Love and Marriage in the Year of the Dog?
Will it be a Great Dane or a miniature poodle? a pure bred or a mongrel?
Lots of Chinese New Year stuff going on in Vancouver now, a radio media producer called me yesterday and bounced some ideas about people wanting to get married in the Year of the Dog... because it is supposedly a good year for marriage.
I told them that the Year of the Dragon is the best year for getting married, but are people going to wait for another 6 years? I got married in the year of the Sheep, supposedly great for domestic issue - but it only lasted for two years... but the relationship had actually started in the year of the Rat. Did it make a difference?
When did the relationship really start? That should be the year of the releationship - not the marriage ceremony. Most people are more concerned with whether they can get the Chinese restaurant for their wedding banquet - which ultimately determines the date of the marriage.
But is the Year of the Dog compatible to the individuals in the wedding? The dog year is the polar opposite to the Year of the Dragon... bringing out the best and the worst for a Dragon person, akin to an anathema. Dog years should be especially productive and good for people born in the years of the Dog, Tiger and Horse, according to trine theory... forming a equilateral triangle on the zodiac wheel.
I was born in the Year of the Rat, and for awhile I emphasized meeting women born in the Year of the Dragon, a very compatable sign for Rats. But although we were friends, the relationships never took off... and the Year of the Dragon passed into the sunset. Somehow my most significant relationships have been with women born in the Year of the Rooster, Rabbit and Tiger - not the Dragons or Monkeys predicted in the compatibility tables of Chinese astrology books.
Also an interesting twist would be the Hour of the marriage. Do people get married in the Hour of the Dragon, or the Hour of the Dog? This would be like the rising sign or ascendant in Western astrology - the sign coming up over the horizon the moment you were born. This is the personality that you project to the world. I have learned a lot about astrology from my friend and master astrologer John Rutherford, which I feature on my website here under Check Your Chart.
So... was the relationship born at the time of the wedding or when the couple first met?
John Rutherford tells me that astrology is all about relationships. The moment of baby's first breath is the relationship with breathing and symbolicly linked to life itself. In western astrology there are relationships between your rising sign and your sun sign, now relate this to the rising and sun signs or your intended, than layer it upon the planetary coordinates of possible wedding days. Definitely a complex system, and not to be left to stereotypes of happy loyal doggies.
Getting married in the "year of the Dog" and in the "hour of the Dragon," is more like window dressing on the relationship. It is important for any relationship to be on good foundations. Wedding ceremonies, to me, is like "Grand Theatre" - there is a script, there are the lead actors, theme music, a universal plot. But then much in Chinese culture is symbolic, and about appearances and creating good intentions - such as long life noodles, and good luck coin beef.
And of course there are "bragging rights".... "We got married in the Year of the Fire Dog, in the Hour of the Dragon..." This is very important for Chinese grandmothers. Although I think that my English speaking 95 year old "Poh-Poh", born in Victoria BC and raised in Vancouver, is more concerned that the couple be happy. But then, influencing happiness is what planning a wedding according to astrology is all about.
The story links below show that 2006 will be the year of the Fire Dog. But will this be like the year of the Fire Horse (1966), where many Chinese people did not want marriage or children, because they would be deemed too spirited?
London Free Press - City & Region - Marriage flourishes in year of dog
lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/
Chinastic | The Year of the Dog Sees Marriage Rush
en.chinabroadcast.cn/974/2006/01/25/271@45779.htm
Year of Dog holds plenty of promise
www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/neighbours/
The year of the dog- chinese horoscope - 2006
www.algonet.se/~anki-p/year-of-the-dog-2006.html - 65k - 31 Jan 2006
Chinese Horoscopes - The Dog
www.usbridalguide.com/special/chinesehoroscopes/dog.htm - 26k
english.people.com.cn/200601/25/eng20060125_238135.html - 23k -
