Everybody probably knows the Year of the Tiger begins February 14th, but most people probably do not know the person who rides the lucky Tiger. It is none other than Tsai Shen, Chinese god of wealth and prosperity!

This is good news given the many economic difficulties around the world in recent years. Of course you are most interested in how this affects you personally. The short answer is you are likely to have better luck this year---unless you are a Monkey, the Tiger’s nemesis.

The third stage of my development in Chinese Astrology took place on the web.  During this stage my son, who is now getting more interested and learning more by the day, helped to build my first website, firepig.com and subsequently expand into multiple countries and technical platforms across the world. 

This is the 2nd of three posts on my journey into the world of Chinese Astrology. In this article, I rraise another question I am often asked: Do you really believe in Chinese Astrology? When I hear this I wonder if the person is trying to establish a religious context, as this is what I associate with belief. My answer is always to say it is not a question of belief with me. I do Chinese Astrology because it works. You could say I'm more of an engineer rather than a scholar, scientist, or theologian. The more I study and practice Chinese Astrology, the better I am able to help people understand themselves and to make choices in their lives. So I continue.

The Year of the Tiger begins on February 14, Valentine’s Day. Naturally, inquiring minds want to know. How will my love life be in 2010? Are things finally going to heat up? Will I find my soul mate? Is marriage in the cards?

Recently, a fellow brother Golden Fire Pig sent me an email asking me how I learned about Chinese Astrology.  This question comes up from time to time, so perhaps it's about time I gave it the answer it deserves.

This is the first of three posts I will be making chronicaling my studies of Chinese Astrology.

A popular form of Chinese Astrology is Ba Zi or Four Pillars of Destiny. It is based on the assumption that there is energy throughout the universe, and it influences the destiny of each person. Although the system does not use planets and stars directly, it is a given that their positions determine how specifically the cosmic energy makes its impact.

Astrology is a field intimately connected with astronomy in general and stars in particular. A discussion of them is thus a fitting way to begin to detail the differences between Chinese and Western astrology. And, it is one of the big ones, as people of the these two, great cultures see a very different sky when they look to the heavens.

I am working on an in depth ebook that will help answer questions people have about Chinese Astrology.  Over the next month I"ll be posting excerpts from the book and will be anxious to get your opinions!  Feel free to leave a comment and i'll get right back to you.