by Dr. Judith Andrews, DAOM, L.Ac.
2015 is the Year of the Green Wooden Sheep (or Goat or Ram if someone wants to sound more macho). It is the year 4713 in the Chinese calendar system.
Chinese Stem-Branch Calendar is a cyclic numeral system of 60 combinations of the two basic cycles, the ten Heavenly Stems and the twelve Earthly Branches. This calendar system has been used in China since the second millennium BC, and adopted throughout Asian cultures. Animal names are given to years and days, just like we name our months and days of the week.
To determine the Chinese horoscope sign we look at the start of spring in the Chinese Stem-Branch Calendar. Start of spring is when the sun enters the 315th degree of the tropical zodiac. In California, for example, a baby born after 8 pm on February 3, 2015 is born on the year of the sheep. If the baby is born at 7:59 pm on February 3, 2015, he or she is still in the year of the horse.
To make things a bit confusing, Chinese New Year Day is February 19, 2015. Chinese New Year Day is determined by the new moon day of the first lunar moon. That is the day Chinese New Year is celebrated.
A practitioner of Chinese acupuncture may include the person’s astrological sign during a health assessment. For the acupuncturist it is just another tool to examine the forces of nature at play within the dynamic of an individual’s personality and life path.
Some of us like to have more fun with this knowledge. What the year of the sheep will bring into our lives. Which signs are compatible, the signs that are not.
Sheep is a yin sign associated with peace, tranquility, and incredible good luck. The wood element in the year of the sheep lends fortitude and steadiness to 2015. If you have been working hard these past 2 years look forward to reaping the rewards. If the last 2 years have been difficult, things will turn around this year.
