Hours ruled by the Rat : 11pm - 1am
Direction of its sign : Directly North
Season and principal month : Winter December
Corresponds to Western sign : Sagittarius
Fixed Element : Water
Stem : Positive
Year: 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Greatest Affinity : Dragon, Monkey
Greatest Enmity : Horse
I am the self-proclaimed acquisitor
I am a link yet I function as a complete unit
I aim at encompassing heights
And strike my target
Sure and steady.
Life is one joyous journey for me.
Each search must end with a new quest.
I am progress, exploration and insight.
I am the womb of activity.
I am the Rat.
Rats are born under the sign of charm. They are warm hearted folk and their passionate personality is dominated by a sense of urgency. This means that Rats are greedy for life, looking to experience every moment to the full. Above all, the Rat is a supreme opportunist who lives for the moment and seldom plans for tomorrow. Rats are led by their highly developed senses which as a rule have little or no regard for the hands of the clock. but when they grow introverted, free-wheeling Rats become obsessed by time-keeping and their open sense of humour vanishes completely.
When plans go badly wrong or when they suffer a bad reversal, the normally outgoing Rat is the first to find fault. At times as these, the Rat's sometimes shallow outlook will get the better of them and they will grumble endlessly. All Rats have an undercurrent of aggression of which frequently expresses itself in fretting over details and being ultra-concerned with trivialities. In extreme cases, Rats in distress may become preoccupied by making plans and sticking to them at all costs. Their charm and easy going manner is replaced by a tenacious stubbornness that nothing will overturn.
Rats seldom care much for possessions. If they have a full larder it doesn't often stay that way. Rats are not built for hard slog and when they make money it is usually as a result of their wits. As a general rule Rats can deny themselves nothing. Quick witted, Rats have a sharp eye for detail, which provides them with a head start in business. In the animals, legend has it that the Buffalo, being the most powerful, was the first to arrive but the Rat piped him to the post. Waiting till the last minute, the opportunist Rat, ran up the Buffalo's tail, over his back and down his nose, to become the first at Buddha's door. It is said that the Buffalo has yet to forgive the Rat.
Those born under the sign of the Rat make uncritical friends whose advice is sound, well intentioned and always worth taking. In their life Rats are devoted to their children, although the Rat parents tend to fret more than plan for their offspring's well being. The Rats home is usually comfortable rather than fashionable, with money going into the wine cellar as opposed to the wall-to-wall carpet. In work Rats prefer flexitime and avoid routine whenever possible. Rats are ideal critics, capable of clear, subjective judgement. Uncluttered by lofty principles, a Rat gets to the heart of the matter in a flash. In the east terms as "Rat race" and "dirty Rat" are unknown and Rats are rightly considered to be creatures of great intelligence.
The three phases of the Rats life are marked by an easy childhood but a difficult middle period in which romance and financial problems frequently abound. In the middle stage the Chinese warn that a Rat might meet a sudden and violent end. However, with their senses less demanding, old age is kinder to the restless and ruthless Rat. Even Rats with no more than an old age pension are sure to find the bags of grain in the barn full sweet and plentiful.