According to Chinese tradition, the Rat is the first of the 12 zodiac animals. Consequently, on the Chinese New Year of January 25, 2020 (by the Chinese calendar, year 4706) we begin a new 12-year cycle. If you would like to identify your animal year, please click here: What's My Chinese Zodiac Sign?
In western culture, the Rat is negatively stereotyped by an association with disease and plague, which gives it a low standing in the eyes of many Westerners. The Chinese, however, have quite the opposite view. As the first animal to come when Buddha called, its status is high indeed.
As a creature of high native intelligence, rated alongside the dolphin and whale, the Rat is unrivaled in its pioneering spirit; its readiness to be at the forefront of the action, and its determination to scurry, have put it at the forefront of invention achievement "firsts." Although a small animal, the Rat can handle any rough and tumble surprises that come its way.
Motivated the Rat’s willpower, the fierce squeaks of concerned people about increased natural disasters, floods, landslides, fires, disease, and others will pressure change in government and industry leaders throughout the world. As the gravity of the environmental issues becomes more obvious, the fruition of new technological inventions to aid lifestyle adaptations will surge. Consequently, the focus of global medical, industrial, and scientific fields will swing toward prevention rather than cure.
Indiscriminate stock and commodity fluctuation and speculation will influence worldwide monetary stability and balance, triggering a slow economic cooling.
However, for those who prepare multiple escape routes, the Rat Year is a year of plenty, bringing opportunity and good prospects. It’s a year to make long-term, cautious, practical investments for the possible bleak years ahead. Projects begun at this time will be successful as long as dedicated monitoring of the progress is maintained.
Business information technology designed to reduce development costs, and sharing of scarce resources and personnel, will be on the upswing in this Year of the Rat. Robotics and renewable energy sources for both business and households will have whiskers wagging and noses twitching in delight. Likewise, this year should be teaming with scientific discoveries in the field of nanotechnology.
PEOPLE BORN IN THE YEAR OF THE RAT (1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008). People of the Rat (or Mouse as the Japanese prefer), are noted for their Mickey Mouse-type charm, innovative personality, and extroverted appeal. The Rat is bright, fun-loving, happy, and sociable, perpetually sniffing out parties and large gatherings to enjoy. Blessed with a sharp wit and marvelous sense of humor, their popularity extends to a multitude of friends, fellow conspirators and close inner circle, all of whom, along with family and relatives, are cherished. However, they tend to be generous only to those of whom they are inordinately fond. Being forthright, ambitious, and honest in a disarming manner, the Rat camouflages traits of being sly, critical, and judgmental of others, but, as a consequence, is not renowned for being the easiest to get along with. Their shrewdness can overshadow their capacity to live it up, and love of money may result in penny-pinching and hoarding.
Rats are opportunists, highly-strung go-getters, attracted by mystery, and to live by their wits rather than labor long and hard to earn their daily bread. The enticement of off-the-beaten-track travel and excitement triumphs over their mundane, meticulous side, which can also be extreme. They can also be super-critical, incessant fault-finders, and manipulators of petty issues. When inactive they wander in circles, worry and fret endlessly in their need for understanding, love, and companionship. Habitually curious, information is voraciously amassed by keeping tabs on everyone. Their incredible inquisitiveness, uncanny eye for detail, and good memory, these traits are reputed to make them excellent writers, spy or criminology detectives, and pathologists, exceptionally skilled in the areas of sales, financial and legal matters, and the area of arts. Entanglements in other people's affairs due to an intrusive desire to exchange gossip requires the Rat to exercise great self-control of its tendency to swift agitation, which is often masked by a superficial appearance of reservation, even placidity.
But the Rat is never as quiet, making it hard to be exactly sure of where he stands. As management executives or administrators, the Rat is a good and wise adviser in workplace situations but personally relishes a constant change in direction. He is a formidable problem solver, demonstrating great concern about employees' welfare, sharing problems, visiting them when sick, but hedging when a well-deserved salary raise is warranted, and conceding only after more or less ensnared. The Rat demonstrates a tremendous capacity for pursuing the course to the end. His stumbling block, however, is the scattering of his energy through over-ambition, trying to do too much too soon because he simply cannot pass up bargains and good deals in his love for money. Although equipped with an inborn ability to sense danger, the Rat often has great difficulty relying on sound judgment. The need to conquer covetous greed and quit while ahead comes after being caught in a trap and learning only follows a serious financial blow.
Because of the Rat's resourcefulness, he will never be poor for long, and a hidden nest egg stockpile will cement an inclination of basic self-preservation, ensuing his chances for success.
Famous RAT people:
Politicians: Al Gore, Jimmy Carter
Scientists: Werner von Braun and Galileo
Film industry: Scarlett Johansson, Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando, Ben Affleck, Robert Redford, Colin Firth
Trevor Noah
Composers; Hayden, Wolfgang A. Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Johann Strauss
Artists: Monet, Toulouse Lautrec, Rodin
Writers: William Shakespeare, Jack London, Emile Zola, Jules Verne, Charlotte Brontë, Shelley, Leo Tolstoy
Adventurer: Lawrence of Arabia
Others: Shaquille O'Neal, Mark Zuckerberg, Rosa Parks, Katy Perry
Best Wishes for a healthy and squeakingly successful RAT Year!
