Happy New Year everyone! The Chinese New Year starts on the eve of Feb 4th under the new moon in the western zodiac sign of Aquarius, the Water Bearer. This new moon has a light and playful energy, for once all the planets are in direct motion, there is no eclipse, nothing intense, just an airy new moon coming in like a breath of fresh air. Even the weather feels like spring, very much unlike the freezing cold of the eclipse we had during the full moon. It's time for us to embrace this lightness.

In the Chinese zodiac, each year is represented by a certain animal and there are 12 animals. The Boar/Pig is 12th in place in the Chinese zodiac, the myth being that the emperor organized a party and declared that animals of the zodiac would be chosen based on the order in which they arrived and the Boar overslept and thus came in last. This seems appropriate for the sensual and easygoing Boar/Pig sign people, who are naturally nurturing personalities with sensitive natures. Boars are loyal and playful and are very domestic creatures who love to love and be loved. They are also diligent, compassionate and generous. The Pig corresponds to the sign of Scorpio in Western astrology, so there is another more determined and intense side to them than first meets the eye. You are a Boar/Pig if you were born in 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995 or 2007. Combining the qualities of your western sign with your Chinese zodiac can give you an added dimension of understanding.

Chinese astrology is very different from Western astrology, and in order to get a more specific idea about your Chinese zodiac personalities and tendencies, you have to find out the element you were born under and also the sign that rules the hour you were born in. For example a water Boar/Pig will be far more easygoing than a fire Boar/Pig say born under the hour of the fire dragon. My Chinese sign is in fact the water Pig, and I can relate to being a social creature with a sensual nature. So there is more to the Chinese zodiac than superstitions an materialistic predictions. Astrology, both Chinese and Western is an intricate language of archetypes and symbols woven through the tapestry of our collective consciousness, individual and personal, yet universal.

The best way to use astrology is a tool for self-development and empowerment through understanding what the patterns within the stars are telling us and then using them to guide our way forward. This is not a fatalistic approach but rather a way to tune ourselves in to the vibration of the universe.

2019 is the year of the female Earth Pig under Chinese astrology, so let’s hope the influences of the benevolent Boar/Pig shines through for us in the year to come.

What will unravel for you in this year? Want to find out? Book an Astrology Reading with me to find out what guidance the stars have for you and your life.