Skyscript Astrology Forum

Hello Deb,

The Chinese calendar (year, months, day, hours) were all numbered by sexagenary cycle, since 1250 BC as per wikipedia. For example Apr 9 2017 2am would be
Ding (yin fire) Rooster -- the year,
Jia (yang wood) Dragon --the month,
Bing (yang fire wood) Tiger -- the day,
Ji (yin earth) Ox -- the hour

Ding; Jia; Bing; Ji are the heavenly stem, an obsolete way of numbering...

the Twelve Earthly Branches are name of the 12 animals in Chinese, they also have yin&yang for each element. For example monkey is yang metal, rooster is yin metal. The earth element is more complicated: Ox is wet &yin earth; Dragon is wet&yang; Goat is dry and yin; Dog is dry and yang.

So not only the years are numbered in animals, months, days, and hours are recorded in the same way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_sexagenary_cycle

The sexagenary cycle is attested as a method of recording days from the earliest written records in China, records of divination on oracle bones, beginning ca. 1250 BC. Almost every oracle bone inscription includes a date in this format.

There are two sources of that I found where the animals were used. The first one was excavated from a tomb in Hubei from the Qin Dynasty (227-207 BCE). The bamboo scrolls recorded how the animals relate to the physical feature of thieves:
Zi, mouse, the thief?s mouth looked sharp, and has thin facial hair,?Chou, a cow, the thief has big nose and long neck,?Yin, a tiger, the thief has thin beard and has black mole on the face, Mao, a rabbit, the thief will have a big head, Chen (no animal sign noted), the thief will have greenish and reddish complexion, Si (worm), the thief will have darker complexion, and the eyes resemble a snake, Wu (deer), the thief has long neck and small mouth, and does not have full set of body parts,?.etc?


A complete record is from Wang Cong?s Heng Lun in Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). In chapter three:
?Yin, is the wood element, and the animal is a tiger; Xu, is the earth element, and the animal is a dog; Chou, Wei both are earth elements, Cou is a cow, and Wei is sheep. Wood act on Earth, so a tiger will dominate dog, cow, and sheep. Hai, is water, and is a pig; Si, is fire, and the animal is snake; Zi is water, and a mouse; Wu is fire and a horse?Wu is a horse, Zi is a mouse, You is chicken, Mao is a rabbit. Water acts on fire, so why don?t a mouse chase a horse? If Metal acts on Wood, why doesn?t a chicken pick on a rabbit? ?..?
In the same book, in chapter twenty-three:
?Chen is a dragon, and Si is a snake. Chen, Shi?s position is South East. Dragon is poisonous, and the snake has sting, thus snake has sharp teeth, and the dragon has scales that grow in reverse. Wood will give rise to fire, and fire is poison, thus a dragon will hold a fireball (Mars?) in its mouth.


There are many theories about the origin to the animal zodiac. The lunar mansion being one, but interestingly, Decans are also of a source.
The Earthly Branch used in the Oracle bones proceed to this discovery was more or less used as a symbol, like an algebraic letter, but the correction to the branch to animals was not recorded.

http://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%8D%81%E ... 31393-wrap

There are many theories about the origin of the Chinese zodiac. Although many people believe that the Chinese zodiac has its native origin, there is no consensus on how it was formed and its origins. Those who argue that the Chinese zodiac originated from the Chinese mainland can be roughly divided into three categories.

????Some argue that the Chinese zodiac originated from astronomy or astrological signs, such as Li Ling and Zheng Wenguang. According to Li Ling's "China's Occult Studies - The Origin of the Chinese Zodiac," based on "The Five Elements' Theory - On the Thirty-Six Birds," "The twelve animals are all composed of the energy of the Big Dipper stars, which scatter and form human destiny, tied to the Big Dipper, hence they are used as symbols." "The Spring and Autumn Lever of the Great Chariot" says, "The pole star scatters to become a dragon or a horse, the revolving star scatters to become a tiger, and the shining light scatters to become a monkey or an ape. All of these correspond to the stars of heaven and the destiny of the year." This theory holds that the Chinese zodiac has a astrological nature and originated from the Big Dipper.

Zheng Wenguang believes that the Chinese zodiac originated from the observations of the early people of the twelve celestial animals, which were located in the twelve terrestrial branches. These animals were initially recorded as symbols and later given animal forms.

????Some argue that the Chinese zodiac originated from totem worship, such as Liu Yaohan, Zhan Yinxin, and Dong Jiazun. Liu Yaohan and Zhan Yinxin believe that the Chinese zodiac originated from ancient people's worship of the twelve terrestrial branches, with the twelve animals representing the gods of the twelve terrestrial branches or twelve months. Dong Jiazun believes that the Chinese zodiac and the oldest twelve surnames have the same origin, evolving from twelve totems such as the rat, ox, tiger, qilin, and dragon.

????Some argue that the Chinese zodiac originated from the ancient belief in supernatural creatures, such as Xijima Sadamu and Wang Guiyuan. Xijima Sadamu proposed that the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac evolved from strange birds and beasts, with the intention of warding off evil and bad luck. Wang Guiyuan examined the "alternative theories" in the Chu-style twelve birds (animals), such as "old goat" and "jade," and believed that the original form of the Chinese zodiac might have been twelve strange creatures or a combination of animals and supernatural creatures, which later evolved into twelve animals.

????Source (in Chinese ): https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/生肖纪年

RodJM wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2015 3:24 amAries = Dragon
Taurus = Snake
Gemini = Horse
Cancer = Goat
Leo = Monkey
Virgo = Rooster
Libra = Dog
Scorpio = Pig
Sagittarius = Rat
Capricorn = Ox
Aquarius = Tiger
Pisces = Rabbit

Chinese signs are tropical, but the spring equinox is the center of the first sign. This is one of the varieties of the tropical zodiac. The change of sign occurs according to the cycle of movement of Jupiter through these twelve signs. As far as I was able to figure it out.

Deb wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2012 3:11 pm Ah yes, (my memory is coming back a little ...) that was the sort of thing he was saying Thanks for clarifying the point of confusion.

Each sign has 1 or 3 elements. Thats what matters in chinese astrology.Also the time of the day they rule

zastreluga wrote: Sat Dec 23, 2023 10:31 pm The change of sign occurs according to the cycle of movement of Jupiter through these twelve signs. As far as I was able to figure it out.

The change of year sign has nothing to do with Jupiter's movement. Instead the year changes over with the solar term of "beginning of spring" or li Chun 立春 which happens when the sun enters 15 Aquarius, tropical.