The Chinese Astrology Ox Symbol is the Zodiac Sign for 2009

In Chinese astrology Ox is after Rat and 2009 is the year of the Ox. In the very beginnings of Chinese astrology, over 3 000 years ago they named the 12 Earthly branches after animals. The 10 Heavenly stems were also named, and this helped people keep the time as well as know when the seasons were changing.

It made sense to name the 12 Earthly stems after animals as people found them simple to relate to and most Chinese people were illiterate in those times. The animals are simple to identify with and consist of mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig in that order.

According to Chinese legend the zodiac animals originated from the fact that Buddha invites all the animals to his Chinese New Year celebrations and only these 12 turned up for the party. To honor these animals he named a year after each of them and people who are born for instance in the year of the Rat like I am, are supposed to display some of the traits of these animals.

In Chinese astrology, on top of the 12 animal signs we find element signs. These are wood, fire, water, earth, and metal, each of these is represented by a color, and these are respectively, green, red, black, brown and white. The elements are each placed on top of the animal zodiac signs and are indicative of the element they fall under during that year. For instance a "fire Dragon" or a Water Ox".

The animal zodiac consists of 12 and this is divisible by two, so each sign falls under the binary Yin and Yang years, with no two animal represented by both. They are either Yin or Yang and this is determined by if the year is an odd or even year. The combination of the animals, colors and elements leads Chinese astrology to have a 60 year cycle, and our present cycle began in 1984. The cycle always begins with a wood rat and ends with a water pig.

The Ox is a very similar zodiac sign to the Rat in Chinese Astrology. It is significant in that it symbolizes a sure and steady building action so good decisions have to be made in 2009, as there are long term implications attached to your decisions. 2009 is an earth Ox year and this has destructive potential as the ruling element of Ox is water. However the past 6 years have been fraught with conflicting Chinese zodiac years and elements, out of these 6, there have been four. Apparently this is why Chinese astrologers believe the world has experienced such conflict during these years.

The Western World has Benefited Hugely from Chinese Inventions

It might be difficult for westerners to perceive that Chinese inventions have been responsible for some of the most important innovations to come about, but the fact is that this is completely true. The Chinese have suffered under the stereotypical belief by others that they are not technologically accomplished. Just for started however, and these are not all, the Chinese invented spaghetti, the wheelbarrow, the water powered blast furnace, kits, chopstick, paper, gunpowder the seismograph, the crossbow, a plethora of weapons and armaments including tear gas, paper money, chess, the compass..need I go on?

The Chinese inventions which are considered to be the most important, particularly in that they spread to the rest of the world, are gunpowder, paper, printing and the compass. Although they have made some other pretty amazing discoveries also, they are even credited with the invention of whiskey and brandy.

Gunpowder has certainly made one of the biggest impressions on the world, it has been responsible for a hell of a lot more deaths than lives, and is one of the most important warfare discoveries of ancient times. It was invented by and alchemist who was actually trying to invent the elixir of life for a Chinese Emperor in the Tang Dynasty. Elixirs of life have been considered to be vital to the Chinese people for centuries.

Cai Lun, who was a Chinese Eunuch (probably to protect the harem of the Emperor) was the inventor of paper in 105 AD. To my way of thinking paper was a far more important discovery than gunpowder, but then I am a pacifist. Many centuries later in 751 AD Arab captured Chinese Paper makers after the defeat of the Chinese army at the Battle of Talas River and this is how paper making spread to the world.

The compass was originally used by the Chinese to ensure that a house faced due North so that it was perfectly in line with nature. This was a religious rite and the first compass consisted of a wooden circle which was marked and balanced a magnetic spoon on the top. Without the compass navigation techniques would have floundered over the centuries.

Anesthetics have been used as far back as the 3rd century, this was a type of wine which had an anesthetic affect. The Chinese are world renowned for their knowledge of herbal medicines and acupuncture and this dates back millennia. 4000 year old skulls have been found in Heilongjiang, Qinghai and Henan provinces which indicate some kind of surgery may have taken place on them, the age of these skulls have been confirmed by Carbon Dating.

We could seriously discuss this subject for a very long time and never get to the end of the inventions the Chinese have been credited with, but I think for now, this will do!