YEAR OF THE WHITE TIGER

Every year we enjoy reading the yearly predictions for the upcoming Chinese year and about the animal associated with the year. After plodding along, tightening our belts, and keeping our collective noses to the grindstone, the current year of the Ox will be coming to a close in February. Chinese astrologers claimed that last year’s hard labor would restore our losses from the previous year. We’re not sure how much the hard work helped, but the recent stock market rally helped.

Now we are prepared for the roar of the arriving Metal Tiger year starting on Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2010) which astrologers say will bring upheaval to the world through turmoil, short tempers, and unpredictability. In Hawaii, many business owners take the predictions of the Chinese year seriously and some have told us they expect it to be a tough year for them. Some Tigers, like Tiger Woods, may already be feeling the upheaval.

The upcoming 2010 Tiger year has the element Metal associated with it which is why some call it the year of the Golden Tiger, from the perspective of gold money, while others call it the year of the White Tiger. The White Tiger is connected to the symbol of jinx in China, so some Chinese believe the year will not be good.

The metal element is not a good for Tiger, which prefers wood, fire and earth elements, so the prediction is that Tiger and metal will be in conflict and restrict the Tiger from freedom, causing it to be a challenging year for those born in the year of the Tiger. India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), and South Korea consider the Tiger their national symbol, so 2010 may bring big changes to those countries in particular.

The animal associated with the Chinese year a person is born supposedly predicts how the year will be for each individual based partially on the relationship of their birth sign animal with the year’s animal. The Snake and Monkey have difficult relationships with Tiger, so they may have a challenging year. Tiger’s friends, Horse and Dragon, may find the year to be invigorating and successful. The year of the Tiger is associated with the earthly branch symbol, a system built to track time using observations of Jupiter, which some predict bodes well for real estate.