The combination of Chinese and Western astrology can be used to add an additional dimension to assessing the compatibility between two individuals.
Experience shows that the Asian counterpart to the Western zodiac can be seen as a larger frame within which the latter is working and is fine-tuning the character symbols of the Chinese.
Like the Western, the Chinese zodiac contains twelve signs, but with a switch-over period of about 12 years, instead of the one month in the western system. Thus, the Chinese zodiac is refreshed every 12x12=144 yrs while the Western starts a new cycle every twelve months (ie the 1st of April).
In a new development in astro-characterology the oriental and occidental systems have been combined to render 12x12=144 different sign coalitions. Because of the more generic nature of these new combinations, numerology/acrophonology comes in as the final method to deliver the energic details of two personalities in order to draw conclusions about their suitability.
(There are various books and websites dealing with the intricacies of Chinese astrology as applied to the character features in a personality. For a detailed description of the Chinese animal signs see, eg, http://www.astrology.com.

How To Proceed

Table 1
lets you find your star sign in the Western Astrological system, based on the time your birth took place in accordance with the time at Greenwich (UK) which is the zero time-mark in today's calendar system (ie the zero meridian established in 1883).
This table, or any table you find in books, magzines, or online, is accurate as long as your date of birth does not fall within the range of plus or minus three days of the beginning or end of the period of your sign.

The reasons for this are :
     the time zones on our globe shift by 24 hours (precisely 23 hrs minus one moment),
     the earth does not orbit the sun in 360 days but in slightly over 365 (the difference is - approximately - made up every four
     years by adding one day to the length of the month of February),
     the length of some months is either 30 or 31 days and thus a few days over the standard length of 28 days (the lunar cycle).

The closer your time of birth is to the dates given in Table 1 (either side of the dates; called the 'cusp'), the greater the likelihood that you may either be influenced by the preceding or the following star sign and so were in reality born under a different constellation.

If, according to the local time, a person was born within the range of + or - 12 hrs (the so-called cusp) away from the beginning of a new Western or Chinese sign, it is possible that Greenwhich time would place this birth one day earlier or later than the local date statement.
The international date line runs from the western part of Alaska southwards through the pacific islands near Tavalu and Tonga and bypasses New Zealand on the eastern side before ending in Antarctica. The time difference of this line to Greenwich going eastwards from Greenwich is +12 hrs, and going westwards is -12 hrs.
Therefore, the birth date of any person within the range of + - 12 hrs around the date of the change-over to a new Western or Chinese sign, should be checked in accordance with the correct Greenwich time.
The only way to find out is to look up your Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) of birth according to your place of birth in the so-called ephemerides (a book of tables showing the positions of a heavenly body on a number of dates in a regular sequence) which every astrologer possesses. Make sure that the ephemerides pertain to your year of birth.
For a quick reference, the following website deals with worldwide time zones and is helpful to get an idea about how far away is the birth date stated in your birth certificate from the GMT : http://pages.prodigy.com/KLXV46A/time.htm .
The alternative to that is to ask the person in question his/her star sign, assuming that they have learnt this from a reliable astrological report ¹⁾ .
If you remain unsure about your starsign because you were born on the cusp, apply the two neighboring symbols when looking for your favorable sign combination in Table 3. Alas, this will not make your choice an easy one.

Apart from these technical reasons there is the underlying assumption that the definition of the 'moment of birth' is the same in all countries. This is not the case.
There are traditions in which a new being is not recognized as having been 'born', before a certain elder, chief or religious leader has expressed his acceptance or given his blessings (case in point: the ongoing dispute about the birth year of the Biblical Jesus).

Table 2
shows the zodiacal symbols in the Chinese calendar, again in accordance with the date of birth of a person at Greenwich time.
As in Western Astrology, the Chinese system divides into twelve sign names, here represented by twelve animals distinguishing certain notable influences in the character traits of a person.
Unlike in the western system, the sino calendar further subdivides these twelve main signs into subgroups according to the Chinese five 'elements', which are earth, wood, fire, water, and metal.
Whilst listing the thus possible combinations of Chinese astrological animals and elements (12x5=60 in number) with western star signs would make an interesting in-depth characterological study, for the purpose of our consideration, assigning the Chinese main twelve signs to our western twelve star sign (together amounting to 12x12=144 instead of 12x60=720 associations) will suffice.

Table 3
now tallies the western-sino blends and gives information about their compatibilities.
Generally, one of the partners (say Partner A) represents the starting position, so that another person (Partner B) is sought to form a suitable match.
The Table lists only those sign combinations that clearly stand out as having a considerable influence either on the positive side (Good, Better, Best) or on the negative (Avoid, No Way). Those not mentioned designate unions where the effect of the Chinese sign is negligible and the numero-psychometric influence is prevailing.
Statistically, the majority of relationships (of any kind ) is not listed in this table, which not only indicates that the human experience takes mainly place outside of favorable or unfavorable categories, but also that every one of us is required to make an effort to facilitate personal evolution. - Life does not seem to be meant to take place in a rose garden.

The Process in Short

                               .Check the western starsigns in Table 1
                                 (beware of Greenwich time)
                               . Look up the corresponding Chinese signs in Table 2
                                 (beware of Greenwhich time)
                               . Make a decision regarding suitability and make a new
                                 selection if neccessary and possible, Table 3
                               . Use the numerological/acrophonological assessment for
                                 the final rating by clicking Back to Compatibility Data Request Form at the end of the last table

Back To Former Position