ButtonHistory
Astrology is one of the most ancient of the Chinese philosophies. It is at least 2,000 years old. Originally, astrology wasd inseparable from astronomy. The two were considered to be one discipline. China has one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and from very early on practitioners of astronomy/astrology were always present as officials of the imperial court.
In ancient China, astrology was used to reveal what was expected to happen to a nation. It was not until the beginning of the Cristian era that astrology began to be used to give individual readings. By the time of the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), a whole encyclopedia had been written about the art of giving personal astrological readings.

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The origin of the 12 animal signs of Chinese astrology is unclear. Chinese legend attributes the creation of the signs to the Yellow Emperor in 2637 B.C. The Yellow Emperor is a semimythical figure in Chinese history. Other legendsz credit Buddha (c. 563-c. 483 B.C.) with the creation of the 12-animal cycle. Apparently, he invited all the animals to visit him, but, for some reason, only 12 animals showed up. To thank them, Buddha gave each animal a year which would be dedicated to that animal alone throughout history. The years were allocated in the order in which the animals had arrived.

ButtonAnimal Signs
The animal signs are the most basic aspect of Chinese astrology. The signs are not based on the position of the stars as in Western astrology, but instead on the person's year of birth. Each animal is allocated its own years. There are 12 animals and they always appear in the same order (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig). The cycle of animals, therefore repeats itself every 12 years.
The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar year (orbits of the Moon around the Earth). The Western calender is based on the solar year (orbit of the Earth around the Sun). The two do not correspond exactly. Each lunar year, therefore, begins on a slightly different date of the solar year.