Think of China, and the first things that come to mind are The Great Wall of China, Kung-fu, delicious Chinese cuisine, and, well, of course, the ‘Made in China’ name tags. Besides the obvious, one of their moderately known trademarks is the Chinese zodiac system, the Shengxiao.
The Shengxiao means ‘born resembling.’ Unlike their Western counterparts, the Shengxiao don’t assign people to zodiac signs by months. They do so by the Year you are born! Each year, a zodiac belongs to one of the 12 signs named after animals. The signs repeat only after 12 years and in the same order as Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (Or Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog, & Pig. Following a lunar calendar, the zodiac new year begins between January 21st and February 20th. And from the beginning of the new year, the zodiac of the year is said to apply. They believe each of the above animals possesses certain distinctive traits, which are said to be exhibited by people born under the years ruled by that animal sign.
What’s Your Chinese Zodiac Animal?
RAT
Born in the years – 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Personality traits: Rat people are said to be ambitious and opportunistic. No wonder their social skills are impeccable, perceived as charming, intelligent, and having a great sense of humour. The flip side is that they are never at peace, and this restlessness affects their physical and mental well-being. They are usually extraordinarily successful in business and know how to earn money. However, their personal, family, and love lives take a beating.
Year 2023 for the RAT: New opportunities are on the horizon but marred by obstacles. Rat people must practice focus and perseverance in pursuing their goals.
OX
Born in the years – 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Personality traits: Like an OX, Ox people are hardworking and practical. They have tons of patience and pursue their goals with persistence and a strong sense of duty. They are dependable, reliable, and unrelenting. This, however, sometimes translates into stubbornness and rigidity. One thing that they need is diplomacy!
Because of this, their social relationships suffer, and they struggle to find love, intimacy, and acceptance. Nevertheless, they do great in their career and often retire with colossal wealth.
Year 2023 for the Ox: Opportunities and professional collaborations are on the cards but can only be achieved with diplomacy and tact. Focussing on long-term goals instead of short-term gains shall be beneficial.
TIGER
Born in the years – 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Personality traits: Tigers are confident and charismatic. They have a good appetite for taking risks which supports their ambitious endeavours. They are undoubtedly brave and passionate and pursue their goals with single-minded devotion. But, unfortunately, the flip side of this unwavering confidence is recklessness, impulsiveness, and arrogance!
If successful, they are brimming with confidence and pride, almost bordering on arrogance. But if they fail somehow, they find it extremely difficult to overcome their depression and self-doubt.
Year 2023 for the Tiger: If tiger people can channel their energies and enthusiasm creatively, 2023 will be an excellent year. Creative opportunities may be knocking at the door this year.
RABBIT
Born in the years – 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Personality traits: Rabbits are cute, sensitive, and gentle. They can pick up energies in the room by intuition, saving them from much trouble. They are perceived as timid and shy, but in reality, they are intelligent, creative, and diplomatic. In addition, they can be discreet and sly. They seldom take solid stands and hence are sometimes branded indecisive, but this is just a façade they present to mask their authentic self.
Year 2023 for the Rabbit – 2023 is the year of the rabbit, and as the ruling sign of the year, rabbit people are in line for a gala time the whole year. They must remain flexible and adaptable to make the most of this year. Work optimistically and put your rabbit traits to the best use this year!
DRAGON
Born in the years – 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Personality traits: They fear no beast… except their kind! – this is how common folklore goes about dragons. Much like this, they are strong-willed and ambitious. Risk-taking is a sport to them, and they are successful leaders. They have charismatic, majestic, and confident personalities and a peculiar sense of style. They are unafraid to chart their paths and have magnetic personalities.
The flip side of such egocentricity is being perceived as arrogant, overbearing, and egoist. This can also result in melancholy and loneliness. If not addressed and handled correctly, this can result in long-term emotional scarring.
Year 2023 for the Dragon – Tons of recognition for hard work and efforts put into a project. The year 2023 could be advantageous and success-giving, provided you don’t burn yourself out with too much work. Remember the adage ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’? If you want to enjoy the fruits of your success, ensure you are alive and healthy enough to be able to do that!
SNAKE
Born in the years – 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Personality traits – You cannot trust a snake – is commonly said about the reptile. However, it is true about people born under this sign, only to the extent of them being secretive and mysterious. They are otherwise pretty trustworthy, intuitive, wise, and very sophisticated. They can charm you to the extent of extracting the information they seek, even without you realizing it. They do exceptionally well in performing research, analytics, detection, diagnosis, and everything that requires unearthing and discovery. They love the ‘Eureka’ moment in their lives!
Year 2023 for the Snake: Challenges and difficulties may be on the cards. Use your intuitiveness and resourcefulness to tide over the issues.
HORSE
Born in the years – 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Personality traits: They love to run wild and free. Attempting to tame or tie them down will meet with violent resistance and defense. They are incredibly outgoing and adventurous and love their freedom like nothing else. Confidence and optimism come naturally to them, and therefore do well in careers that require the adrenaline rush. Excitement and travel are always on their mind, paving the way for their unconventional careers. The flip side of all this adrenaline rush is that they can be reckless, impatient, and impulsive and might be drawn to gambling and such vices.
Year 2023 for the Horse – 2023 seems to be a good year for the horse and brings hope for new opportunities, new ventures, and renewed energy levels. Taming recklessness will translate into bigger and better gains.
GOAT
Born in the years – 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Personality traits: Goats love their connection to the earth and are, therefore, very grounded and stable. They are a rare combination of sensitivity and practicality. Their ‘connections’ are essential to them. Be it social connections or familial connections, or any other relationship, and they like to nurture and treasure it. They get incredibly emotional and sensitive about their relationships and are always compassionate and dependable.
The flip side of all this sensitivity is that they can sometimes get indecisive and melodramatic. However, on the professional front, they are creative and excel in careers relating to art and architecture.
Year 2023 for the Goat: Too much risk is to be avoided for this year, especially involving money and finances. Relationships and connections bring stability and financial opportunities
MONKEY
Born in years – 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028):
Personality traits: Monkeys are super-curious about anything and everything that catches their attention. They are curious and nosy to the extent of annoying people away. Their curiosity leads them to be inventive and intelligent. And because of this knowledge bank that they become, they are loved by people. Their wit and sense of humour bail them out of tricky situations, and their playful nature invites exceptional and bad attention.
The downside of all this intelligence and playfulness is that they can easily deceive people and tend to get dishonest and manipulative in relationships. They may also get a lot of negative publicity and ill-attention because of their popularity. Therefore, although essential, it is difficult for a monkey to be low-key or switch to incognito mode.
Year 2023 for the Monkey: As always necessary, the monkey may need to tame their words and action lest they invite a lot of wrath and conflict. Misunderstandings may arise where actions are not minded. However, the year also brings lots of opportunities on the career front.
ROOSTER
Born in years – 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Personality Traits: Roosters are competitive and hardworking. Everything required for professional and material success is already present with the rooster. They are honest, efficient, and organized and love to get to the root of things. Careers that require attention to detail and perfectionism attract the rooster.
The downside of this pursuit of perfectionism is that they get over-judgemental of others and become critical and bickering. Therefore, avoiding nit-picking and focusing on the big picture is generally helpful.
Year 2023 for the Rooster: Using your practicality and hard work to your advantage will be the best move. Avoiding absolute stances on issues and seeking guidance and involvement may yield positive results.
DOG
Born in years – 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
Personality traits: Remember how dogs are considered man’s best friend? Well, that is how dog people are. They are loving, caring, honest, loyal, and highly connected to people. They are protective of the ones they love and cherish. These people are the most excellent empaths of all signs and will routinely take up professions that involve caring for others. Anything with a charitable cause as an intention instantly clicks with the dog. They attach too much importance to others and get very attached.
The flip side of all this love and attachment makes them very vulnerable to emotional manipulation by other dishonest people. They can worry themselves to death over separation anxiety resulting from a breakup or the death of a near one.
Year 2023 for the dog: Learning to focus on self is the most extensive advice. Prioritising self before others, self-care, and self-healing are essential to maintain balance and harmony in all professional and personal relationships.
PIG
Born in years – 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
Personality traits: Being peaceful and content is the pig’s way of doing things. They are the happy-go-lucky sanguine who believe in love, life, and laughter. You cannot bully them into working too hard for something. They are generous and kind people, not just to others but also to themselves. They love parties and social gatherings and can easily network and build their social circle. They have learned the subtle art of loving themselves and the art of doing nothing! They remain happy and composed even under challenging situations and carry a great sense of humour.
The downside of all this generosity and kindness is that they don’t want to work too hard and are often seen as lazy and stubborn. Therefore, substance abuse and over-indulgence should be guarded against.
Year 2023 for the Pig: Growth and business expansion are possible, but only if you are willing to put in hard work and dedication. Putting your party hats aside for a while may help. Short-term discomfort for long-term gains is what you should aim for.
Disclaimer: Astrology is not based on science. These posts are not intended to act as a directive.
Veena Gupta, a homemaker, doting mother, and a loving wife, who takes pride in a long-standing career in Banking and Finance. While her life took shape and as she was pursuing all this, something kept tugging her creativity. This pull lead her to decide to express her thoughts through writing. True to her name, her words flow from her pen to resonate with the reader’s mind like the soothing music that the musical instrument Veena creates! For someone who likes to experiment in life through adventure sports, trekking, and other varied interests, Veena likes to bring her experience, background and perspective to her readers through her simple yet effective writing to push the fact home!
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I so love Chinese zodiacs…mine is the Dog!
Nice. Glad to know. Monkey(me) and dog are a compatible pair!!😀
It was a good read to get a refresher course on zodiac signs and their effect on us….
Yay. I am glad you found it interesting