Chinese zodiac - Do you really know what it is?

Many know that Chinese use 12 zodiac animals to mark years, and each zodiac animal represents the personalities and fate of the people born in the respective zodiac year. But they don't know Chinese use additionally 10 heaven stems to mark years， months, days and Shicheng (1 shicheng = 2 hours) together with 12 zodiac animal signs, also called as Earth branches (marked with the signs Zhi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai). Chinese calculate one's personalities and fortune with the information all the signs in his/her birth time carry. 

The traditional Chinese calendar and chronology mark time according to positions of Earth, Moon, Sun, Saturn and Jupiter. It is called as Heaven Stems Earth Branches Method. In this method, the span of the elliptic is one year. The elliptic is divided into twelve parts, and each part is called as one zodiac zone. Each zodiac zone includes 30 or 29 days. Each day contains 12 Shicheng (1 Shicheng = 2 hrs).

Chinese found that it took 60 years for that Saturn and Jupiter met in a same zodiac place. So they use 60 years as a unit of Heaven Stems Earth Branches Calendar. Each 60 years is called as a Yuan. A Yuan is divided into 5 parts. Each part includes a pair of Yin and Yang, because Chinese think everything is composed of Yin and Yang. One Yuan includes 5 pair of Yin and Yang, which are called as 10 heaven stems. The ten heaven stems are: Jia (Yang), Yi (Yin), Bing (Yang), Ding (Yin), Wu (Yang), Ji (Yin), Geng (Yang), Xing (Yin), Ren (Yang), Gui (Yin). Each pair of Yin and Yang contents twelve years, marked with 12 earth branches and the heaven stem they belongs to. 12 Earth branches are most often marked with 12 zodiac animals. See the illusions: 

Chinese Zodiac animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig


Heaven Stems Earth Branches of the years in one Yuan

The years of one Yuan (Read from top to bottom in the first pair of heaven stems, Jia and Yi, then read the years in next pair of heaven stems, Bing and Ding, by the same way, and so on)

 

 

The order of years in one Yuan is: Jia Rot, Yi Ox, Jia Tiger, Yi Rabbit, Jia Dragon, Yi Snake, Jia Horse, Yi Goat, Jia Monkey, Yi Rooster, Jia Dog, Yi Pig, Bing Rot, Ding Ox, Bing Tiger, Ding Rabbit, and so on. In the calendar, every month and every day are also marked with a combination of a heaven stem sign and a earth brach sign. There are total 60 combinations of Heaven stem signs and Earth branch signs. The combinations are used by order, just like they are used to mark years illustrated by the tables over. The combinations are used repeatly every 60 days (monthes, years). A Shicheng is marked with the heaven stem sign of the day and the respective earth branch sign.
  

The relationship of the positions of Earth, Moon, Sun, Saturn and Jupiter changes continually. Different position relationships of the five celestial bodies have different impacts on everything and everybody on Earth. Ancient Chinese thought the people born in a same year had some common personalities and fortune, but to calculate one's complete personalities and fortune, all elements in his/her birth time must be counted in. 

Find your Chinese zodiac sign of your birth year