Most people are aware of their astrological signs, and know the characteristics associated with the twelve signs of the zodiac. European astrology is based on your month of birth.
Traditional Vietnamese astrology is different. It is based on your year of birth. There are 12 signs, too, but they are named after animals instead of constellations.
The Vietnamese New Year falls on a different date each year. Last year (1998), the “Year of the Tiger,” fell on January 28. This year, the “Year of the Cat,” falls on February 16, 1999.
The 12-year cycle begins with the year of the Rat, which this century fell in 1900, so it is easy to calculate in Vietnamese years.
The traditional calendar divides time into cycles of 10, 12, 30 and 60 units (among them, the 12-unit cycle is the most notable one).
The 10-unit cycle uses can signs (thien can, heavenly) called Giap (natural water), At (water for use), Binh (lighted fire), Dinh (latent fire), Mau (wood in general), Ky (lighted wood), Canh (metal in general), Tan (shaped metal), Nham (wasted land) and Quy (tilled land), in that order.
The 12-unit cycle uses chi signs (dia chi, earthly) called, Ty (rat), Suu (water buffalo), Dan (tiger), Mao (cat), Thin (dragon), Ti (snake), Ngo (horse), Mui (goat), Than (monkey), Dau (rooster), Tuat (dog) and Hoi (pig), in that order. The hours, days, months and years receive compound names, each made up of a can and a chi. A 60-year cycle begins with a Giap ty and ends with a Quy Hoi.
Of the animals above, one is mythical – the dragon; four are wild or semi-wild animals: the rat, tiger, snake, and monkey; and seven are domestic animals (the buffalo, cat, horse, goat, cock, dog and pig.)
Those who were born in the Year of the Cat fall on the following dates:
The sign Mao corresponds to the Cat. It is a yin sign and is in conflict with the Ty (rat) sign.
The period of time from 5 to 7 in the morning, when the cat will be on the prowl for mice, is the Mao hour.
A man born in a Mao year it thought of as being of the type with supple mind and a patient temperament, knows how to lie in wait for favorable opportunities and to act quickly when they arrive.
Albert Einstein, the prominent physicist who is the formulator of the Theory of Relativity, was born in a Mao year (1879). A Noble-prize winner in 1951, he died in 1955.
The famous Vietnamese writer Nguyen Cong Huan was born in a Quy Mao year (1903).
According to Vietnamese astrologists, the following are some good and bad sides of those who are born in the Year of the Cat.Positive aspects:
cautious, clever, hospitable, sociable, friendly, sensitive, ambitious, careful
Negative aspects:
private, timid, thin-skinned, old-fashioned, hypochondriac, squeamishFrom: month/day/year (solar calendar) To: month/day/year (solar calendar) Name of the Lunar Year Jan. 30, 1903 Feb. 16, 1904 Quy Mao Feb. 15, 1915 Mar. 2, 1916 At Mao Feb. 3, 1927 Jan. 23, 1928 Dinh Mao Feb. 20, 1939 Feb. 8, 1940 Ky Mao Feb. 7, 1951 Jan. 27, 1952 Tan Mao Jan. 26, 1963 Feb. 13, 1964 Quy Mao Feb. 11, 1975 Feb. 16, 1976 At Mao Jan. 29, 1987 Feb. 16, 1988 Dinh Mao Feb. 16, 1999 Feb. 4, 2000 Ky Mao
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Futurist: Born in the Year of the Cat?
(from The Saigon Times Weekly, 1999)
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