HOW CHINESE ASTROLOGY WORKS

From the Year of the Rat through the Year of the Pig, there are twelve animal signs romping through the Asian or "Chinese" astrological system. To find your own sign, all you need to know is the year of your birth. Though there are no complicated rising signs nor intricate charts to reckon with, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year. It can occur as early as mid-January or as late as mid-February. So if you were born in either of these two months, please enter your birth date on my web site SuzanneWhite.com for accuracy. A person born in late January of a Snake year might not be a Snake subject, but rather will be given the sign of the preceding Dragon year.

The cycle of the Chinese zodiac renews itself every dozen years. As luck would have it, 1900 was a Rat year. Since Rat is the first in the series of twelve signs and its year opened our century, we can often calculate the signs of our contemporaries with ease. The year 2000 was not so convenient. Instead of rounding out nicely to start the new century with a Rat year, 2000 was a Dragon year. The Dragon, unlike the Rat, is not the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac but the fifth. So in this new century we have to work a bit harder to calculate our Chinese sign.

Every Asian person about to make a major decision: mar-riage, family, profession, burial, or relocation will first check to see if his sign and those of the people involved indicate that any benefit will result from the anticipated act. In many Asian countries parents still arrange marriages. If the family considers that a Horse son is not well matched to a Rat woman, the wedding will be called off.

Astrology - like various other "ologies" - is yet another way of finding out who we are and how we can be happier. Astrologers do not claim to have all the answers. As a soothsayer, I do not presume to know if you must or must not buy a pickup truck on Thursday, the twenty-ninth of July, 2021. But what I do know is that the animal symbol that rules the year of your birth has endowed you with certain basic characteristics and helped to define your fundamental nature.

Once you are made aware of your qualities and have accepted certain aspects of your faults, it is conceivable that you will have a better chance of making life cooperate with you. Given definite attributes to work with, you will then possess the wherewithal to fashion your own life to fit your desires and ambitions. Moreover, as you examine the qualities and faults pertaining to your friends or acquaintances, you may learn why you (and they) behave in ways hitherto incomprehensible.

WHO WILL BE RUNNING THE SHOW?

WHAT IS A RAT PERSON LIKE?

According to a Chinese legend, one day during some dynasty or other, Buddha called all 12 major animals together for a race. The Rat not only won the race, he was probably canny enough to ride on the Ox's back to do so. Oxen tend to be slow, but they are steady and plodding. We all know from our own legend about the Tortoise and the Hare that steady plodding wins the race.

You won't find many steady plodders among the Rat population.

RAT YEARS

1900, 1912, 1924. 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2052, 2044, 2056, 2068, 2080, 2092

NB- Born in January or early Feb.? Check my Chinese Sign page (http://www.suzannewhite.com) to be sure you are not among those who fall into the sign of the previous year.

Rat is the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac.

"What? You tell me I'm a Rat. Yucko! Gross. No way!" I hear these protests all the time. Nobody wants to be a Rat. Apparently, they'd rather be something less revolting. Rats don't benefit from an elegant reputation in our occidental, urbanized society.

But think for a moment of the clever farm rat. It is this rat: the collector, the hoarder, the deft and admirable country rat, whom Buddha honored. This rural rat is, to this day, a scrounger for food, finder of warm places to nest and a procreator par excellence. Let us then put aside our base image of the repellent city rat and concentrate on the characters of his artful country cousin.

The key adjectives I like to use to describe Rat people are: "charming, assertive, protective and relentless." Rats go whole hog for what they are after and they never give up. You'll never meet an unattractive Rat. They may not be classically handsome. But they ooze allure. Neither will you find a Rat person who doesn't seek to achieve and succeed, stand out from the crowd and even assume power over others. Rats are go-getters. They are born with leadership qualities and a hefty measure of guile. For the Rat, the ends frequently justify the means.

Rat people usually appear calm and at ease in company. They're talkative (to a fault sometimes) and make pleasant conversationalists. But take a closer look. That Rat has a rubber band in his hand which he incessantly snaps back and forth between two fingers. The Rat woman keeps wiggling the fastener on her bracelet. Rats only seem tranquil. Inside, they are like nuclear reactors: churning, bubbling, twisting and steaming. Rats seethe and sizzle. But they never-or rarely-explode.

Rats are not only stashers of food, they have a well-developed sense of economy. They know where their money goes and for which frivolities they are willing to spend lavishly. Parties and gatherings of all sorts please the Rat. In fact, any chance to communicate is seen as a joyful occasion. Rats love-no, need-to talk. If Rats have problems, they talk them through. If they are depressed, they blab it out. If they lose a lover, they can only cure themselves of heartbreak by exposing the whole gory story until the listener's ears are red with compassion and the Rat has emptied his despondent soul. If you have a gabby Rat crony, keep your IPOD handy and pump up the volume.

If you are loved by a Rat, consider yourself lucky. Rats will fiercely defend and cheerfully spoil the people they care about. But outsiders don't count. The Rat wants to be surrounded with those who like and admire him. He will lavish presents on them and feed them all till they burst from admiration. Loyal companionship is the Rat's idea of contentment.

Rats are not necessarily high-minded. Nor are they artistic dreamers. But they are wily and intelligent. And they are often gifted - too clever by half. They make excellent lawyers and executives. Too, Rats dabble more than a little in politics. They crave power. Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George Bush Sr. and John McCain - Rats to a man. And they know how to use their brains with words. In the world's Rat Pack, you will find all manner of highly talented writers, composers, singers, actors and actresses. Here's a famous Rat sampling:

1912 (Water Rat Mary McCarthy, Loretta Young, Roy Rogers, Gene Kelly, John Cage, Eugene Ionesco, Laurence Durrell, Werner Von Braun, John Cheever, Perry Como, Studs Terkel, Woody Guthrie, Julia Child, Michaelangelo Antonioni, Danny Kaye. 1924 (Wood Rat) Marlon Brando, Lauren Bacall, Sarah Vaughan, James Baldwin, Truman Capote, Charles Aznavour, Doris Day, Lee Marvin, Zizi Jeanmaire, Sidney Poitier. 1936 (Fire Rat) Glenda Jackson, Dennis Hopper, Keir Dullea, Yves St Laurent, Dick Cavett, Vanessa Redgrave, Albert Finney, El Cordobes, Alan Alda, Kris Kristifferson, Marion Barry, F.W. DeKlerk, , Dean Stockwell, Glenn Campbell, Roy Orbison, Bobby Darin, Dennis Hopper, Englebert Humperdinck, Tom Snyder, Bruce Dern, Chad Everett, Geena Rowlands, Oscar de la Renta, Wilt Chamberlain, Buddy Holly, David Carradine, Ismael Merchant, Lou Rawls, Shirley Bassey, Dyan Cannon, Boris Spassky. 1948 (Earth Rat) James Taylor, Olivia Newton-John, Mikhail Barishnykov, Donna Summer, Gerard Depardieu, Billy Crystal, Al Gore, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jimmy Cliff, Kathy Bates, Cat Stevens, Jeremy Irons, Mary Beth Hurt, Olivia Newton-John, Jackson Browne, Donna Karan, Kenny Loggins. 1960 (Metal Rat) Kenneth Branagh, Yannick Noah, Daryl Hannah, Sean Penn, Greta Scacchi, Meg Tilly, Ayrton Sienna, Kristin Scott Thomas, Antonio Banderas, Branford Marsalis, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Nastassja Kinski, Valerie Bertinelli, Hugh Grant 1972 (Water Rat) Shaquille O'Neal, Carmen Electra, Busta Rhymes, Julie Gayet, Elizabeth Berkley, Marlon Wayans, Ben Affleck, Cameron Diaz, Geri Halliwell, Liam Gallagher, Gwyneth Paltrow, Eminem, Toni Collette, Jenny McCarthy, Alyssa Milano, Vanessa Paradis.

Rats are not infrequently found meddling in other peoples' business. They are intensely curious and can become overly involved in the lives of friends and neighbors. They cannot be termed "busybodies" - but almost. Rats also delight in the running of committees and will gladly take over the administration of a board of directors. Rats will not usually volunteer to be on the cleanup committee. Nor are they apt to beg to decorate the church crypt for the charity bazaar. They may tell you how they want it done. But they are not about to actually DO the decorating. No. It's power that Rats are after-power and influence and lots of praise and kudos.

Rats too are marriers. They crave security and need to be attached. They hoard money and foodstuffs in secret places so they will never be caught short of either. Show up unannounced at her place, the Rat will feed you well. But don't try to borrow any money or expect to be treated to lavish meals at the Four Seasons or the Ritz. Rats are much more conservative than their splendid surroundings would have us believe.

THE EARTH RAT YEAR

FEBRUARY 7, 2008 TO JANUARY 25, 2009

Hang on to your hat, here comes the Rat!

2008 promises to be a whole new Rat Race. This year jump starts the Chinese twelve year cycle all over again. Prepare for twelve months of Monday mornings.

We just oinked our way through and oozed out of the prosperous Pig year. If you recall, I forecasted a year of too much plenty. I warned that the rich would get richer and the poor would do far less well. Of course I could not have predicted that women's handbags would increase in value to the point where some ladies are carrying around ten bucks and a lipstick in a hot pink crocodile clutch bag that cost their husband's credit card $4000. Seriously, I just consulted the Neiman Marcus online shopping catalogue and in such top stores women's' purses cost upwards of $1000. Some (and not just a few) cost six thousand smackers! That's a concrete example of what I said would happen under the influence of the Fire Pig. Glut for glut's sake. End of cycle excess. Quantity over quality. For some, it was a great year. In 2007, "Them that has" had themselves a hugely piggy Pig year.

Here's a quote from my last year's forecast: "People are going to have more "stuff" in the Pig year. Extravagant real estate and luxury items, jewelry and antiques, authentic old masters - everything having to do with wealth and affluence will be favored. But... this abject profusion of material possession means that anyone who is not rich or prosperous or rolling in gold bullion cubes will - by virtue of the scales being tipped too far - fare worse."

And are not a slew more wealthy humans cluttering up golf courses and crowding shopping mall parking lots with their splendiferous gas guzzling cars? And, by contrast, are not a lot more people out of work, out of luck and nowadays even out of their homes?

Well folks, the party (and the twelve year cycle) is most decidedly over.

2008 will be an Earth Rat year. Rat years are always choppy and appeal mostly to those with a finely-developed sense of economy. But the Earth Rat year (The last one was 1948) is also chockablock with market upsets and other unspeakable bolts from the blue. NO. I can't tell you what color, size or shape the bolts will be. Just think surprise events which jolt your synapses and give your heart goose bumps. I am not threatening earthquakes or typhoons, although we will surely see our share of those. The bolts from the blue will be more personal than that. They will take the form of accidents or mishaps due to inattention, clumsiness or pure bad luck. In an Earth Rat year, we learn (usually the hard way) that we cannot possibly anticipate what might happen next. Some might say, "Then let's just have fun. Why worry?" Others of you will shudder and shake, fearing insecurity and mourning free lunches.

Relax! Worry is a waste of your precious time. What you worry about today will certainly not happen. And what will happen is something you might have been worrying about but didn't even know existed. Just be more cautious than usual about wasting - both time and money.

In this coming year, the fragile quality of the world's financial condition will become glaringly obvious. People and governments in the western world will wake up to the fact that they cannot go on spending more money than they have and get away with it. In fact, many very rich people will barely have time to preserve existing finances. Get ready to swap those $4000.00 purses for some spanking new food stamps. Flog your $50,000.00 golf cart and learn how to walk again. Give up caviar and luxury cruises in favor of hot dogs, macaroni salad and a romantic rowboat ride on the local park lake. Forego smoked salmon and learn how to fish. This coming year will be about the prudent managing of finances, cost-cutting measures and trendy cheap backpacks made in China. It will also be about power.

Something intriguing about Rat years is that at first they appear to bode only wealth and bounty. But such glittering harvests are merely the calm before the storm and hunger pangs of future shortages. Nobody will be spared. Already in February, inflation will be on the rise. People all over the world will see their buying power diminish. My advice? Open a savings account. Plant a vegetable garden. Stash gold jewelry under your mattress. Junk the gas guzzler and buy a book of train tickets. Take the kids out of private school. Teach them at home. Learn to cook cheaper cuts of meat or eat no meat at all. Take pride in wearing handsomely patched jeans and be the first on your block to remember how to darn socks. In general, in the coming Rat year, do as the British were advised after WWII, "Make do and mend". We did it before and we can do it again. Might as well face it. Scantier days are ahead.

This year is not all bleak, drab and gray however. It's a splendid year for power grubbers who gain dominion over others. Dictators will thrive in this Rat year. Hoarders of foodstuffs get a leg up. It's also a banner year for owners of savings (and even piggy) banks. And it's a fabulous year for people devoted to living the simple life, playing music or party games at home with their children, going on picnics, taking advantage of free museum entries and walking everywhere instead of taking the car. The inherently parsimonious Rat year is here to help us clean up our act. Join forces with Brother Rat. Dismount your cherished Hummer. Slog a bit and drudge a bit. Cut back and save. Take one paper towel instead of two at a time. If one doesn't do the job, you can always go back for more. Wash your own car and polish it too. Quit the expensive gym and ride your bike to work. If you co-operate with the spirit of the Rat year, you can expect to enjoy a carefree twelve months. But buck the system and continue to troll the thousand dollar handbag department at Nordstrom or Harrods's or Galeries Lafayette and your golden goose will flap its wings a few times and fall right over dead (next to the overdue credit card bills) on your snazzy $10,000 dining room table.

Children born in Rat years are luckier if their birthdays come in summer. They will not have to dig through the snow for provisions and can benefit from sultry sunshine to make the hay that they will so need to have stored away for the long, cold winter ahead.

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