Similarities and Differences Between Chinese and Western Astrology

Chinese astrology has been around for thousands of years, and there are similarities and differences between Chinese and Western astrology. Chinese astrology has twelve signs, just like Western astrology, but uses animal names for their signs. The animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac are, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each of these animal signs relate to a sign in the Western Zodiac. They are as follows: Rat – Sagittarius, Ox – Capricorn, Tiger – Aquarius, Rabbit – Pisces, Dragon – Aries, Snake – Taurus, Horse – Gemini, Sheep – Cancer, Monkey – Leo, Rooster – Virgo, Dog – Libra, Pig – Scorpio. As you can see, they go in order, but Sagittarius is first instead of Aries.

When it comes to comes to compatibility, the signs ruled by the same element are best compatible, with fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) best with fire signs, earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) best with earth signs, air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) best with air signs, and water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) best with water signs. The Chinese animal signs that correspond to these signs are compatible, so Rat (Sagittarius), Monkey (Leo), and Dragon (Aries) are compatible. When signs oppose one another, that can create friction and difficulty in compatibility, so the Chinese animal signs that correspond to the opposing Western signs have difficult compatibility (example: Aries opposes Libra, Aries = Rat, Libra = Dog, Rat opposes Dog, Rats and Dogs have difficult compatibility).

Western astrology has four elements: fire, earth, air, and water. Chinese astrology has five, excluding air and including wood and metal. Chinese fire and earth are similar to Western fire and earth, but Chinese water is closer to Western air, and Chinese wood is closer to Western water. Chinese metal is like a combo of Western fire and earth.

In Western astrology, you have the triad of the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant, which are the most important parts of your chart. Similarly, Chinese astrology has the four pillars, which uses four signs, one each for the year, month, day, and hour of birth. The year sign is the one most are familiar with, and is similar to the Sun sign in Western astrology. The hour sign is your outward personality, so it’s similar to the Ascendant in Western astrology.

For some differences, Chinese astrology months are based on the lunar cycle, while the Western astrology signs are based on the solar cycle. Chinese New Year is on a different day every year because of that, and is the second new moon day after the winter solstice. Chinese astrology years are on a sixty year loop, with each year consisting of not only an animal sign, but also an element. The animals go in order, changing each year, and the elements go in order from wood to fire, then earth, metal, and water, and the elements lasts for two years at a time instead of one like the animals. This creates a sixty year cycle. The year starting January 31st 2014 is a wood Horse year.

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