Your Chinese astrology characteristics begin with your main animal sign, but did you know that your personality is also affected by the other signs and cosmic influences? Find out what makes you so unique.
About Chinese Astrology Characteristics
Are you a Pig, a Dog or perhaps even a Rat? Determining your Chinese astrological sign begins with the year of your birth, but that doesn't tell the entire story of who you are, what you're like and what destiny holds in store for you. Let's take a closer look at the other components that unite to make you unique.
Your Birth Year Animal Sign
Chinese astrology operates on the concept of twelve animal signs and five elements that pair up on a rotating basis to form a complete sixty year cycle. Each animal of the Chinese zodiac represents specific years within this sixty year cycle, and each carries distinct characteristics that influence the personalities of people born within a given year.
For example, if you happen to have been born between January 25, 1963 and February 12, 1964, you would belong to the Rabbit zodiac sign. As such, you would have a tendency to be quiet yet confident and care a great deal about others. You might feel quite sensitive to what goes on in the world around you, and also display a certain level of creativity.
Your birth year zodiac sign is considered your outer animal, the way the world perceives you.
Elemental Influences
Now, let's talk about the elements. According to the Chinese astrological system, there are five elements that also contribute certain extra characteristics that add more dimension to your personality.
Basic characteristics of each element include:
- Water: Strong communication skills and intuition
- Wood: Strong nurturing instincts coupled with imagination and creativity
- Fire: Passionate by nature, intelligent and also ready to spring into action
- Metal: Very dependable and useful to have around, especially in a pinch
- Earth: Very grounded and reliable; a balanced personality
Using our previous example of a Rabbit born between 1963 and 1964, the element assigned to that year in the sixty year cycle was Water, making these people Water Rabbits. The Water element intensifies the Rabbit's ability to communicate, as well as his powers of intuition. Pair these characteristics with Rabbit's caring nature and you have a good listener who is very understanding of other people's issues.
Yin and Yang Animals
In addition to the basic characteristics of each sign, colored by the influence of an element, every Chinese astrological sign is further governed by an energy force that is either Yin or Yang. Yang is male energy and closely associated with the sun, while Yin energy is distinctly feminine and associated with the moon. Together, these two forces complete each other and bring balance to the universe.
People born in odd years are Yin, and people born in even years are Yang. For this reason two Water Rabbits can still have slightly different natures depending on whether their birth date falls in 1963 or 1964.
Monthly and Hourly Animal Signs
Stay with us, we're not finished yet. In addition to all we've learned above, your Chinese astrological characteristics are also influenced by the month and hour in which you were born. The following chart shows how each month and certain hours of the day are also ruled by a particular animal sign that contributes it's own characteristics to your overall personality.
| Sign | Month | Hours |
| Ox | January | 1:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. |
| Tiger | February | 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. |
| Rabbit | March | 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. |
| Dragon | April | 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. |
| Snake | May | 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. |
| Horse | June | 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. |
| Sheep | July | 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
| Monkey | August | 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
| Rooster | September | 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
| Dog | October | 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. |
| Pig | November | 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. |
| Rat | December | 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. |
If you happen to be born on the exact hour that marks the cusp between two signs, you could drawn on characteristics from both. Note that the zodiac sign attributed to the month you were born represents your inner animal, the way you perceive yourself. The zodiac sign of your birth hour represents the qualities you secretly aspire to develop.
The Big Picture
As you can see, there really is so much more to your Chinese astrology characteristics than your basic animal zodiac sign. When you consider all of the possible combinations, there are over 8,640 unique horoscope personalities possible. Color that combination with your own life experience, and there really is no one exactly like you!
