Kendall Forbes

Sun nien fai lok – Happy Chinese New Year!

At this time of year a lot of people tend to look at their Chinese Zodiac, you may already know your animal, but do you know that you have four of them?

Last year on TV3, Oscar Kightley presented an Inside New Zealand documentary titled “Oscar’s Guide to the Chinese Zodiac”. I wish I’d saved the recording of this, as there were so many interesting things talked about in it, but one of the things that caught my attention was talk of the four pillars.

Now, I’ve grown up knowing that my parents are Tigers, my sister is a Monkey, and I am a Rat, but Oscar’s show was the first time I learnt that it’s not just the year you’re born in that has an animal.

BaZi looks at the year, month, day, and time of your birth – the four pillars.

This is where things get interesting.
Almost everyone knows their western astrology sign, right? I’m Taurus, which means that one in 12 are the same as me. But with the Chinese Zodiac, there are so many different combinations of animals and elements, that the individual readings really are individual to you.
BaZi doesn’t look at the alignment of stars and planets in the sky, it is instead based on the alignment of time. Cool, huh?

You can work out your animals with this calculator:
http://www.dragon-gate.com/tool/bazi/index.php

I am born in the year of the Wood Rat, the month of the Earth Dragon, the day of the Wood Horse, and the Time of the Earth Dragon.

There are a few different explanations for what each pillar means:
Year Pillar – this relates to your family background, society, and basically how you are viewed.
Month Pillar – this represents your parents or childhood.
Day Pillar – this represents your true self, also your adult and married life
Hour Pillar – this is sometimes called your “secret animal”, and is said to be your truest representation.

Here’s a basic reading if you are interested: http://www.adestiny.com/bazi_report/sample/
And Joey Yap is said to be one of the best, here is a free reading: http://www.baziprofiling.com/freeReport.asp

Wishing you a prosperous 2014!