Celebrate the Chinese New Year—or Lunar New Year—this Sunday, as we say farewell to the celestial sign of the Tiger and enter the year of the Rabbit (tù (兔).
In the Chinese zodiac, rabbits are born every twelve years—in 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951, and so on.
Rabbit is a zodiac sign associated with the element of wood, although 2023 is the year of the water Rabbit.
For the uninitiated, there are 10 heavenly stems, represented by the five elements and the yin/yang dichotomy (5 x 2 = 10) which make up traditional Chinese astrology of a 60 year cycle.
Water years of yin will end in 3, i.e. 2023, while water years of yang will end in 2, i.e. 2022. Therefore this is the earthly-branch sign Rabbit, in the heavenly stem of water, in the year of yin. The last year of the water Rabbit was 1963.
With that out of the way, what will a yin-water Rabbit expect this year?
The horoscopes published in anticipation of the Year of the Rabbit suggest a year that’s anything but dull for. This is partially because, when averaged across a variety of horoscope websites—there’s almost no overlap—they all say completely different things.
Expect either incredible challenge, incredible reward, or anything in between. It’s a good year to have a baby, it’s also a bad year to have a baby. It’s a good year to start a new business, it’s also a bad year to start a new business. Rabbits will be healthy, but they also shouldn’t eat too much if they live in a temperate climate, but they also need to spend a lot of money to prevent aging, and they should have a lot of check ups, but they will also experience a lot of physical training breakthroughs… one gets the point.
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Interesting facts about the sign of the Rabbit…
The reason the Rabbit is the fourth Chinese zodiac sign sounds a lot like the old tale of the Tortoise and the Hare.
When the Jade Emperor called all the animals to his palace, the Rabbit who was mighty proud of his speed, arrived first only to see no other animal was there. Taking a nap aside the road, he woke up to discover that Tiger, Ox, and Mouse had all arrived before him.
The most famous water Rabbit of modern times is Michael Jordan—the greatest basketball player to ever live. Although the horoscope for the water Rabbit, and the rabbit in general is of a quiet, super-polite (masculine trait) scholar that is gentle, weak-willed and quick to learn, and no one who ever met Michael Jordan described him as any of these things.
Famous Rabbits in general include Albert Einstein (Earth), Angelina Jolee and former spouse Brad Pitt, David Beckham (Wood), and Lionel Messi (Fire).
One thing the horoscopes agree on is that Rabbits, especially in this year of the water Rabbit, since water is the weakest point of matter, either when it is already dead or decaying, should stay away from Roosters—the least compatible sign for Rabbits.
Lucky numbers are 3, 6, and 9, and the auspicious direction is southwest. Unlucky colors are brown, white, and yellow; lucky colors are essentially everyone else.
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Also known as “The Year of the Cat” which bestows at least 9 lives to those born in that year. Cute and clever cats and rabbits.