Pig (zodiac)

ThePig(豬) or sometimes translated as theBoaris the twelfth of the 12-year cycle ofanimalswhich appear inChinese zodiac, in relation to theChinese calendarand system ofhorology, and paralleling the system of tenHeavenly Stemsand twelveEarthly Branches.  Although the term "zodiac" (etymologically referring to a "[circle of] little animals") is used in the phrase "Chinese zodiac", there is a major difference between the Chinese usage andWestern astrology: the zodiacal animals (including the zodiacalPig) do not relate to the zodiac as the area of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured incelestial latitude) of theecliptic, theapparent pathof theSun, theMoon, and visibleplanetsacross thecelestial sphere'sconstellations, over the course of the year.
InChinese astrology, "zodiacal" animals refer to fixed cycles of twelve animals. The same cycle of twelve is used for cycles of years and cycles of hours. In the case of years, the cycle of twelve corresponds to the twelve-year cycle ofJupiter. In the case of the hours, the twelve hours represent twelve double-hours for each period of night and day. In the continuoussexagenary cycleof sixty years, every twelfth year corresponds tohai,亥(the twelfth of the twelveEarthly Branches); this re-recurring twelfth year is commonly called theYear of the Pig(豬年).
There are five types of Pigs, named after theChinese elements. In order, they are:Metal,Water,Wood,Fire, andEarth. These correspond to theHeavenly Stems. Thus, there are five pig years in every sexagenary cycle. For example, in the year 2019, the Earthly Branch is the twelfth,hài, and the Heavenly Stem is the sixth,jǐ己. TheChinese New Yearin 2019 is February fifth: this corresponds with the beginning of both the sexegenary year ofjǐhàiand also the zodiac year of the Earth Pig.
In theJapanese zodiacand theTibetan zodiac,the Pig is referred to as theboar. In theDai zodiac, the Pig is replaced by theelephant.In theGurung zodiac, the Pig is replaced by thedeer.The Malay zodiac replaces the Pig with thetortoise.
According to themyths, the Pig was the last to arrive when theJade Emperorcalled for the great meeting. Other sources said thatBuddhacalled for a great meeting when he was about to leave theEarth. The Pig arrived last.
Yet anotherlegendhas it that The Emperor organized a race to ascertain the order of the animals in the Zodiac. The pig not having arrived long after all of the other animals, he was about to call it a day when an oink and squeal were heard. The term "lazy pig" comes from this incident; the Pig had become hungry during the race, stopped for a feast, and then promptly fell asleep. The pig finally completed the race, however, and was accordingly named the 12th and last animal of thezodiaccycle.
Other sources say that given his very stout form, he was just too slow a swimmer, and thus he could not do anything against the other animals (or conversely that he was so fast he went up the wrong side of the river first).
Thenaturalelement of the Pig isWater. Thus, it is commonly associated with emotions and intuitions. Yet, given that along with the elements (called theCelestial stem), the animalzodiac(called theEarthly stem) also follows a cycle, each of the elements affect thecharacteristicof the sameEarthly stem(seeSexagenary cycle).
However, the Pig isyin, and thus only the negative aspects of the elements can be attached to them, thus only 5 kinds of Pigs are found in thezodiac. They are the following:
People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Pig", while bearing the following elemental sign:
Similarly to the usage of the traditionalJapanese clock, each day-night period was divided into 12 double-hours, each of which corresponding with one of the twelve signs of theChinese zodiac, with similar symbolic motif and astrological significance. The first of the twelve double hours (the Hour of the Rat) encompasses midnight, at the middle of the double hour, corresponding with 11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., with midnight being the midpoint of the first double-hour. The animals in the hourly sequence are the same and in the same order as in the yearly sequence. The Pig is the last in the sequence, with the Hour of the Pig corresponding to the double-hour 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., also known as the hourhai(亥).
Given that the traditional Chinese day-night cycle was composed of 12 hours, each sign is given to the different signs of thezodiac. The Pig is assigned to govern the time between 21:00 hrs to 22:59 hrs. According totradition, this is the time when the Pig is doing what it does best (sleeping and enjoying the sweet life).
In terms ofastrology, the hours in which people were born (technically termed as theAscendant) are the second most importantfacetof theirastrology. Thus, this alters greatly thecharacteristics. Even if people were born in any year governed by another animal (for example, anyone born on 20 December 2000, i.e. year of theDragon) will display strong characteristics of the Pig. Thus, they may be fierce and strong like theDragon, but at the same time emotional and intuitive like the Pig.
SomeChinese Muslimswill say that they were born in the year of thehai,亥(twelfth and final year of the zodiac) to avoid saying the "Pig".This is because pigs areharam(forbidden to eat) in Islam and therefore Muslims consider pigs unclean.
Increasing numbers of countries and regions now issue lunar new year stamps. For the 2019 Year of the Pig, the USC U.S.-China Institute collected stamps from 56 jurisdictions.