Guest Author - Diane Kern

Last time we talked about the Chinese zodiac we discussed the horse the 2008 rat’s enemy. Each animal has its two friends and one enemy. One of rat’s friends is the monkey so let’s talk about him today. Just like with the trigrams, each animal belongs to an element, a personality, direction, a time of year and a time of day.


But first a little review so you can tell if you are a monkey or not. Because the Chinese year is ruled by the lunisolar calendar and not the calendar that we use in the west, the New Year does not start on January first. Instead it usually starts around the fourth or fifth of February, changing slightly each year. Each year is represented by one of the animals of the Chinese zodiac. They are rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. So when you look at the placements in a Chinese restaurant to find out your animal sign remember when the year begins. If you were born before the fourth or fifth on February you must take the animal of the previous year. If you were born on the day of the New Year you must know the hour of your birth to determine which animal is yours. Most people don’t know this but you do now.


The monkey is ruled by strong metal, is found in the autumn portion of the year and gets along well with the dragon and rat. These are the people a moneky person feels the most affinity for and they will support him well. The hours of the day are also divided up and assigned to the 12 animals of the zodiac. We think of the day as 24 hours but the Chinese divide it into twelve-two hour periods.Monkey rules the hours from 3 PM to 5PM. Just as in Western astrology we consider not only our sun sign but also our rising sign. In Chinese astrology you can consider the animal of your birth hour as an influence on your character. The monkey is at home in the West.

The monkey is considered innovative, self assured, sociable, polite and quick witted. But monkey people can also be vain, selfish, and suspicious. Each animal has both positive and negative characteristics.