Taoist Astrology

Book excerpt: This guide brings Chinese astrology back to its ancient roots, providing all the information you need for understanding one of the world's oldest systems of divination. The ancient Chinese people developed a sophisticated science of astrology that continues to have profound influence in China today. Rooted in the fundamentals of Taoism, it evolved into a system vastly different from Western astrology. Rather than determining personality by the time of the year in which you are born, in Taoist astrology it is the year itself that determines your character. The years form a twelve-year cycle of signs, each named after an animal. Additionally, your personality depends on which of the five traditional Taoist elements you are born under--water, wood, fire, earth, or metal. This makes for a cycle of sixty unique signs. Taoist Astrology includes information for each sign's personality, compatibility, child-parent relations, and rising and falling fortunes during the twelve-year cycle. Discussions of yin and yang, Confucianism and Buddhism, Taoist alchemy, and the connection between Taoist astrology and Western astrology give you all the background you need for understanding one of the oldest systems of divination known to humanity. Taoist Astrology differs from other books on the subject by grounding its concepts in the ancient traditions from which it originated.