Happy New Year! Today marks the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar, and 2008 is officially the year of the Rat (the Brown -or Earth- Rat to be specific). What most western people wouldn't know is that technically the first day of the Rat Year was February 4th, which was the first day of Tiger month, the Tiger month being the first month of the year in the Chinese Fortune-Telling Calendar.

So what does the year ahead look like (if you believe in this kind of stuff)? Well, apparently since Brown is Earth and Rat is Water, people who are either Earth or Water signs will be the luckiest (in the Chinese system everyone has a lucky element). However, Earth and Water are opposite elements, so 2008 won't be one of their best years in their life, unless their animal sign has a special combination with either of those two elements. Ok... so what does that mean for a Water Rat like me?

"Earth and Water have a conflicting and fighting relationship; and
therefore it is hard for them to coexist. In most of cases, if your Lucky Element
is Earth, then the Water is an unlucky element. If the Lucky Element is Water,
then Earth is the unlucky element. If Earth or Water is equivalent to your Money
Star, then your money luck in 2008 should be "money comes, then money goes" or
"money goes, then comes". If Earth or Water is the Career Star, then career
opportunity either come early or come late in 2008. If Earth or Water represent
health, then your heath will be either good or bad, however it will be the
opposite at the end of the year. In short, you will win some but lose some."

- according to ChineseFortuneCalendar.com

So basically this year will have some ups and downs, but it should all balance out in the end. I guess I can live with that. So then, let's get on with it, shall we? Squeak-squeak! ;-)