The Element Encyclopedia of Birthdays. Theresa Cheung

own research about them because their life choices may offer you further inspiration about your own life choices. If in your research about people born on your birthday you do stumble across less savory examples, don’t let that dishearten you. Every person is born a complex mix of positive and negative potential. There are saints and sinners born every single day of the year. Your personality is formed and your destiny created not by your potential for positive or negative, but by the choices you make every day and what you actually decide to do with your one precious life.

      Potential and Pitfalls

      Even though there may be certain similarities for people born on the same day, as mentioned earlier, never ever forget that every person is born unique and full of their own potential, just as every new day is also unique and full of its own potential. Bear in mind, too, that there are going to be both blessings and challenges associated with each birthday in the year.

      We all have free will. Each one of us has a choice. We can choose to maximize the blessings of the day or allow negative choices to drain our potential. The purpose of our lives is to evolve. It is only by facing and overcoming challenges that we learn and grow. Sometimes growth hurts, but this struggle isn’t necessarily a negative thing. It can be the very best thing for your evolution or spiritual awakening. In other words, if your birthday seems to focus more on overcoming challenges, this doesn’t put you at a disadvantage. Quite the opposite. It suggests huge potential for personal growth and living a life of deep meaning.

      The Basics of Chinese Astrology

      Chinese astrology is similar to Western astrology in that it helps its followers understand themselves and others better. It also consists of 12 signs and each of these signs offers profound insight into personality traits. And just as in Western astrology your horoscope consists of more than your sun sign, that’s also the case with Chinese astrology. Each sign has an element, a balance of yin and yang and divisions to consider.

      However, the similarities end there. The names of the 12 signs in Western astrology derive from constellations, whereas the names of the 12 signs in Chinese astrology derive from animals. The Chinese believe that the animal sign you are born under impacts your personality and destiny, as expressed in the saying, “This animal hides in your heart.” According to ancient myth, the Jade Emperor (some variations say it was the Buddha) called all the animals to take part in a race. But only 12 animals came, so these 12 were given the honor of having a year named after them according to their finishing place in the race, with the rat coming in first and the wild boar or pig last.

      Perhaps the biggest difference between the two systems is that Chinese astrology determines your zodiac sign by year of birth, while Western astrology determines it by day and month of birth. Also, the Western zodiac year begins at the spring equinox. In the East each Chinese sign is determined by the lunar calendar and begins at Chinese New Year, which is the second new moon after the winter solstice.

      So, given these differences, is it possible to find correspondences between Chinese astrology and the Western signs? The answer is yes, because the 12 Chinese signs that make up the 12-year cycle known as Sheng Xiao (“birth likeness”) actually correspond to the 12-year cycle of the planet Jupiter in Western astrology. It is therefore possible to match each Chinese sign to a Western counterpart. I have taken this East-meets-West astrology correspondence into account when creating each birthday profile.

      In the Heed Your Signs section of this book, you will notice that each sun-sign description also includes its Chinese astrology counterpart description. For example, if you are an Aries, your Chinese sign correspondence is the Dragon. You will therefore have a natural affinity with the symbolic qualities of that mythical animal.

      In addition to your Chinese astrology sun-sign match, you are also encouraged to read the relevant section for the animal that corresponds with your year of birth (see tables below). That animal may well be associated with a different sun sign to your own. For example, if you are a Taurus born in 1996, you should read your corresponding Chinese astrology sign, which is the Snake, but you should also read the section about the Rat, as you will have an affinity with both Snake and Rat characteristics and can discover much of value about yourself from reading both.

1920s

1921	Rooster
1922	Dog
1923	Pig
1924	Rat
1925	Ox
1926	Tiger
1927	Rabbit
1928	Dragon
1929	Snake

      1930s

1930	Horse
1931	Goat
1932	Monkey
1933	Rooster
1934	Dog
1935	Pig
1936	Rat
1937	Ox
1938	Tiger
1939	Rabbit

      1940s

1940	Dragon
1941	Snake
1942	Horse
1943	Goat
1944	Monkey
1945	Rooster
1946	Dog
1947	Pig
1948	Rat
1949	Ox

      1950s

1950	Tiger
1951	Rabbit
1952	Dragon
1953	Snake
1954	Horse
1955	Goat
1956	Monkey
1957	Rooster
1958	Dog
1959	Pig

      1960s

1960	Rat
1961	Ox
1962	Tiger
1963	Rabbit
1964	Dragon
1965	Snake
1966	Horse
1967	Goat
1968	Monkey
1969	Rooster

      1970s

1970	Dog
1971	Pig
1972	Rat
1973	Ox
1974	Tiger
1975	Rabbit
1976	Dragon
1977	Snake
1978	Horse
1979	Goat

      1980s

1980	Monkey
1981	Rooster
1982	Dog
1983	Pig
1984	Rat
1985	Ox
1986	Tiger
1987	Rabbit
1988	Dragon
1989	Snake

      1990s

1990	Horse
1991	Goat
1992	Monkey
1993	Rooster
1994	Dog
1995	Pig
1996	Rat
1997	Ox
1998	Tiger
1999	Rabbit

      2000s

2000	Dragon
2001	Snake
2002	Horse
2003	Goat
2004	Monkey
2005	Rooster
2006	Dog
2007	Pig
2008	Rat
2009	Ox

      2010s

2010	Tiger
2011	Rabbit
2012	Dragon
2013	Snake
2014	Horse
2015	Goat
2016	Monkey
2017	Rooster
2018	Dog
2019	Pig