Year of the Rabbit

In a couple of days begins the Chinese New Year, it will be the Year of the Rabbit. Like the old Greek and Roman astrological signs there are 12 symbols. But instead of each one being for a specific time during the months of the year, there is a Chinese one each for a year in a 12-year cycle, and not only that, there is are 5 elements for different years of that symbol, so the cycle only completely repeats each 60 years. The symbols of the Chinese cycle are animals, starting in order; Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The five elements are; Earth, Fire, Wood, Water and Gold. The year I was born in makes me a Gold Rabbit.

This is a fortunate sign, a Gold Rabbit is said to be kind-hearted, conservative, lively and enthusiastic. When encountering difficulties, we don’t get discouraged and remain persistent to finding solutions to our work and generally able to achieve success. Rabbits are good with their hands and artistic. (Which is great, I have been an artist since childhood.) Unhappily, Rabbits in my birth year are predicted to have many challenges with frequent life changes. I am advised to be more careful about all aspects of my life in 2023. Since I am already worried about this year and the next, this is not very good news. But the Rabbit is closely related to the Goddess of the Moon, so is one of the most favored zodiac signs in Chinese astrology.

So where does this leave me? I like the Chinese view of life through their astrology, since it is more specific over a longer period of time. But I am also of a scientific mind and skeptical of all things to do with what amounts to fortune telling. I also don’t need a reminder to be careful during the coming year and like the old Chinese curse, we are living in interesting times. So I guess I will rely on my Rabbit lucky symbols, like the colors blue and green, wear red underwear and socks, and carry or wear lucky dog trinkets. (Wait, what? Red underwear? And I don’t even like dogs, aren’t they enemies of Rabbits?) This only gets more confusing if you look even closer to the specifics of my supposed horoscope. So why don’t we leave things as they are. I will just be careful for the year and take things as they come, like I normally do, (with fingers crossed and a lucky rabbits foot).

(This is a photograph of me taken at the Nagasaki, Japan, Lantern Festival in early March of 2007. I am standing next to a lantern of a Rabbit, my lucky astrological symbol.)