Let's talk about the Chinese zodiac

There are some major differences between the Western and Chinese systems: for one, the Chinese zodiac is based on the lunar calendar, which assigns a special animal and its reputed attributes (which are not exactly the same as they would be in the West, by the way) to each year in a repeating 12 year cycle. The Chinese zodiac animals are also not associated with constellations spanned by the ecliptic plane. The 12 part cycle corresponds to years, rather than months.

The cycle begins with the rat and ends with the pig. Each animal is associated with specific characteristics (heavenly stem, earthly branch, yin/yang force, trine, and element). The next animal takes over on the first day (new moon day) of the Chinese lunar new year.

The animal signs assigned by year represent how others perceive you or how you present yourself. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are all there is to it. In fact, there are also animals assigned by month, day, and hour, which correspond to the Four Pillars of Destiny, known as shēng chén bā zì in Chinese, which literally translates to "birth time eight characters". The ancient Chinese astrological concept is that a person's destiny or fate can be divined by the two sexagenary cycle characters assigned to their birth year, month, day, and hour.

The Chinese zodiac is derived according to the Five Elements Theory (metal, wood, water, fire, earth). Every sign is associated with 5 elements with relations, among the 5 elements, of interpolation, interaction, over-action, and counter-action: the common law of motions and changes in the universe. Different people born under each animal sign are believed to have different personalities. Practitioners of Chinese astrology will consult the traditional details with their compatibilities to offer putative guidance for life, career, marriage, and parenthood.