Theresa Cheung - The Element Encyclopedia of Birthdays

So, given these differences, is it possible to find correspondences between Chinese astrology and the Western signs? The answer is yes, because the 12 Chinese signs that make up the 12-year cycle known as Sheng Xiao (“birth likeness”) actually correspond to the 12-year cycle of the planet Jupiter in Western astrology. It is therefore possible to match each Chinese sign to a Western counterpart. I have taken this East-meets-West astrology correspondence into account when creating each birthday profile.

In the Heed Your Signssection of this book, you will notice that each sun-sign description also includes its Chinese astrology counterpart description. For example, if you are an Aries, your Chinese sign correspondence is the Dragon. You will therefore have a natural affinity with the symbolic qualities of that mythical animal.

In addition to your Chinese astrology sun-sign match, you are also encouraged to read the relevant section for the animal that corresponds with your year of birth (see tables below). That animal may well be associated with a different sun sign to your own. For example, if you are a Taurus born in 1996, you should read your corresponding Chinese astrology sign, which is the Snake, but you should also read the section about the Rat, as you will have an affinity with both Snake and Rat characteristics and can discover much of value about yourself from reading both.

What astrology does through sun or animal signs, numerology does through numbers. Like astrology, numerology is an ancient symbolic method that can be incorporated into a birthday profile to help you reach a better understanding of yourself and the meaning of your life. Numerologists assert that the universe is a mathematical construct. God is believed to be the master mathematician and the vibrational energy of people, places and things is expressed through the sacred power of numbers. By reducing birth dates and names to a number, we can allegedly reveal a person’s personality and destiny.

Although numerology probably has its origins in ancient Babylonia and among the early Hebrews, and many different systems have been used in different parts of the world, numerology is most often associated with the fifth-century BC Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras. He believed that there were mathematical connections between the cosmos, humanity, music, shapes, colors and numbers. If certain number patterns appeared, they could be used to predict the destiny of a person. According to Pythagoras, numbers were the source of energy in the world and the numbers 1 to 9 represent the nine stages of life. He is quoted as having said, “The world is built upon the power of numbers.”

Numerology assigns characteristics to the digits 1 to 9. Any larger number than 9 is reduced to a single digit by adding all the digits together—for example, the number 123 becomes 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. The qualities of 123 are therefore equivalent to the number 6. Using the single digits as a guide, the patterns of different dates and a person’s name (each letter of the alphabet is assigned to a number between 1 and 9 and several letters are therefore attached to the same number) can be examined to define character and future influences. Briefly, the numbers 1 to 9 represent the following characteristics or qualities: