Summer is right around the corner and with it brings the Horse month. For many, this can bring a welcome burst of optimism and energy after the quiet, introspective Snake month. Hopefully, you’ve had plenty of time to reflect on your life’s purpose, learn some new things and rekindle your connections with loved ones. So, what now? Here are some tips for making the most of a Horse month and finishing first at the races:

While the 12 Chinese Animals signs can influence our personalities and behavior, do you know how the Five Elements come into play? Just as the cycles of nature change and shape our world, the Five Elements reveal another layer of influence on our daily activities and our relationships.

Each element – Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal – has constructive (positive), or destructive  (negative) relationships with the other elements. These connections explain why two people of the same year sign can be completely different, why partners can clash, and why you fare better in certain years than in others.

In Chinese Astrology there are actually four signs, not just one plus an ascendant as in Western Astrology. They are the signs of the year, month, day and hour of birth. Furthermore each has two components, an element and an animal.
Each has its own focus when it comes to understanding a person’s destiny. Throughout the years several interpretations have developed concerning the function of each.

Most people know they are the "Year of the ...."  For example, I’m  Year of the Pig.  Many times I've been hit with the question: "How can I be the same as everyone else born in the same year as me."  Well, I can tell you. It's not as simple as just knowing your animal (year) sign!

The month of the Fire Pig is about to begin on November 6th, which, you know is dear to my heart!  This year also marks my 25th anniversary of studying and practicing Chinese Astrology.  While I don't remember the exact date, I figured there is no better month to celebrate than now! Expect a fun, dynamic month as, being a reader of ours you know that the Fire Pig is not your everyday, run of the mill Pig!

Check out your full forecast

http://www.onlinechineseastrology.com/Specials/monthly-forecast-the-fire-pig-2010.aspx

You can also find your lucky days forecast ready as well!  

http://www.onlinechineseastrology.com/Specials/lucky-days-november-2010.aspx

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.

Back home in Berkeley after three, wonderful weeks in Vietnam. Although I had to put in a lot of work on the Beta version of our new, automated Mah Jong Card Reading, I was able to do four charity events to raise money for a local orphanage.

The trip to Vietnam ended up pretty well.  After four days, we managed to raise 14,250,000 VND which is about $800 for the orphanage.  Dealing with that made me appreciate the good ol US govt as even with a one week notice they could not get the approval for us to visit on Saturday so my son is going next week.  Our friends have us paranoid now too about corruption so we're just going to buy $800 in supplies for them.