2016 Is the Year of the Red Fire Monkey

You have to admit that some of the names that come out of the Chinese zodiac are pretty cool. Year of the Red Fire Monkey!

If you have ever heard of the Asian monkey God, Hanuman, then some of the characteristics of the Year of the Monkey might be familiar. The is the notion of something mischievous and clever which might be traits of a clever monkey or from a human point of view, just about any monkey. If you read up on the mythology of Hunuman one of the consistent elements is that at one point the Monkey God's tail is lit on fire and he uses the ocean to put the fire out.

The truth of the matter might be that monkey despite their very close similarity to human genetics have their own agenda and as long as we don't get in the way, they don't mind us too much.

And then there is that story of that woman getting her face ripped off my monkeys. A reminder that it is best not to anthropomorphize animals too much. And that close contact with exotic animals is for most people most of the time better left to experts. Most humans should probably stick with dogs and cats.

The Chinese zodiac runs in 12 year cycles.

There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. They include:

Rat

Ox

Tiger

Rabbit

Dragon

Snake

Horse

Sheep

Monkey

Rooster

Dog

Pig

There are 5 elements in the Zodiac

Wood

Fire

Eath

Metal

Water.

5 x 12 =60, so there is a 60 year cycle combinations like Fire Monkey. 60 years ago was the last time the Fire Monkey came up.

From a western point of view it is interesting that the 12 year cycles would divide a lifetime roughly into puberty, a generation, middle age, old age and death.

The Chinese New Year begins on 8 Feb 2016.

Humans use notions like astrology to bring order to chaotic lives. So it is no surprise that the kind of advice that you can get for the Year of the Fire Monkey has to do with love and marriage and business and work life.

2016 then is the year to get crazy. To take risks. You should expect the unexpected and try not to fall prey to deception.