I don’t believe in Astrology, or horoscopes. But what I thought the other day is that if China is one of the few cultures that went on for millennia without major interference or change, their long term observations have been closely colported and transcribed over generations and generations. So if they say that every 12th generation certain character traits in humans reappear, I actually consider that a possible proposition (not sure if true tho).
When I look at generations now, at grandma, mum, daughter, child, and see how certain personal qualities or peculiarities jump over one or two generations, I consider it possible that, if you made this real research and monitored long term data of psychological evaluations and references, you might get to the conclusion that very particular human traits reappear every 12th generation.
Mind you I am not trying to make the case for snake oil sellers here, but question what the basis for this widely accepted and longstanding compartmentalising might be.
Here is their 60 calendar (all below stolen from Wikipedia):
Chinese astrology was elaborated during the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and flourished during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). During the Han period, the familiar elements of traditional Chinese culture—the Yin-Yang philosophy, the theory of the 5 elements, the concepts of Heaven and Earth, and Confucian morality—were brought together to formalize the philosophical principles of Chinese medicine and divination, astrology and alchemy.[1]
The 5 classical planets are associated with the Wu Xing:
Venus—Metal (White Tiger)
Jupiter—Wood (Azure Dragon)
Mercury—Water (Black Tortoise)
Mars—Fire (Vermilion Bird) (may or may not be associated with the phoenix which was also an imperial symbol along with the Dragon)
Saturn—Earth (Yellow Dragon)
Also interesting the categorisation of years in their repetition.
When trying to traverse the lunisolar calendar, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an even number are yang, those that end with an odd number are yin. The cycle proceeds as follows:
If the year ends in 0 it is Yang Metal.
If the year ends in 1 it is Yin Metal.
If the year ends in 2 it is Yang Water.
If the year ends in 3 it is Yin Water.
If the year ends in 4 it is Yang Wood.
If the year ends in 5 it is Yin Wood.
If the year ends in 6 it is Yang Fire.
If the year ends in 7 it is Yin Fire.
If the year ends in 8 it is Yang Earth.
If the year ends in 9 it is Yin Earth.