This was published 7 years ago
Benjamin Law: Chinese horoscopes are a yardstick of changing social attitudes
By Benjamin Law
I was never into horoscopes growing up. It wasn't because I was too cool or cynical, more that the Hellenic zodiac confused me to the point of fury. Why was there a goat and a ram? ("Aren't they the same animal?") And why make some signs creatures – bulls, lions – and others twins, or a set of scales? It was so random. Why not include a kettle, or a soda stream?
My other source of grief was that, because I was born in mid-September, it meant bearing the injustice of being a virgin for the rest of my life. Looking back now, that was probably appropriate for a closeted, non-surfing teenager with a mouth stuffed full of orthodontia growing up in the suburbs of coastal Queensland, but still felt unfair).
Illustration by Simon Letch
At least the Chinese zodiac made sense to me: 12 animal signs, each bearing personality traits similar to their real-life creature counterparts. Dogs, like me, are just and loyal. Dragons, like my sister Candy, are powerful and ferocious. Rats, like my father, are shrewd and smart, while Roosters – or Cocks – are, well … cocky.
A while ago, I had my charts read by Mina Zheng, a Sydney-based feng shui master and Chinese horoscope expert. I peered over as she crunched the numbers using my date and time of birth, adjusted for Beijing's time zone. Watching her do the sums, it seemed less like clairvoyance and more like accounting.
Benjamin Law.Credit: James Brickwood
As Mina explained my charts, I realised that while Chinese horoscopes are superstition, they're also mathematics, myth-making and a yardstick of changing social attitudes. "For instance," Mina said, "female tigers are more independent. In older days, people think if a woman is too strong, she's not a good wife. But in modern China, it's considered good for women to have those traits." Cut to 2017, and female tigers – like my sister Tammy – are prized.
For whatever reason, Mina's numbers add up: she tells me that I met someone important at 17 (my boyfriend), my income is "unstable and unconventional" (I freelance), and that I'm best around water (I swim for exercise).
And she gives me a 2017 calendar that, on each day of the year, says whether it'll be a good or bad idea for me to do certain tasks, from cutting my hair to getting married.
I'm not sure I believe any of it, but I can't see the harm, either. And being a virgin-dog has to be better than my boyfriend's non-kosher/halal crab-pig combo. So whatever you are, here's to a wonderful Year of the Rooster.