Legend says that Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from Earth. Only twelve of the animals came to bid him farewell, so Buddha honored them each with a year. The order of the Chinese signs was taken from the sequence that they appeared to him; first the Rat, then the Ox, the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. .

Chinese astrologers divide people into 12 basic personality types, which are represented by animals. The animal ruling the year in which you were born exercises a profound influence on your life.