A Western Flag for the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rabbit

The Year of the Rabbit is the most feminine sign of the Eastern Zodiac.  Simple black and white are the elements of its flag.  Black is the background and the Western Symbol illustrated in white.  The Western symbol is loosely based upon the official Chinese Character.
















Also note that some people see this 'animal' of the Zodiac as the Year of the Cat instead of the Year of the Rabbit, most notably in Vietnam.  Which is right?  Well it's a Yin and Yang thing, so it can be both.  The essence of a cat is like a rabbit with a dash of Yang energy.  Besides, Vietnam and China are already flag partners in the early colonial yellow national flags as well as Communist Red flag forms.  Coincidentally they both look like animals that come from eggs - China looks like a chicken while Vietnam looks like snake. The cat is an evolved level up of the rabbit.  Both are associated with the moon, thusly every Oriental Zodiac should thus get an alternate form or 'Pokemon' like level up.  Another animal in the Eastern Zodiac with a binary point of the view is the Year of the Pig.  

But the next step in the Eastern Cycle belongs to the scaly Draco.
 

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Photo Credit: http://www.pawnation.com/2012/01/30/monday-squee-jumping-rabbit/

A Western Flag for the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Tiger

What do you see? A tiger paw? Maybe the stripes of a big cat? The Western Symbol for the Year of the Tiger features two zig-zags with a curly tail.  The flag features an orange background.  The next year of the Tiger will be pouncing upon us in 2022.

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Photo Credit: http://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes

A Western Flag for the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Ox

  The Year of the Ox comes one every twelve years, just like all the other signs of the Eastern Zodiac.  It is the one sign that has a perfect match with the Western Zodiac under the month of Taurus.  Likewise the attributes of these signs are similar. The flag for the Year of the Ox uses a brownish background and has a western symbol for the animal. 

 

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Photo Credit: http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/longhorn/canvas+prints

A Western Flag for the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Rat

 
The Eastern Zodiac begins with the Year of the Rat or in this case the Year of the Rodent.  The Western Symbol for the Year of the Rat is essentially a Roman Number Three on its side, however the symbol is directly based upon the Chinese upper radical but has the 'hands touching.'

The magical form of the Rat is the Squirrel.
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Photo Credit: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-squirrel.html

Land of the Setting Sun - Ireland

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2013,

Most people may be recallin' that wee Japan is the land of the Rising Sun?  Part of the reason being that the business of each new day of the Old World begins with this most ancient of island nations.

First ya'been needin' to think of the Old World as being one giant super island or perhaps...a grand ol' Super Continent?   Now don't be forgettin' that at one time all of the Asia, Africa, and Europe were are all connected by land.  Essentially as a sun should rise and fall over an island each day so to does it rise and set over the grand interconnected island like land mass of the Old World.

But if there is a Land of the Rising Sun shouldn't their be Land of the Setting Sun?  Thinks about it for a wee moment....What nation fits into this balanced paradigm?  Perhaps England ye'be thinking? Nay England already has or had th' title of that sun which never sat still on her empire or somethin' of that sort.  Rather Erin fits the bill perfectly.  Ireland like Japan hath no land claim on the continent proper.  Both are positioned at the far ends of the landmass and finally both by all accident have flags with suns on it.

Thus as the Old World gets ready to set their minds on to the dreamin' world, tis' Ireland that gets thee last word on what it was and ta' say goodnight to the day that was for the Old World.

A Western Flag for the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Pig

The Year of the Pig is the final sign of Chinese Astrology, before the cycle repeats it self.  In the West and America the Greco-Roman Zodiac plays a dominant role in newspapers and enthusiasts of things groovy and cosmic, but in the East another Zodiac from China fills the same void.  Like the traditional Western Zodiac the Eastern Zodiac is divided into twelve teams that repeat themselves every twelve years instead of every twelve months.  

The East has already made up symbols to represent Leo, Gemini, Virgo, Cancer, etc...so it's only natural that Western Symbols come to be to represent those signs from the East. In this case a stylized letter 'P' represents the Year of the Pig.  The important part is the curly tip at the bottom that represents a pig tail.  Likewise the colour for the Year of the Pigs background is pink.

The Year of the Pig is six years a way from now, so we will have to wait until 2019 to see how things shape up.  Next up is the natural starting point for the Eastern Zodiac on one of the resourceful, clever, intelligent and maligned inhabitants of the Earth - the rat.  

Just as the year in between the Dragon and Tiger has two forms as the Year of the Cat or Rabbit, so to does the Year of the Pig.  In following the level up rule, the 'magical power up' form for the Pig is the Elephant.  In parts of Thailand they call this they year of the Elephant instead of the Year of the Pig.  

A Western Flag for the Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Dog

The year of the dog is five years away from now, which will be in the year 2018.  The world will be so different yet so similar. The flag for the Year of the dog has a blue background with the Western Symbol for the dog.