Tag: Chinese zodiac

2023: The Year of the Rabbit

~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

Three weeks ago we bade farewell to the old year, and welcomed the New Year, 2023 according to the Gregorian calendar. This month also marked the start of a new year for several different communities in different parts of India. Other parts of the world are also celebrating new beginnings. In many countries in East and Far East Asia it is the Chinese New Year that will herald 2023 as the Year of the Rabbit on 22 January this week.

The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year astrological cycle in which a zodiac animal is assigned to each year in an ever-repeating rotation. The 12 zodiac animals are, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each year has an animal sign according to the 12-year-cycle. The Year of the Rabbit signifies the fourth year in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac

There are several myths and legends related to the origin of this. According to one story, the legendary Jade Emperor invited all the world’s animals to a banquet, but only these twelve animals accepted his invitation. Thus he honoured them by dedicating one year on the Chinese calendar to each.

Another Chinese zodiac origin story claims that the Buddha himself called for 12 sacred animals to protect his palace. He thus organized a race that involved all animals on earth to identify the most worthy. At the end of the race, the first 12 animals to complete the race were selected as his guards. Now, they represent the 12 Chinese zodiac signs.

The most popular tale is that of The Great Race that explains the order of the animals in the zodiac has many variations, but the essence is the same.

According to legend the Jade Emperor decided that in order to determine the order in which each of these twelve animals would be placed in the zodiac, they would have to run a race, and they would be assigned their places depending upon the order in which they reached the finish line.

All the animals set off on the course. On the way to the finishing point there was a big river that they had to cross. The Rat had got up and started early, but when it reached the river it felt helpless; how could it navigate the swirling waters? But then it saw the strong Ox about to enter the water, so it used its wits and climbed onto the Ox’s head. The Ox was kind and let it ride with him. But as soon as they reached the other side, the wily rat quickly slid down and scampered to the finish line. And so the Rat came first, followed at number two by the diligently plodding Ox.

Year of Rabbit

Tiger and Rabbit were not far behind. Both were fast, but Tiger was faster and came in third. Rabbit though fast on the ground, was stumped when it reached the river; it could not swim but it used its strong legs to hop from stone to stone in the river. However at one place it slipped and fell in the water, but it grasped a floating log and hung onto it, and was tossing with the current.

Dragon who everyone thought would easily win the race because it was believed to have magical powers fell behind as it took  a detour on the way to help some villagers to  extinguish a fire. When it returned to the river it saw the rabbit clinging to the log which was being carried away by the currents. Dragon used its breath to push the log to the shore. Thus the rabbit was the fourth animal to complete the race. Rabbit never found out where the breeze that had helped it ashore came from. The helpful dragon thus came after the rabbit, to be fifth in the race.

The story goes on to describe the adventures and machinations of the other seven animals who completed the race.

2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. The Chinese zodiac assigns an animal and its attributes to each year. Those born in a specific year are said to possess certain characteristics of the animal, as defined in the Chinese belief system; and their fortunes are determined accordingly. The years of the Rabbit include 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, and now 2023.

The rabbit is historically known as the gentlest of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. The attributes also apply to the people born in the year of that animal. Thus those born in the year of the rabbit are believed to be gentle, quiet, elegant, and alertas well as quick,ingenious,skilful, kind, patient, and very responsible. Those born under the sign of the Rabbit are known for their calm and decisive nature, which helps them to navigate difficult situations effectively. They are sometimes reluctant to reveal their minds to others and have a tendency to escape reality, but are always faithful to those around them. In the Japanese zodiac that also follows these 12 animal signs, rabbits represent fortune, moving forward and cleverness.

In addition to these traits, according to the Chinese theory of five elements, each zodiac sign is also associated with one of the five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, orEarth. These occur once in a 60-year cycle. According to this, 2023 is the year of Water Rabbit. Water rabbits are characterized as being gentle, amicable, able to adjust readily to different conditions, but with a firm mind set and principles.

In today’s world where there is an increasing prevalence, (indeed even positive recognition) of more aggressive traits of competitiveness, and ruthlessness, this year is a reminder of the value of gentleness, tenderness and empathy. In Chinese and Japanese cultures the sign of the Rabbit is revered as a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity.

According to Chinese astrology, 2023 the year of the Water Rabbit will be less tumultuous than last year which was the year of the Tiger. It is predicted to be a year of Hope. This is what the world needs so badly now.

Here is to the Year of the Rabbit 2023—a year of hope, peace, and moving forward with empathy. 

–Mamata

Year of the Rat

~ millennialmatriarchs ~ 2 Comments

This month has been one of the start of the New Year for several different communities, especially in India, as I wrote earlier. Every culture has its own calculations, myths and legends associated with the annual cycle of time. rat.png

Last week was the Chinese New Year, and the start of the Year of the Rat. The year of the Rat signifies the first year in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac. The years of the Rat include 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, and now, 2020.

The Chinese zodiac is based on a repeating 12-year cycle, with each year signified by an animal, in the following order–Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Those born in a specific year are said to possess certain characteristics of the animal, as defined in the Chinese belief system; and their fortunes are determined accordingly. For example people born in the year of the Rat are supposed to be intelligent, charming, quick-witted, practical and ambitious. They are also likely to be timid, stubborn, greedy, devious, too eager for power, and love to gossip!

Why these animals and why this specific order?  There is an interesting legend linked to this. The story has many versions, but in essence it tells about a race. This is one version.

Once long, long ago, the Jade Emperor, one of the most important gods in traditional Chinese religion wanted to select 12 animals to be his guards. He sent his messengers to earth to invite all the animals in the world to take part in a race which would end by entering the Heavenly Gate.

Twelve species turned up at the start line: a pig, dog, rooster, monkey, sheep, horse, snake, dragon, rabbit, tiger, ox and rat.

As a reward for turning up, the Emperor named a year in the zodiac after each of these animals, but the race was to determine the order in which each animal would be placed in the zodiac, depending upon the order in which they reached the finish line.

All the animals set off on the course. On the way there was a big river that they had to cross. The Rat had got up and started early, but when it reached the river it felt helpless. But then it saw the strong Ox about to enter the water, so it used its wits and climbed onto the Ox’s head. The Ox was kind and let it ride with him. But as soon as they reached the other side, the wily rat quickly slid down and scampered to the finish line. And so the Rat came first, followed at number two by the diligent Ox.

Tiger and Rabbit were not far behind. Both were fast and competitive, but Tiger was faster and came in third. Rabbit who nimbly crossed the river by hopping on stepping stones and a floating log came fourth.

Everyone thought that the dragon with his magical powers of flight would be in front. But in fact the dragon took a detour to go ashore to help some villagers extinguish a fire. When it returned to the river, it saw that Rabbit was struggling on the log, and so the dragon used its breath to blow it to shore. The Rabbit never found out where the helpful breeze came from, but it finished before the Dragon, who came in at number five.

The Horse wasn’t far behind the Dragon and thought that sixth place was in the bag. However, it hadn’t noticed that the Snake had hitched a ride by wrapping itself around the Horse’s legs to save energy. Just as the finish line was in sight, the snake uncoiled itself and frightened the Horse. The Snake thus slyly slithered to sixth place while the horse came in seventh.

Next up were the Sheep (or Goat in some stories), Monkey and Rooster. They decided to work as a team and made a small raft to help them across the river. When they reached the other side, they dashed to the finish line. The Sheep/Goat reached first followed by the Monkey and the Rooster—ranking at number eight, nine and ten respectively.

That left the Dog and the Pig. The dog was playful and could not help splashing and enjoying itself in the river water while all the others overtook it. It landed up wet and panting to claim the eleventh rank. And where was the Pig? True to its nature, half way into the race it got hungry. So it decided to look for, and eat something to keep it going. But it ate so much that it just had to lie down and nap! When it awoke from its snooze, and made its way to the finish line, all the other animals had long crossed it. The Emperor had almost given up on it, but was happy to assign it the final space in the zodiac.

And so the 12 animals became the Emperor’s guards and were also assigned their place in the zodiac.

There is an interesting Post Script to this story which explains why the Cat is missing from the list. As the tale goes, Cat and Rat were then good friends, and both decided to join the race. But the Cat had a habit of waking up late. So, fearing he might miss the grand race, he asked the Rat to wake him up the next morning. The Rat, however, forgot his promise and left without his best friend.

Alas, when the Cat finally woke up, it was already too late, and he did not make it to the race on time. Hence, there is no year in the Chinese zodiac named after the Cat. And, this is why, until this day, the Cat will always hunt the Rat!

Here’s to the Year of the Rat!

–Mamata