By Matthias Zeitler
Chinese astrology is one of the most ancient branches of astrology in the world and dates back to thousands of years before contemporary era to the days of Babylonian (CHALDEAN), Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations. Emperor HUANG TI introduced Chinese astrology in 2637 B.C. and its development can be credited to the emergence of the Chinese writing system.Origin in a Legend/Folklore
Legend has it that the Lord Buddha himself, according to ancient scripts, realized the necessity of reorganization in the Chinese nation.
According to Chinese folklore, amidst the celebrations of the CHINESE NEW YEAR, Lord Buddha realized the imminence of his death.
On his invitation, only 12 animals turned up to pay him a farewell visit. They were the horse, snake, dragon, tiger, ox, rat, rabbit, monkey, sheep/goat, pig, rooster and dog.
The Enlightened One bestowed honor on these 12 animals by dedicating the 12 sections of the Chinese zodiac in the names of the 12 animals.
What is so special about this Chinese Calendar?
The complete 60 year cycle of the unique Chinese lunar calendar is used in Chinese astrology. The aspects and principles of this celebrated ancient art form have their roots in or date back to the classical philosophy of YI JING(I CHING), LAO-TSE and Confucius.
Since that time the traits of the animal which gave the year its name were borne by each successive year of this lunar calendar.
Each calendar year starts on a new moon and is related to one of the animal signs. For e.g. 1924 and 1984 were known as the years of the rat.1925 and 1985 happened to be years of the ox and so on.
The year is animated by the qualities of the animal and the animal's distinctive characteristic attributes color that year. Different People share certain common traits if they happen to be born in the same animal year.
On What Theory is this Chinese Luni-Solar Calendar based?
The lunar and the solar systems are combined in the Chinese calendar. The solar system is put into use in the DAY and YEAR cycles. But the MONTH cycles are two in number in this calendar.
One MONTH cycle utilizes the solar system and the other lunar system. The first day of the lunar month is the new moon day in the lunar system of MONTH.
The length of the month depends on the stretch of time between 2 new moons. But oddly, the name of the lunar MONTH is derived from its solar counterpart.
Use
The Chinese lunar calendar is widely used all over the world and gender prediction, that is, determining the sex of a yet to be born baby is one of the main spheres where the Chinese lunar calendar is put into use as a popular tool.
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