Looking for Opportunities in the Year of the Dragon

This year, Chinese New Year falls on Monday, January 23rd, so it’s just around the corner.  Different years are supposed to be auspicious for anyone who was born in a year ruled by the same animal sign, so 2012 should be a significant year for anyone with the sign of the dragon, (born in the years 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, and 2000). 

In my previous post, where I suggested throwing black-eyed peas as part of a New Years celebration, I mentioned the bean-throwing ritual that is part of the Japanese Setsubun festival; men with a given year’s animal sign are the preferred persons to officiate at such ceremonies.  If there are any dragons in your social circle, you might encourage them to take a focal role in whatever festivities you may be planning in 2012.  (Just as 2012 should be good for dragon people, dragon people should be good for 2012.)

The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac are also paired with the five elements of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood, and 2012 is a Water Dragon year.   12 signs times 5 elements = 60 different sign-element combinations, and every 60 years the cycle repeats.  This also means that when anyone reaches the age of 60, he or she might experience a landmark year, because it has come back around to both his or her sign and element.  Therefore, 2012 should be a particularly interesting year for anyone born in 1952.

Curious as to whether the Chinese zodiac year would give anyone a special advantage in a presidential race, I looked into the birth years and signs for President Obama and the Republican contenders, but none of them are dragons.  FYI, Obama is Metal Ox, while Romney is a Fire Pig, Gingrich is a Water Sheep, Paul is a Wood Pig, Huntsman is a Metal Rat, Santorum is an Earth Dog, and Perry is a Metal Tiger.