Part 2

Chinese Horoscopes Guide to Relationship
by Theodora Lau

(Page 2 of 2)

To the realistic Chinese, there are no short cuts in forming and maintaining relationships. People go to painstaking lengths to make the proper links and realize that alliances are never permanent or total - situations could change with the weather. As a rule, nothing is in writing and does not need to be. The links may be as tough and malleable as a fine strand of steel or as transitory as blowing straw. Needs and wants must be carefully evaluated and one must frequently be prepared to ask or accept trade-offs not to one's liking. Time limits are loosely adhered to and can stretch into the next generation if family ties are involved. All relationships bring mutual obligations and are often graded according to the degree of involvement required. In Chinese culture, human interaction is an essential exercise in any sphere of society and must be studied in order to achieve the skills necessary to make relationships work.

This ageless tradition has not changed. Relationships open doors for us. Relationships bring us in contact with people who can effect changes in our lives or make us part of a bigger, better team. Relationships foster synergy and symbiotic bonds. Relationships help us manage what we find unmanageable. Relationships bring influence and control over what was previously not within our grasp. It may sound simplistic, but in the end, everything boils down to good, workable relationships. Society cannot exist without them and we must accept that we are all social animals trying to co-exist harmoniously.

Modern MBAs have created all kinds of new names for relationships. It is now called 'networking' or being part of the 'loop'. People have to 'bond' through sports, common interests, special dubs or experiences in life. Joining up with the right party or parties is the main aim. The link-up of a network is essential to making it in today's world - both personally and in business.

We are all encouraged to send emissaries to sound out the competition and check out their influence. Before any decisions can be made, we must have feedback of how they are linked with other players. News travels through special 'information corridors' or 'highways'. When relations break down or disagreements ensue, we need arbitrators to work out our differences and hopefully patch things up before it is too late. Mediation is highly sought after. Whether we are busy mending broken fences of friendship or romance, building new bridges of communication, making connections to other networks or simply expanding our sphere of influence, we are employing the basic principles of finding and making good relationships.

In this book I shall explain the positive and negative attributes of each earth branch and show how to understand and work with each of the twelve basic personalities of the lunar cycle. Perhaps once you learn to recognize individual traits in yourself and in others, you will be able to deal rationally and objectively with problems that may arise. If one distances oneself, it is easier to observe the subject with a better perspective and thus find or create a workable solution.

You may want to come back to this introduction after reading other chapters in the book, as the charts and tables are provided here for easy reference should you become sidetracked or confused. The brief but comprehensive summary given here can be likened to attending a dinner party where one meets twelve guests for the first time. At first it is difficult to remember all the names of so many new people, but once the preliminaries are over we can get to know each personality better as one chapter is devoted to each of them. Then the introductory part becomes dearer and more comprehensible the second time round.

The Relationship Tree of the Twelve Earth Branches, used throughout this book, was conceived as a symbolic, living home to express the unity of the twelve lunar personality types. The cycle of the Twelve Earth Branches, also referred to as the lunar animal signs, has always been presented in linear form in Chinese horoscopes. I first divided the twelve signs into four independent groups of three signs each and called them 'Triangles of Affinity' in my previous book, The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes.

Each of the residents of the four triangles possesses similar traits and a common outlook. The signs within each duster of affinity will band together and work with each other amicably. Their numerical values are based on the Yang or active male attributes for the odd numbers, versus the Yin or feminine attributes for the even numbers. The first and third triangles are made up of odd-numbered branches while the second and the fourth triangles are made up of the even-numbered branches. Since there are equal pairs of even and odd numbers, everything balances out in the end, there is no strength and no weakness. Like the Tai Ch'i, the ultimate principle of all matter, the goal is to achieve equilibrium. When there is equilibrium or 'give and take' in a relationship, we can truly say there is harmony.

To show that in unity there is also diversity, each branch has its own individual traits and has been assigned its own personality name.

Characteristics of the Twelve Earth Branches

Branch name	Animal name	Personality type
1st= Zi	Rat	Initiator	'I do'
2nd=Chou	Ox	Enforcer	'I will'
3rd=Yin	Tiger	Idealist	'I feel'
4th=Mao	Rabbit	Conformist	'I comply'
5th=Chen	Dragon	Visionary	'I see'
6th=Si	Snake	Strategist	'I play'
7th=Wu	Horse	Adventurer	'I act'
8th=Wei	Sheep	Peacemaker	'I love'
9th=Shen	Monkey	Innovator	'I think'
10th=You	Rooster	Administrator 'I count'
11th=Xu	Dog	Guardian 'I watch'
12th=Hai	Boar	Unifier	'I join'

Long before psychologists came on the scene, put name tags on the different types of personality and classified us according to groups, the ancient Chinese did a great deal of research and typecasting of their own, based on carefully kept records of arranged marriages, choice of mentors, unions of clansmen, business enterprises, partnerships and conglomerates. This whole intriguing science could simply be defined as 'knowing people'. My interpretations of the descriptions and interactions between the Twelve Earth Branches are but a humble attempt at summarizing this complex and intricate relationship system based on Chinese horoscopes. Common patterns of behavior, thought processes, affinity, incompatibility and predictable reactions of each personality type defined in this book were developed through my study of the Chinese zodiac to bring new light in building the best possible personal and business relationships.

Copyright © 1997 by Theodora Lau.

About the Author

Theodora Lau was born in Shanghai and lived with her husband and two children in Hong Kong before moving to California, where she is presently settled. She is the author of The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, now in its third edition.