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Only twelve species came at his invitation and to reward them, the divine wise man offered to name a year after each animal. From then on any person born in a year associated with that animal would share that animal's qualities. Those Animals were: the RAT, the OX, the TIGER, the RABBIT, the DRAGON, the SNAKE, the HORSE, the GOAT, the MONKEY, the ROOSTER, the DOG and the PIG.

Other traditions replace the Ox with the Buffalo, the Cat with the Rabbit or the Hare, and the Pig with the Boar.

RAT

WINTER is your season.
DECEMBER is your month.
Personality :
You enjoy life's pleasures, are a gourmet and connoisseur of good wine, curious about everything and an opportunist. Your fertile imagination pushes you to get out of your daily routine through the delightful things you think up to do, to the joy of your friends. But if your family and, above all, your little ones, are delighted by your unfailing love, your individualistic side comes out as soon as you leave home. Magnetic and charming, you are surrounded by a mysterious halo. Your relationships are formed with people that can help you, at least in the beginning. But sometimes a sincere and solid friendship is formed. Faithful in love and friendship, your circle of close friends is small because you have chosen them carefully. You know how to use this close circle of friends to get what you want, if need be. Manipulation is an art that you know well, with no sense of guilt. Naturally distrustful, you are secretive about your life and always attack first when you feel threatened. Your hypersensitivity makes you hate being laughed at or reproached and you can become aggressive over nothing. Be careful about being too cynical because it can sting. Your fault: You are overly critical.

OX (or BUFFALO)

WINTER is your season.
JANUARY is your month.
Personality :
A Chinese proverb says, "The ox is slow but the earth is patient". You go through life with determination and common sense. You love nature and so like working outdoors. You also like quiet cottages, and have respect for traditions. You are solid, with a quiet interior force that people can count on. You also have a great sense of humanity, are loyal, honest, upright, faithful, and have integrity. No job turns you off when you have made a decision and you never go back on your word even if it means being unduly stubborn. You suppress your emotions, and hide them most of the time - notably when you are in love because you are afraid of being rejected. You are not afraid of solitude, and prefer spending your evenings in a quiet cottage in the countryside rather than a Parisian lounge watching the beautiful people go by. A little bit rustic, you are not a diplomat, and let others know what you think without hesitation. If someone attacks you, you fight back like a bull with your head lowered and horns ready to gouge your enemy. Those who hurt you or those close to you should watch out: you hold grudges for a long time - excessively so - and never forget a name or a face. You always get sweet revenge... even several years later. Your fault: You're a bad loser and can't stand failure.

TIGER

WINTER is your season.
FEBRUARY is your month.
Personality :
You have a rage to live and the teeth to sink into a plank of wood. Fortune doesn't motivate you but your desire for passionate adventure and impossible challenges does! Cyrano de Bergerac would almost dim in comparison to someone as high in color as yourself. Nothing stops you, neither eccentricity nor danger. You decide on your course of action through impulse; you listen to your heart more than to your reason. Your fearless enthusiasm motivates others. People would follow you to the end of the earth if only to take part in the wild dreams that you imagine each day to get beyond the reality and routine of every day life. This extravagance goes hand-in-hand with a need to command: you love it when people obey you without a word. Caution to those who don't: they could get badly clawed. Excessive in everything, your behavior betrays the force of your emotions: passion and anger are part of your every day life. If someone tries to put you in a cage, you become crazed and roar loud enough to dislocate your jaw! An insatiable adventurer, you build your life from the hazards and opportunities you encounter, grabbing onto the chances that are offered to you with an almost unconscious audacity. Your fault: You are unpredictable and not very good at making others feel secure.

RABBIT (or HARE OR CAT)

SPRING is your season.
MARCH is your month.
Personality :
Lively yet tranquil, peaceful yet realistic, you use your intelligence to create a burrow made just for you, where everything you hate is banished forever: disorder, quarrels, indiscretion, anguish, tumult, and haste. You are a diplomat in society: highly courteous and with an elegance that charms those around you. You know how to listen to others who gladly tell you their secrets. Still, you think that everyone must solve their own problems and don't get involved in the affairs of others unless you have to. Underneath your soft, silky skin is a calm, highly determined person who can get out of any situation. Effusive sentiments and tumultuous emotions make you feel uncomfortable. You face agitated situations with logic and a certain detachment that can make you seem indifferent or cynical. In fact, your aspiration for peace is above all others. You look for the tranquillity of a place that will least upset your inner world: after long reflection, you can build the universe that fits you best. An aesthete and erudite, you love to plunge into books and long evenings near the fire in company of those close to you. Your fault: A tendency to go back into to your burrow the moment a cloud appears and to run away like a Rabbit when conflicts arise.

DRAGON

SPRING is your season.
APRIL is your month.
Personality :
Sovereign in your kingdom, you exist to be flamboyant and exceptional. Like the mythic, fiery Dragon, you love to confront the enemy in battle, leaving the earth behind you burnt to a crisp, and hearts inflamed along your path. Great commander of the rain and fine weather, one must respect you when you talk, admire you when you act and submit when you command. An impetuous energy animates every one of your actions: you are ready to take on any challenge, go off on a conquest of power, and tear down any obstacle. If by chance you fail, you will never admit to being vanquished and will find in this snub a new will to conquer. An insatiable warrior, you become stronger after each defeat, and more invincible after every wound. Demanding of others, you are rather gentle on yourself and rare is the Dragon who recognizes his faults... Intelligent, lucid and clairvoyant, you willingly bang your fist on the table when your audience doesn't share your point of view. You like to see life as a big adventure and can't stand it when those around you lack ambition. Your fault: A bit of megalomania and narcissism!

SNAKE

SPRING is your season.
MAY is your month.
Personality :
Like the Snake that enchanted Eve, you know how to make more than one person lose their head! Refined, funny and gifted in seduction, you shine in society with your intelligence and vivacious spirit. The snake is admired in China for his wisdom and you have a philosophy in life that is all your own. Intuitive and lucid in all situations, you become reserved when conversing and are silent most of the time, preferring to let your thoughts make their way in silence rather than through chatter. However, if the subject is abstract, you don't hesitate expressing yourself while your audience looks up to you in admiration, seduced by your knowledge. A cold-blooded animal, you love intrigue and playfulness in life, but preserve large periods of time for idleness. You have the capacity to realize your projects in a few hours while others would take days to complete them. When you start out, your efficiency is terrifying and all the more so as you often work alone and at your own rhythm. You are faster than the average person, as you slide over obstacles like a snake in the grass. With your venom, you willingly attack your enemies with acerbic comments, leaving them only when your thirst for revenge has been satisfied. It's better being your friend...

HORSE

SUMMER is your season.
JUNE is your month.
Personality :
From the fiery Horse, symbol of all happiness in China, you have inherited vivacity, loyalty, the elegance of a thoroughbred, and the impatience of a child. You are worldly and at ease in high society and are an elegant conversationalist. Your intelligence and fluidity of thought easily convince people of the soundness of your ideas. But a "big talker" is often a "small doer" and this failing follows you around. What keeps you from taking action is a fear of failure because you never come out of your adventures intact. On the other hand, if the subject is familiar to you and you have some reassuring support, you jump headlong into the adventure. You love to move around: constant movement animates your being, but you most often get around obstacles rather than jump over them. This fear of failure paralyses you. Your dynamic spirit is never dampened. You can't stand idleness, and long-term plans don't attract you because you are quickly unmotivated. You paw the ground with impatience when there are traffic jams and will cut across a field to get out of one with gusto. Your fault: A lack of confidence in yourself.

GOAT

SUMMER is your season.
JULY is your month.
Personality :
An artist in your soul, you are gentle and peaceful, a fine

Work :
You excel in creative, artistic fields and in anything to do with the theater or putting on a show. You have a purely conceptual mind that likes to be surrounded by realistic collaborators who will take care of the books and the commercial side of things because management isn't your field of predilection. You want neither power nor honors. You are at ease in the thick of things, far from the decision-makers. You work in a bubble with an excessive desire for perfection.

MONKEY

SUMMER is your season.
AUGUST is your month.
Personality :
Of all the animals of the Chinese zodiac, your are the most intelligent. Your pranks, finesse, and craftiness get you out of the most delicate situations without a scratch. Particularly at ease in public and at parties with beautiful people, you are charming, surprising, and entertaining with the faces you make, and your irresistible, funny stories. You can also laugh at yourself with astonishing lucidity. Your character is that of a "happy pessimist" and you adapt easily to any context - and not without a certain amount of cunning. Confronted by a muscle-bound adversary, you use servility and flattery to lead him by the nose. Your skillfulness in the art of manipulation has no equal and you easily play the actor to soothe those around you. Crocodile tears and shameless lies are part of your daily bread. If you are caught, you have the good grace to recognize the error of your ways and can make others forgive you. You jump from branch to branch, from problem to problem, with an incredible degree of fickleness that borders on childishness. It is difficult to keep you in one place; at the least sign of boredom, you swing to another tree. But behind your mimics and gestures hides an old monkey that the Chinese name The Wise One. Your fault: You want to be first at any price...

ROOSTER

AUTUMN is your season.
SEPTEMBER is your month.
Personality :
Your bright red comb frightens bad spirits away in Chinese tradition. Protected from them, you don't hesitate parading around ostentatiously in public. Hungry for honors and medals, you love to be recognized for your talents at their just value and to be congratulated in all circumstances. Spiteful people who criticize you quickly get clawed because you hate being criticized. Your best quality is your frankness. You always say what you think even at the risk of hurting those close to you. Yet you always hide your real feelings out of an extreme sense of propriety because you can't stand people meddling in your affairs. In public, you are a true Rooster: an extravagant dandy who is curious about everything, you strut down the street - a smooth talker who loves to be the center of attention. Appearances are more important to you than what's inside. If people don't look at you, you get depressed. You will happily spend hours before the mirror to admire your wonderful, flamboyant feathers. But your attention to detail and perfectionist nature sometimes make you forget the essential. A loyal and courageous friend, you don't hesitate attacking if you need to defend them, even if the battle seems lost in advance. You respect the rules whatever happens because you are a real conformist. Your fault: You are somewhat narcissistic and pedantic.

DOG

AUTUMN is your season.
OCTOBER is your month.
Personality :
The Dog's loyalty and sense of smell make him a sure friend with brilliant intuition. You are very human and warm and people count on that. You advance in life with a logic that is materialistic and you have a high sense of honor. Injustice makes your fur stand on end and you fight to the end against dishonesty and oppression. Those who get in your way should be careful: your bite is deep and your bark thunderous. Willfully incisive, your cynicism is sharp and constantly fed by your pessimistic nature. This lucid realism allows you to rise quickly from your gloom. Nothing surprises you and certainly not worst case scenarios. Your confidence in the goodness of men is relative and you have a tendency to distrust people that you don't know. But if someone conquers your heart, you are a great friend. You love to frolic in the countryside, spend an evening by the fire, and have your nose in a book. A philosopher and discreet, you don't think that you can change society. To protect yourself from disappointment, you choose your close friends with care after having tested them in the smallest details. In this closed universe where affection reigns, you gladly show yourself as a nutty, eccentric companion that is fun to be around. Your fault: As an introverted Dog, you are on the defensive a little too much.

PIG (or BOAR)

AUTUMN is your season.
NOVEMBER is your month.
Personality :
Honest and upright, you advance in life like a tranquil bulldozer. You hate lies, hypocrites, and artifice. If you do something bad you feel terrible and guilty about it for a long time after the fact. For your family and friends you are generous and helpful. Sometimes you are even a little bit too generous because you don't know how to say no. People don't hesitate taking advantage of your good nature. Underneath your exterior hides a ferocious determination for your inner codes to be respected. Nobody can impose their will on you unless you decide to let them. You make your decisions and take responsibility for your failures in private. You don't blame others for your mistakes. When there is a conflict, you take cover until the storm has passed. You may be criticized by others for preferring to run rather than fight but raised voices, fights, and power games revile you. If your back is against the wall with no escape possible you become a daunting and violent adversary. Behind your apparent good nature you hide your hypersensitivity and soul of a

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