Celebrate the Lunar New Year!

YEAR of the RAT

The Rat was welcomed in ancient times as a protector and carrier of material prosperity.

It is an animal associated with aggression, wealth, charm, and order, yet also associated with death, war, the occult, pestilence, and atrocities.

Rat occupies the first position in the Oriental zodiac signs.

Several legends explain the positioning of Zodiac animals. One legend has it that once upon a time, god wanted to bestow great positions to animals.

Thinking how he would go about selecting animals, god decided to select them in the order in which they would first arrive at the heavenly gate on the New Year.

When animals heard about it, they were very excited and each trained hard, with Ox being the most prepared. Watching other animals prepare for the contest, Rat quickly realized that it was too small and weak to win the contest and decided instead to piggyback on top of Ox.

On New Year's Day, animals rushed to arrive first to the gate. Ox, which trained the hardest, arrived at the gate first.

But at that very moment, Rat - which had piggybacked on top of Ox - jumped off and entered the gate first. The Ox was mad but it had to settle for the second place.

The reason Rat is the first position in the Chinese Zodiac is that it was able to analyze its own weakness and utilize cunning to win.

The year, month and day of birth denotes one of the 12 animals in the Zodiac and its characteristics.

The interplay between the different animals, together with the five elements, is the key to your personality. Rat, for instance, is divided into Metal Rat, Fire Rat, Earth Rat, Water Rat and Wood Rat. A further division into Yin and Yang, at a more complex level, divides the people in 120 categories.

ATTRIBUTES of RATS

Being the first sign of the Oriental zodiac, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking.

Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly-organized, meticulous, and systematic of the 12 signs. Intelligent and cunning, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power.

They are energetic and versatile and can usually find their way around obstacles, and adapt to various environments easily. A rat's natural charm and sharp demeanor make it an appealing friend for almost anyone, but rats are usually highly-exclusive and selective when choosing friends and so often have only a few very close friends whom they trust.

Quick-tempered and aggressive, they will not think twice about exacting revenge on those that hurt them in any way. Rats need to learn to relax sometimes, as they can be quite obsessed with detail, intolerant and strict, demanding order, obedience and perfection.

Rats are fair in their dealings and expect the same from others in return, and can be deeply affronted if they feel they have been deceived or that their trust has been abused. Sometimes they set their targets too high, whether in relation to their friends or in their career, but as the years pass, they will become more tolerant.

Traditionally, Rats should avoid Horses, but they can usually find their best friends and love interests in Monkeys, Dragons and Oxen.

Professions include espionage, psychiatry, psychology, writing, politics, law, engineering, accounting, detective work, acting and pathology.

TRADITIONAL RAT ASSOCIATIONS

Zodiac Location: 1st
Direction: North
Polarity: Yang
Element: Water
Most Compatibility: Dragon, Monkey, Ox
Semi-Compatibility: Snake, Pig, Rat, Dog
Incompatibility: Rabbit, Goat, Rooster, Tiger, Horse

YEARS and the FIVE ELEMENTS

Persons born within these date ranges have been born in the Year of the Rat, while also bearing the following elemental sign:

31 January 1900 - 18 February 1901: Metal Rat
18 February 1912 - 5 February 1913: Water Rat
5 February 1924 - 24 January 1925: Wood Rat
24 January 1936 - 10 February 1937: Fire Rat
10 February 1948 - 28 January 1949: Earth Rat
28 January 1960 - 14 February 1961: Metal Rat
15 February 1972 - 2 February 1973: Water Rat
2 February 1984 - 19 February 1985: Wood Rat
19 February 1996 - 6 February 1997: Fire Rat
7 February 2008 - 25 January 2009: Earth Rat
2020 - 2021: Metal Rat

FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN in the YEAR of the RAT:

Antonio Banderas, Antonio Moreno, Ben Affleck, Burt Reynolds, Cameron Diaz, Carlos Delgado, Winston Churchill, Colin Firth, Doris Day, Englebert Humperdinck, Hector Elizondo, Hugh Grant, Jude Law, Julianne Moore, Kathy Bates, Kenny Loggins, Marlon Brando, Mozart, Pedro Armendáriz, Pres. George Washington, Ron Moody, Samuel Jackson, Sean Penn, Shakespeare, Timothy Hutton, Truman Capote and Ursula Andress

12 CHINESE ZODIAC SIGNS

RAT: 1900 1912 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996
OX : 1901 1913 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997
TIGER: 1902 1914 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998
RABBIT: 1903 1915 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999
DRAGON: 1904 1916 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000
SNAKE: 1905 1917 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001
HORSE: 1906 1918 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002
SHEEP: 1907 1919 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003
MONKEY: 1908 1920 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004
ROOSTER: 1909 1921 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005
DOG: 1910 1922 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006
BOAR: 1911 1923 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007

Note: The Lunar year does not coincide with the Western calendar.

Source: NEKorean.com

Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the source. Contact Newz for more information.