Which animal is hiding in your heart?

“Which animal is hiding in your heart?” — the phrase sounds like a pretty image, but it means something quite concrete. In Chinese astrology you carry not one animal but four. And the animal that tradition places in the heart is precisely not the one you name when somebody asks you your sign.

Four animals, not one

It is almost always only the animal of the birth year that is known. It is the outward face: what other people read off you before they know you any better. Alongside it are three further levels, each with an animal of its own.

• The year animal — the first impression and the part played in larger groups.
• The month animal — the inner animal: how you deal with closeness, family, everyday life.
• The day animal — who you are for yourself and how you move within a relationship.
• The hour animal — the hidden one. It rarely shows itself, but it takes the lead when things get tight. That is the animal in the heart.

That these four can turn out differently explains the commonest disappointment with the Chinese horoscope: the description of the year animal often fits only halfway, because it covers only a quarter.

The twelve animals, one sentence each

• Rat — alert and quick to judge, finds openings where others see a crowd.
• Ox — steady and reliable, delivers results instead of announcements.
• Tiger — brave and impulsive, needs a matter that is worth the effort.
• Rabbit — tactful and shy of conflict, would sooner change the surroundings than the tone.
• Dragon — conspicuous and generous with plans, hard to overlook and hard to slow down.
• Snake — watches for a long time, says little, then decides in a single move.
• Horse — enterprising and sociable, can do anything but sit still.
• Goat — creative and compassionate, sensitive to a rough tone.
• Monkey — inventive and playful, finds the detour that turns out shorter.
• Rooster — exact and orderly, says what is uncomfortable straight out.
• Dog — loyal and alive to injustice, mistrustful of large promises.
• Pig — good-natured and able to enjoy life, takes people at first as they are.

When the four do not match

It becomes interesting when year and hour lie far apart. A rabbit year with a tiger hour describes someone who negotiates amiably for a long time and then, once it comes to the point, acts with surprising speed. A dragon year with a goat hour looks impressive and self-assured from the outside, but needs more encouragement than can be seen. This is where the expression about the hidden animal comes from: strangers are the last to see it, people who are close name it first.

The legend of the race

Why this order and no other? It is told as a race: in one version Buddha calls the animals to him, in the other the Jade Emperor; whoever arrives first is given the first year. The rat lets the ox carry it across the river and jumps off just before the bank — which is why it stands at the front. The cat misses the appointment and has been absent ever since.

Astrologically that explains nothing; as a way of remembering the order it is unbeatable. Where the cycle comes from and how it is worked out is set out on the page on Chinese astrology.

How to find your animal in the heart

The hour animal depends on the time of birth, more precisely on the twelve double hours. The hour of the rat lies around midnight and runs from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.; then come the ox from 1 to 3, the tiger from 3 to 5, the rabbit from 5 to 7, the dragon from 7 to 9, the snake from 9 to 11, the horse from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the goat from 1 to 3, the monkey from 3 to 5, the rooster from 5 to 7, the dog from 7 to 9 and the pig from 9 to 11 p.m.

Two things are worth checking before you look it up. First the birth time: if you were born during daylight saving time, you have to take off an hour. Second the year of birth, which does not change on 1 January but only at Chinese New Year.

In the end there are four animals instead of a single one, and with them four points of view on the same person. That is where the appeal of this system lies: it describes you as an interplay, not as a label. You will find the different kinds of horoscope under Horoscopes.