese to English or maybe it's just a way for the fortune teller to explain all the different behaviors :P)

And wood element is supposed to represent:

• The East
• Spring
• Azure Dragon
• The Planet Jupiter
  
• The Color Green (oohhh.. Sandy's favorite color)
  
• Liver and gallbladder (uhmmm... what dah heck is this supposed to mean?)
• Generous, Warm, Persuasive, Co-operative, Seeks to Expand and Grow
• Idealistic, Ethical, Enthusiastic, Seeks to Explore

Mostly good things, so I'm happy to read about it, but what does it really mean? Probably nothing at all. It's pretty interesting reading, but obviously, not everyone who is born in the same year will have the same traits, so this whole thing is pretty bogus in my opinion. Of course, it's supposed to break down further into months, hours and such, but again, that's just to make things confusing and to make fortune telling a "career" that requires lots of expertise. On the other hand, little bit of background reading on it is pretty interesting and I think it does make for good story telling to the kids when they're growing up. I still remember so stuff like Mom telling me about traits of Taurus and stuff like that and I always liked tiger when I was young because that's my Chinese Zodiac.. Looking ahead, year 2010 will be the year of the golden tiger. Since gold (金) and tiger (虎) are generally considered good and powerful signs, I predict lots of Chinese babies this year.. Who knows, maybe it'll also be the year of little wuster #2.