Chinese astrology traces back more than 2,000 years to early Chinese astronomy. The predictions of Chinese astrology signs rely on the Chinese calendar built by ancient Chinese astronomers. Over time, astrologists in China developed an advanced organization of beliefs regarding the celestial bodies’ effect on everyday lives of people. The Chinese zodiac zodiac animals and the Chinese zodiac come from Chinese astrology.

The Chinese zodiac calendar doesn’t only deal with the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, but also has other more intricate and complex relationships. Additionally with the animals, the Chinese Zodiac also entails 5 elements: wood, metal, water, fire and Earth. These 5 elements are connected with the 5 core planets: Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Saturn. The associations presented by the 12 animals and the 5 elements actually merge to generate the 60-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac signs. This chart, along with directions, the positions of the sun and moon, a person’s date and time of birth, and Yin and Yang are used to help predict a person’s future in more detail than merely using the Chinese zodiac animal as a guide. While the Chinese zodiac signs are essential and important, the manner in which the elements of the Chinese zodiac chart interact and collaborate must be utilized in order to build a full understanding of an individual person. To totally and completely appreciate the Chinese Zodiac, it is necessary and important to understand the relationships between all the Chinese zodiac elements, which is something most people won’t get from the standard overview of the Chinese zodiac.

Chinese astrology is the art of foretelling the future taken from the Chinese calendar. It is based on ancient Chinese philosophy and astronomy with emphasis on the 60-year sexagenary cycle documented since the Shang Dynasty. The cycle has been created from two cycles such as the ten heavenly stems having the five elements in yin and yang forms as well as the twelve-year animal cycle also known as the Chinese zodiac. This animal zodiac runs on hours of the day and on a monthly cycle also known as moons.

Unlike the occidental zodiac, the Chinese zodiac pertains to a calendrical cycle, which means that it does not have equivalent constellations. In imperial ages, some astrologers would watch the skies for omens to help predict the state’s future, which was a different practice for prophesizing in today’s time.