One of the oldest forms of astrology is the type practiced by the Chinese that stretches back for many centuries. Chinese Astrology is extremely complex and difficult for the normal person to grasp deeply. Therefore most people simply focus on the characteristics of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac based on one's birth year. The twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac are, in order, the rat or mouse, the ox or cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep or lamb, monkey, rooster or chicken, dog, and pig. But a Chinese Astrology reading conducted by an expert would go much deeper than explaining the traits of animal and delve into one's birth month, day, and hour.

In fact, the most popular form of Chinese Astrology readings are based on the Four Pillars of Destiny. The Four Pillars of Destiny originated and was popularized during the Tang Dynasty in China. It focused on leveraging a person's Chinese Zodiac for the core of the reading. Then a significant evolution occured during the Song Dynasty that uses the day stem instead of the year branch in predicting a person's fortune, health, wealth, life, and marriage. Today, the modifications that the Song Dynasty applied to Chinese Astrology is the foundation of the Four Pillars approach for the Chinese.

As one can imagine, a reading that applies the Four Pillars of Destiny method that takes into account birth hour, day, month, and year is much more detailed and accurate than a generic reading based solely on birth year. Yet it is this same daunting level of complexity that prevents the general populace from grasping and embracing the intricacies of the Four Pillars of Destiny method. Next time, learn to look beyond the basic rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig of the Chinese Zodiac when understanding one's true Chinese Astrology reading and fate.