In the introduction to this book on Chinese astrology, you will
recall that mention was made of a 60-year cycle favoured by the
Chinese astrologers of old. This is a significant factor uniting
Eastern and Western traditions in astrology, because it exists in
both systems. Not only is 60 years a third of the `Great Solar
Round' of 180 years (at the end of which the planets tend to group
on the same side of the Sun) but it is also the first time that the
number of orbits of the solar system's giants Jupiter and Saturn are
sub-divisible (5 orbits of Jupiter = roughly 60 years. 2 orbits of
Saturn = roughly 60 years).
The planetary relevance of the 60-year cycle to the Chinese, who
certainly knew just as much about the solar system as the
Babylonians or Egyptians, seems to have been forgotten or obscured
in their fascination with the Sun and Moon. However, it is retained
in their assigning every animal year to one of 5 elements. Thus when
all 12 signs had been through all five elements (5 x 12), a period
of 60 years would have elapsed.
"What has all this got to do with me?" I hear you ask. And the
answer is that a knowledge of the elements and which ones have a
bearing on you is fundamental to really understanding just what
astute observers of the heavens (and of humanity) the Chinese
scribes really were. You will find what Element ruled the year of
your birth by referring to the tables on pages 4 and 5 where it is
listed together with the Animal that ruled the year of your birth.
On the pages that follow this section, you will find a description
of each Animal Sign and the way it is altered by every Element. A
look at your own combination will show how you differ from the more
routine aspects of your ruling Animal Sign and you can learn which
aspects of nature are specific to your Element and Animal combined.
The five Elements are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. There is
some correspondence here with the more familiar Elements used in
Western Astrology, which, as in so many other aspects of the craft,
seems to indicate that the origins of astrological study lies so far
back in the mists of time that each branch must originally have had
a common ancestor. However, the Chinese eventually opted for a five
Element system, and so took a path not followed by any other major
culture.
