| rdfs:comment
| - The eastern zodiac is similar to the western one in that is consists of a repeating cycle of 12 'totems' that correspond to personality types - the eastern ones are all animals, while the western ones are only partially so (e.g. Aries, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio). The number 12 is one of those numbers often given mythical significance. While the western signs of the zodiac each represent a month, eastern ones each primarily represent a year, though they are also applied to both months and hours. With both types of zodiac, a popular activity is calculating the romantic compatibility between two people.
|
| abstract
| - The eastern zodiac is similar to the western one in that is consists of a repeating cycle of 12 'totems' that correspond to personality types - the eastern ones are all animals, while the western ones are only partially so (e.g. Aries, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio). The number 12 is one of those numbers often given mythical significance. While the western signs of the zodiac each represent a month, eastern ones each primarily represent a year, though they are also applied to both months and hours. With both types of zodiac, a popular activity is calculating the romantic compatibility between two people. The 12 signs of the Chinese cycle, in order, are: the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog, and the Boar/Pig. (The Cat missed out on the Chinese Zodiac alternately because the Rat purposively gave it the wrong meeting time, or because the Rat pushed it off the Ox into the river during their crossing.) They are governed by the 5 Eastern Elements. Earth, being the central element, governs all the signs but chiefly the Dragon, Rat, and Ox. The rest break down as follows: File:Cit fruits basket - twelve animals - isnt it sad kyo.jpg
* Water SignsPlanet: Mercury
* Pig
* Ox
* Rat
* Metal SignsPlanet: Venus
* Dog
* Rooster
* Monkey
* Fire SignsPlanet: Mars
* Sheep
* Snake
* Horse
* Wood SignsPlanet: Jupiter
* Rabbit (Cat in Vietnam)
* Tiger
* Dragon (Naga in Thailand) The Tiger and the Dragon are commonly regarded as the two most powerful signs, but since There Can Be Only One, the two are Arch Enemies. Other rivalries and affinities also exist, however - for example, two Tigers rarely get along. There are other methods to classify the signs, all of which can be used together. These include polarity (yin/yang), power and romance, and trine (four in total). Unlike the elements, these repeat through the 12 as yang/yin and first/second/third/fourth - the first sign, Rat, is a yang sign in the first trine, while the eighth sign, Sheep, is a yin sign in the fourth trine. In addition, each pair of consecutive years corresponds to a specific element, which also affects a personality reading - an Ox is typically seen as stern and inflexible, but a Water Ox (1973) or Wood Ox (1985) will be seen as more flexible than a Metal Ox (1961) according to a simple reading. The above listed is the Chinese Zodiac, and this is the one most familiar to most Western and Eastern audiences alike, but other Eastern zodiacs exist. The Korean and Japanese are functionally identical to the Chinese Zodiac, with changes primarily in nomenclature. The Vietnamese zodiac, however, replaces the rabbit with the cat (a pity Kyo wasn't born there), and the Thai zodiac replaces the dragon with the naga. See Also: Western Zodiac, Animal Motifs, Tiger Versus Dragon, Dragons Up the Yin-Yang. Examples of Eastern Zodiac include:
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)