Japanese astrology explained: Learn about the 12 signs

Hey everyone, it’s your boy back again with another deep dive into something that’s been tickling my brain lately – Japanese astrology. You know, I’ve always been a bit of a horoscope junkie, but I recently stumbled upon this whole other world of zodiac signs and I just had to dig in. So, grab a snack, and let’s get into it.

First off, I started where anyone would – the good ol’ internet. I typed in “Japanese astrology” and, boom, a whole bunch of stuff popped up. Turns out, it’s pretty similar to the Chinese zodiac, with 12 animals representing different years. I learned that the order of these animals comes from some ancient legend. It goes like this: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and finally, boar. I was already hooked, I mean, who doesn’t love a good origin story?

Then I found out that each animal represents a year in a 12-year cycle, which is based on Jupiter’s orbit around the sun. How cool is that? Apparently, Jupiter takes about 12 Earth years to do its lap around the sun, so each animal gets a year in the spotlight. And people thought that these signs, along with the planets, could determine not just personal destinies, but the fate of whole nations! I was like, “Whoa, this is way deeper than I thought.”

Now, here’s where it got personal. I wanted to find out my own Japanese zodiac sign. I was born in 1996, and after some clicking around, I discovered I’m a Rat! No, not like a sneaky little rodent, but a smart and persuasive leader type. At least, that’s what the internet said. It also mentioned that Rats are passionate about success and can be creative in achieving their goals. I gotta say, it felt pretty spot on. I mean, I’m not one to brag, but I do like to think I’m pretty driven.

My Zodiac Animal Research

I got so into this that I started looking up the years for each animal. I even found out the Japanese word for “rat” is “nezumi” and the kanji for it is 子. They say Rats are outgoing and energetic, which, you know, I can vibe with. This whole thing was turning into a full-blown research project, and I was loving every minute of it.

Rat (nezumi) – Born 2008, 1996, 1984, 1972, 1960, 1948, 1936, 1924.
The kanji for Rat is 子.
Apparently, we’re outgoing and energetic.

But it wasn’t just about me. I started looking up the signs for my friends and family. It was like a fun little game, figuring out who was a Tiger, who was a Dragon, and so on. I even started planning to use this as a conversation starter at the next party. “Hey, did you know you’re a Boar in Japanese astrology?” Instant icebreaker, right?

So, yeah, that’s been my journey into Japanese astrology so far. It’s been a wild ride, full of surprises and a lot of “aha!” moments. I’m definitely going to keep exploring this and see what other secrets I can uncover. If you guys are curious, I highly recommend taking a peek into your own Japanese zodiac sign. You might just learn something new about yourself!