There is a story that goes; when the Buddha was ready to leave this Earth he called all the animals in the Kingdom to come to say goodbye to him. The Rat asked the Ox if he could ride on his back because he was so small that he was afraid that he wouldn’t get there in time to say goodbye. The Ox agreed; but just as they were arriving the Rat jumped off the Ox’s back ~ ran ahead and was first in line. The Buddha named the years in the calendar after each animal in the order in which they arrived. Thus the Rat was first and I often wondered if that is where we got our idea of the “sneaky,dirty Rat”.
I’ve provided a quick way to determine your sign. However if you were born before February 4th then you belong to the animal sign of the previous year as it doesn’t change until around February 4th. If your birth date is close to February 4th you should have someone look up the exact date as they may change each year. Feel free to contact me.
Find your Chinese Astrological Animal Sign:
Find your sign by adding 12 to your birth year until you reach one of the dates listed below.
Animal Sign Year
Rat 2008
Ox 2009
Tiger 2010
Rabbit 2011
Dragon 2012
Snake 2013
Horse 2014
Sheep 2015
Monkey 2016
Rooster 2017
Dog 2018
Boar 2019
Your astrological enemy is the animal 180 degrees from you or six signs away. Thus if you are an Ox your enemy is the Sheep.
Another great article Mary! I now know I am a Dog sign.