February 10
Chinese New Year
Year of the Water Snake begins

In Chinese Astrology, The Four Pillars of Destiny relate to the four components that create a person’s destiny or fate.

The Four Pillars of Destiny are:
Year – Representing the Society Palace and your ancestors
Month – Representing the Parents / Childhood / Siblings Palace
Day – Representing the Marriage Palace
Hour – Representing the Children Palace

:::::: Traditional Four Pillar Charts include ::::::

Ten Heavenly Stems – the element
Twelve Earthly Branches – the zodiac animal of the year, month, day, hour of birth (giving eight characters)

Ten Heavenly Stems are the yin and yang components of the Five Elements:
Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire , Yang Earth, Yin Earth, Yang Metal, Yin Metal, Yang Water, Yin Water.

The Twelve Earthly Branches are the twelve animals of the Zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig.

The Four Pillars of Destiny are:
Year – Representing the Society Palace and your ancestors
Month – Representing the Parents / Childhood / Siblings Palace
Day – Representing the Adult Life / Marriage Palace
Hour – Representing the Children Palace

Chinese astrology has much depth, your chart is determined not only by your animal year, but also inner animal signs assigned by month, and secret animal signs assigned by hours of the day.

Secret animal signs are the truest representation of self.

Each hour modifies and shapes the personality – is it the rays of sunlight or the reflective moon rays present at the time you were born that influences your psyche.

Bruce Lee was born in the hour of the dragon, in a metal dragon year – double dragon is extremely powerful, very auspicious. (click on Bruce to read his western natal interp)

See the chart below for the hour of your birth, find your zodiac animal, and apply the traits to yourself.

You may also follow the guide below for your birth year and apply the same traits to yourself, according to your year of birth.

Hour / Year of the

Rat
Rules the hours between 11am and 1am.  Charming, intelligent, outgoing. Sociable – yet conceals and hides, is cautious with money.  Rats have a talent for writing, storytelling, and are very clever. Careful, creative, accumulative; low: lustful, hoarding and doubting.

Ox
Rules the hours between 1am and 3am.  Serious and solitary, built to last, endurance strong.  Cautious, steady reliable and restrained, you are hard-working and strong-willed. Strong speakers with natural authority and self-confidence.  Patient, persevering, receptive; low: obstinate, methodical and focused.

Tiger
Rules the hours between 3am and 5am.  Intense, outgoing and impulsive, loves doing things and being active.  Wants to win in the game of life.  Self assurance strong, self-reliance also strong, very driven. Wise, compassionate, benevolent; low: short tempered, proud and aggressive.

Rabbit
Rules the hours between 5am and 7am.  Reflective, quiet, discreet and moderate in all things, you have good manners and excellent artistic instincts.  You require privacy and zen to function well. Gentle, friendly, intelligent, diplomatic; low: discordant, fickle and furtive.

Dragon
 Rules the hours between 7am and 9am.  Strength, determination and ambition strong. Unpredictable, outspoken and extremely lucky, you have good health and vital physical energy. Proud, aggressive, powerful; low: uncompromising, opinionated, arrogant.

Snake
Rules the hours between 9am and 11am.  Wise and philosophical snake is intuitive and reflective.  Snakes are private, patient, they gather strength gradually to achieve goals, knowing instinctively when to strike. Mystical pursuits strong, they are intuitive and insightful.  Financially savvy, diligent; low: vain, jealous and egotistical.

Horse
Rules the hours between 11am to 1pm.  High energy levels, decisiveness and a gift for communicating makes horse a natural public speaker.  Forward thinking and futuristic,  horses are daring, self-confident and adventurous.  Needs to keep moving towards goals. Sociable, keen-sighted, high-spirited; low: overly talkative, easily angered.

Goat
Rules the hours between 1pm and 3pm .   Artistic and sweet, goats are tolerant, whimsical and easy-going, dreamy and dramatic.  They resist following schedules and prefer to do their own thing. Graceful, obedient, faithful; low: timid, pessimistic and sensitive.

Monkey
Rules the hours between 3pm and 5pm. Charming, mischievous, and friendly, yet suspicious. Entrepreneurial gifts strong, popular and persuasive.  Witty and gregarious with comedic timing, very resourceful.  Ingenious, curious; low: susceptible, impulsive, scatter-brained.

Rooster
Rules the hours between 5pm and 7pm.  Discipline strong, hard-working and patient over the long haul.  Efficient, extroverted, with a streamlined, direct approach to life. Sensible, no-nonsense way of living and co-operating. Likes quality over quantity. Visionary, versatile, clever; low: selfish, poor concentration, ostentatious.

Dog
Rules the hours between 7pm and 9pm.  Loyal, dutiful, but also often overly watchful and pessimistic.  Will sacrifice if the cause is great enough.  Reasonable and fair, they are steadfast to those they love.  Honest, loyal, respectful; low: stubborn, assertive, demanding and anxious.

Pig
Rules the hours between 9pm and 11pm.  Honest and able to take life as it comes, you accommodate others to keep the peace. Reclusive and sensitive, you can over indulge yourself and those closest to you.  Caring and solitary, they are vulnerable and often naive.  Ability to accumulate material wealth strong.  Serious, just, good disposition; low: reckless, impatient and inflexible.

carnivalcat

:::::::
This handy form can compute your Four pillars for you.  It will also provide the Heavenly Stems – which you can use for further interpretation below.

Yin – Passive, introverted, reactive
Yang – Outgoing, expressive, aggressive

Earth
Earth is associated with the periods between seasons, stability, reliability, productivity.  They are faithful, idealistic, and highly ambitious. Wise and practical, they are good leaders, using common sense to arrive at solutions.  They are often quite serious.  If they feel loved and appreciated, they will return the same love and appreciation to others.

Fire
Fire is associated with Summer, mid-day sun and the color red.  Dynamic and restless, they are aggressive leaders filled with energy and passion.  Their magnetic personalities draw many friends.  They tend to be impatient, enthusiastic, quick messengers.

Water
Water corresponds with Winter, North, nighttime.  Water represents reflection, sensitivity, and imagination.  Water represents philosophers and thinkers. They are clever, scholarly and often have multiple professions. They are guided by feelings, and believe in keeping their secrets to themselves.

Metal 
Metal represents Fall, West, the setting sun.   Metal corresponds with strength of will, fixed viewpoints and values.  The nature of metal is to define and strengthen – metal rises to prominence because of these traits, they are the blade.  They are orderly, principled and balanced. They are clear-headed, yet rigid, stubborn and reluctant to compromise.  They tend to speak candidly, and are often blunt.

Wood
Wood corresponds with spring, the rising sun and the east.  Wood represents quick expansion and growth, creativity through simplicity.  They like to be busy, work diligently, and value teamwork.  They excel in organizing, networking and project building through co-operation with others.  They are kind and generous, but may have a quick temper.
:::::::::::

This is a general compatibility chart – of course this is basic, only by years – much more is needed for an accurate interp.
I offer it up for fun.

Live Long and Prosper
HaPpY 2013 !
gneissmoonastrology.net