The Chinese Astrology Bible: The Definitive Guide to Using the Chinese Zodiac

by Derek Walters

Written by a leading authority on the history and practice of Chinese astrology, this comprehensive new entry in the continuing Bible series brings together all the basics on this ancient form of divination. Filled with color photographs and beautiful illustrations, it covers everything from the 12 animals of the zodiac to calculating your sign to creating a detailed analysis of your chart based on the exact time of your birth. There’s also advice on developing your horoscope further, as well as using Chinese astrology in conjunction with Eastern medicine and feng shui.  

Genres: Astrology

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 2009

About the author

Derek Walters is a leading authority on the history and practice of Chinese astrology. His lectures take him around the world, and he has written a number of successful books, including The Secrets of Chinese Astrology and The Feng Shui Handbook.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had an astrology phase as a teenage girl, and one of the conclusions I drew from that was that Chinese astrology only works for cultures that used it natively. So, then, what was I do with this book, my main resource for Chinese astrology? After all, it appeared to be written by a white man, and also described my zodiac sign, the Sheep, in way more flattering terms than most Chinese astrologists would.

I would reject this book, and astrology in general, as easily debunked pseudoscience that states that your personality and fate is influenced by when you were born. It taught me a lot about Chinese astrology, to be sure, but the most interesting parts to me were always the history of Chinese astrology and the stories behind it, not calculating your hour animal or the stem and branch. Perhaps I’m a little too logical about this.

[Matty]

Too much calculations needed for me & my yr didn't seem as accurate. The 2nd part of the book re yr is accurate for me.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Western astrology, there's more to Chinese astrology than just the twelve signs of its zodiac. But unlike Western astrology, there aren't many books in English that can teach you how to go deeper than "you were born in the Year of the Ox." Yes, this is one of those books. Walters, who has written other books on Chinese astrology and feng shui, has explained the calculation of a Chinese horoscope as well as anyone. He breaks the calculations down into several steps and his instructions allow readers to put together a horoscope by looking up all the information in a series of tables and then referring to some basic interpretations.

I'm only giving this book three stars, however, because it tries to cover too much territory and ends up a bit of a jumbled mess. I'm not sure how much of this is Walters' writing and how much his publisher is responsible for. Walters starts with descriptions of the twelve animals, how they relate to each other, and what their upcoming years are likely to bring. He then explains some horoscope calculations, goes back and describes more about the animals, introduces 28 more animals, does more calculations, and concludes with a overview of how Chinese astrology affects other aspects of Chinese culture. The book is fully illustrated in color, but most of the pictures look like stock photos and clip art, and lots of the latter are reused throughout the book. I know that a book that's called The Chinese Astrology Bible should try to cover as much of the topic as possible, but I would've preferred more about the horoscopes themselves and fewer tangents.

[Claudio Yáñez Valenzuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente y muy amplio contenido, resumido en muy pocas páginas. Muy recomendable.