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Chinese astrology

Astrology based on Chinese astronomy

Astrology based on Chinese astronomy

Chinese astrology is based on traditional Chinese astronomy and the Chinese calendar. Chinese astrology flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD).

Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy (theory of the three harmonies: heaven, earth, and human), and uses the principles of yin and yang, wuxing (five phases), the ten Heavenly Stems, the twelve Earthly Branches, the lunisolar calendar (moon calendar and sun calendar), and the time calculation after year, month, day, and shichen (時辰, double hour). These concepts are not readily found or familiar in Western astrology or culture.

History and background

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Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). During the Han period, the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture—the yin-yang philosophy, the theory and technology of the five elements (Wuxing), the concepts of heaven and earth, and Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian morality—were brought together to formalize the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.

The five classical planets are associated with the wuxing:

  • Mars—Fire (Vermilion Bird) (may be associated with the phoenix which was also an imperial symbol along with the Dragon)
  • Mercury—Water (Black Tortoise)
  • Jupiter—Wood (Azure Dragon)
  • Venus—Metal or Gold (White Tiger)
  • Saturn—Earth or Soil (Yellow Dragon)

According to Chinese astrology, a person's fate can be determined by the position of the major planets at the person's birth along with the positions of the Sun, Moon, comets, the person's time of birth, and zodiac sign. The system of the twelve-year cycle of animal signs was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter (the Year Star; ). Following the orbit of Jupiter around the Sun, Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections, and rounded it to 12 years (from 11.86). Jupiter is associated with the constellation Sheti (- Boötes) and is sometimes called Sheti.

A system of computing one's predestined fate is based on birthday, birth season, and birth hour, known as zi wei dou shu (), or Purple Star Astrology, is still used regularly in modern-day Chinese astrology to divine one's fortune. The 28 Chinese constellations, Xiu (), are quite different from Western constellations. For example, the Big Bear (Ursa Major) is known as Dou (); the belt of Orion is known as Shen (), or the "Happiness, Fortune, Longevity" trio of demigods. The seven northern constellations are referred to as Xuan Wu (). Xuan Wu is also known as the spirit of the northern sky or the spirit of water in Taoist belief.

In addition to astrological readings of the heavenly bodies, the stars in the sky form the basis of many fairy tales. For example, the Summer Triangle is the trio of the cowherd (Altair), the weaving maiden fairy (Vega), and the "tai bai" fairy (Deneb). The two forbidden lovers were separated by the silvery river (the Milky Way). Each year on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese calendar, the birds form a bridge across the Milky Way. The cowherd carries their two sons (the two stars on each side of Altair) across the bridge to reunite with their fairy mother. The tai bai fairy acts as the chaperone of these two immortal lovers.

Chinese zodiac

Chinese astrology has a close relation with Chinese philosophy. The core values and concepts of Chinese philosophy originate from Taoism.

Table of the sixty-year calendar

Main article: Chinese calendar, Sexagenary cycle

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The following table shows the 60-year cycle matched up to the Western calendar for the years 1924–2043 (see sexagenary cycle article for years 1924–1983). This is only applied to Chinese Lunar calendar. The sexagenary cycle begins at lichun. Each of the Chinese lunar years are associated with a combination of the ten Heavenly Stems () and the twelve Earthly Branches () which make up the 60 Stem-Branches () in a sexagenary cycle.

Yearrowspan=2Associated
Elementrowspan=2Heavenly
Stemrowspan=2Earthly
BranchStem-BranchAssociated
AnimalYear**1924–1983****1984–2043**
1Feb 05 **1924**–Jan 23 1925Yang Wood甲
2Jan 24 **1925**–Feb 12 1926Yin Wood乙
3Feb 13 **1926**–Feb 01 1927Yang Fire丙
4Feb 02 **1927**–Jan 22 1928Yin Fire丁
5Jan 23 **1928**–Feb 09 1929Yang Earth戊
6Feb 10 **1929**–Jan 29 1930Yin Earth己
7Jan 30 **1930**–Feb 16 1931Yang Metal庚
8Feb 17 **1931**–Feb 05 1932Yin Metal辛
9Feb 06 **1932**–Jan 25 1933Yang Water壬
10Jan 26 **1933**–Feb 13 1934Yin Water癸
11Feb 14 **1934**–Feb 03 1935Yang Wood甲
12Feb 04 **1935**–Jan 23 1936Yin Wood乙
13Jan 24 **1936**–Feb 10 1937Yang Fire丙
14Feb 11 **1937**–Jan 30 1938Yin Fire丁
15Jan 31 **1938**–Feb 18 1939Yang Earth戊
16Feb 19 **1939**–Feb 07 1940Yin Earth己
17Feb 08 **1940**–Jan 26 1941Yang Metal庚
18Jan 27 **1941**–Feb 14 1942Yin Metal辛
19Feb 15 **1942**–Feb 04 1943Yang Water壬
20Feb 05 **1943**–Jan 24 1944Yin Water癸
21Jan 25 **1944**–Feb 12 1945Yang Wood甲
22Feb 13 **1945**–Feb 01 1946Yin Wood乙
23Feb 02 **1946**–Jan 21 1947Yang Fire丙
24Jan 22 **1947**–Feb 09 1948Yin Fire丁
25Feb 10 **1948**–Jan 28 1949Yang Earth戊
26Jan 29 **1949**–Feb 16 1950Yin Earth己
27Feb 17 **1950**–Feb 05 1951Yang Metal庚
28Feb 06 **1951**–Jan 26 1952Yin Metal辛
29Jan 27 **1952**–Feb 13 1953Yang Water壬
30Feb 14 **1953**–Feb 02 1954Yin Water癸
31Feb 03 **1954**–Jan 23 1955Yang Wood甲
32Jan 24 **1955**–Feb 11 1956Yin Wood乙
33Feb 12 **1956**–Jan 30 1957Yang Fire丙
34Jan 31 **1957**–Feb 17 1958Yin Fire丁
35Feb 18 **1958**–Feb 07 1959Yang Earth戊
36Feb 08 **1959**–Jan 27 1960Yin Earth己
37Jan 28 **1960**–Feb 14 1961Yang Metal庚
38Feb 15 **1961**–Feb 04 1962Yin Metal辛
39Feb 05 **1962**–Jan 24 1963Yang Water壬
40Jan 25 **1963**–Feb 12 1964Yin Water癸
41Feb 13 **1964**–Feb 01 1965Yang Wood甲
42Feb 02 **1965**–Jan 20 1966Yin Wood乙
43Jan 21 **1966**–Feb 08 1967Yang Fire丙
44Feb 09 **1967**–Jan 29 1968Yin Fire丁
45Jan 30 **1968**–Feb 16 1969Yang Earth戊
46Feb 17 **1969**–Feb 05 1970Yin Earth己
47Feb 06 **1970**–Jan 26 1971Yang Metal庚
48Jan 27 **1971**–Feb 14 1972Yin Metal辛
49Feb 15 **1972**–Feb 02 1973Yang Water壬
50Feb 03 **1973**–Jan 22 1974Yin Water癸
51Jan 23 **1974**–Feb 10 1975Yang Wood甲
52Feb 11 **1975**–Jan 30 1976Yin Wood乙
53Jan 31 **1976**–Feb 17 1977Yang Fire丙
54Feb 18 **1977**–Feb 06 1978Yin Fire丁
55Feb 07 **1978**–Jan 27 1979Yang Earth戊
56Jan 28 **1979**–Feb 15 1980Yin Earth己
57Feb 16 **1980**–Feb 04 1981Yang Metal庚
58Feb 05 **1981**–Jan 24 1982Yin Metal辛
59Jan 25 **1982**–Feb 12 1983Yang Water壬
60Feb 13 **1983**–Feb 01 1984Yin Water癸

''Wuxing''

Main article: Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)

Although it is usually translated as 'element', the Chinese word xing literally means something like 'changing states of being', 'permutations' or 'metamorphoses of being'. In fact, Sinologists cannot agree on one single translation. The Chinese notion of 'element' is therefore quite different from the Western one. In the west, India Vedic, and Japanese Go dai elements were seen as the basic building blocks of matter and static or stationary. The Chinese 'elements', by contrast, were seen as ever changing, and the transliteration of xing is simply 'the five changes' and in traditional Chinese medicine are commonly referred to as phrases. Things seen as associated to each xing are listed below.

Fire ({{lang|zh|火}})

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  • The South (南)
  • Summer (夏)
  • Vermilion Bird/Vermilion Phoenix (朱雀)
  • Red Dragon (赤龍)
  • Chidi (赤帝)/Shennong (神农)
  • The Planet Mars (火星)
  • The Color Red (赤)
  • Circulatory system, Heart (心) and Small intestine (小肠)

Water ({{lang|zh|水}})

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  • The North (北)
  • Winter (冬)
  • Black Tortoise (玄武)
  • Black Dragon (黑龍/玄龍)
  • Xuandi (玄帝)/Zhuanxu (颛顼)
  • The Planet Mercury (水星)
  • The Color Black/Blue (黑)
  • Skeleton system (骨), Urinary bladder and Kidney (肾)

Wood ({{lang|zh|木}})

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  • The East (東)
  • Springtime (春)
  • Azure Dragon (青龍)
  • Cangdi (蒼帝)/Taihao (太昊)
  • The Planet Jupiter (木星)
  • The Color Green (緑)
  • Hepatic system, Liver (肝) and Gall bladder (胆)

Metal ({{lang|zh|金}})

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  • The West (西)
  • Autumn (秋)
  • White Tiger (白虎)
  • White Dragon (白龍)
  • White Emperor (白帝)/Shaohao (少昊)
  • The Planet Venus (金星)
  • The Color White (白)
  • Respiratory system, Lung (肺) and Large intestine (大肠)

Earth ({{lang|zh|土}})

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  • Center (中)
  • Change of seasons (the last month of the season)
  • The Yellow Dragon (黄龙/黃龍)
  • Yellow Emperor (黄帝)/Xuanyuan (轩辕)
  • The Planet Saturn (土星)
  • The Color Yellow (黄)
  • Digestive system, Spleen (脾) and Stomach (胃)

''Wuxing'' generative cycle ({{lang|zh|生}} sheng)

(Generative, Inter-promoting, begetting, engendering, mothering or enhancing cycle): Wood fuels Fire to burn; Fire creates Earth (ash); Earth produces minerals and structure represented by the Metal element; Metal creates Water from condensation and provides nutrients; Water nourishes Wood to grow.

''Wuxing'' destructive cycle ({{lang|zh|克}} kè)

The destructive cycle is important to create restraints in the whole system. For example, if Fire was allowed to burn out of control, it would be devastating and destructive as we see in nature in the form of bush fires or internally as high fevers, (Destructive, overcoming or inter-restraining or weakening cycle): Wood draws water from the Earth to create stability for building; Earth gives Water direction, like the banks of a river; Water controls Fire by cooling its heat; Fire makes Metal flexible; Metal adds the minerals to Wood for there to be strong upward growth.

Notes

References

References

  1. 何, 丙郁. (2003). "Chinese mathematical astrology : reaching out to the stars". Routledge.
  2. (1997). "The Chinese Sky during the Han: Constellating Stars and Society". Brill.
  3. Levitt, Ellen Dorn. (2013). "Fate A Chinese Zodiac". Center Press, John L. Norris Art Center, Lyndon Institute.
  4. {{harvp. Sun. Kistemaker. 1997
  5. (16 February 2009). ""Almanac" "lunar" zodiac beginning of spring as the boundary dislocation? — China Network".
  6. Eberhard, Wolfram. (1986). "A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols". Routledge and Keegan Paul.
  7. "Five Elements(Wu Xing)". YourChineseAstrology.com.
  8. Franglen, Nora. (2013). "Simple Guide to Five Element Acupuncture". Singing Dragon.
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