Photo: livescience.com
Year of the Boar
Happy New Year! Happy Year of the Boar (Year of the Pig)! Technically, we’re not moving from the Year of the Dog until tomorrow (Monday, February 4th, 2019), but since most of you don’t read my posts until the morning after I publish them, I’m just paving the way for you to hit this new year running and give you the chance to celebrate all day.
Of course, I’m speaking of the Chinese New Year. And since the Chinese calendar is based on lunar cycles, the new year begins tomorrow at 4:04 p.m. EST, the time of the new moon.
You might wonder why I’m so excited to wish you these porcine-centered felicitations. A big reason might be that I am a Boar, having been born between February 8, 1959 and January 27, 1960.
And to make this year’s Year of the Pig even more ‘special’ for me (and those born in that same time span I just mentioned), since the Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on the number 60, this year signifies a full turning of the astrological cycle since we were born. This will be a year of completion or ‘coming full circle’ for those of us born between the dates listed above.
Twelve Signs of the Chinese Zodiac
Just as you’re aware of the twelve signs that comprise our western zodiac, which begins with Aries and ends with Pisces, there are twelve signs in the Chinese Zodiac as well. The western zodiac signs change every 30 days or so, though, giving us twelve signs within each calendar year.
The Chinese system assigns a single symbol to an entire year, with the Year of the Rat, for instance, being considered the ‘first’ sign of the zodiac, and the Boar the last. However, each ‘year’ begins and ends on a different date according to the moon’s cycle in January/February of each year. Specifically, each new year in the Chinese system begins at the occurrence of the first new moon following the first full moon in a calendar year.
The signs, with the year in which each ‘mainly’ appears, are as follows:
Rat 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008 2020
Ox 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009 2021
Tiger 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010 2022
Rabbit 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999 2011 2023
Drago 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 2023
Snake 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013 2024
Horse 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 2025
Sheep 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015 2026
Monkey 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016 2027
Rooster 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005 2017 2028
Dog 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1995 2007 2018 2029
Boar 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1996 2008 2019 2030
Obviously, if your birthdate falls toward the end of January or through about mid-February, you’ll need to check the specific dates for when each cycle began and ended in the year you were born. (I’m sure you can google it; but I’d be happy to post the specific dates for anyone who requests.)
The Five Variations of Each Symbol
Every twelve years, the cycle repeats. It’s important to remember, though, that the larger cycle recognized in this system is the 60 year cycle.
Thus, each symbol is repeated five times within those sixty years. And each of those five variations on the theme corresponds to an element: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
Every 12 years, then, a different variation of the particular sign occurs, with the cycle repeating itself for the first time after 60 years have elapsed.
It’s quite intriguing to read about the variations in characteristics of the different signs as they are manifested every twelve years. You can just imagine the differences between, say, a Fire Rooster, a Metal Rooster, and a Water Rooster. (I use that as an illustration because I happen to have lived with these ‘variations’ for much of my life: specifically, my husband and two of my three sons.) (Which is also why I decorated our downstairs bathroom in fall colors, filled it with many roosters, and dubbed it our ‘cock room.’)
And with that image fixed firmly in your minds (a ‘cock room’ – you just know that’ll stick with you!), I am going to complete this post. I’ll write a bit more about the Year of the Boar tomorrow, and describe a bit more of the elemental attributes distinguishing the variations that occur every twelve years.
The point of all of this is that there are so very many ways we humans have developed, across cultures and across time, to help ourselves understand and make sense of who we are and what we’re here to experience. There are maps for us all over the place. We just need to look around and find the ones that work uniquely for us – and then dive into a deeper understanding of their keys.
Happy New Year!
(T-1027)