Ruffled Feathers: Year of the Rooster

The crowing rooster announces the dawn of a new day.  The year is 4714, on the Chinese calendar. The year of the Red Fire Rooster.  There will be strutting, ruffled feathers and cock fights on this animal farm we call planet Earth.

Imagine a barnyard rooster, strutting proudly past his hens, his brilliant coloured feathers gleaming in the sunlight, crowing to all, that he is the greatest rooster - 2017 is his year!  In Chinese astrology, those born under the sign of the Rooster are people of action.  They're hard working, industrious, take initiative, are honest, loyal, sociable, and take great care of their appearance.  Rooster people are also known for bravery, and being terrific social organizers.  

They can also be pompous, egocentric braggarts, who love being the centre of attention. They can ruffle feathers by being hurtfully blunt.  They are also prone to acting on impulse, without thinking. When things go wrong, Rooster people are most likely to finger point, fault find and condemn.

The Red Fire Rooster has two elements:  Yin fire sitting on top of metal.  This is a combination that Chinese astrologers say will create tensions, explosions, and wars.  Unlike the Yang fire energy, Yin fire energy is unstable, and flickering.  A spark can start a major fire.  Astrologers point to the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, on a Yin Fire day of a Rooster year, and, to the tragedy of 911, on a Yin Fire day and Yin Fire Rooster month.

Just a note here:  the Chinese government is cracking down on fireworks this New Year, officially saying that it is because of severe air pollution, and the smoke from firecrackers and other fireworks adds to the pollution.  In past years, the fireworks have set off fires.

There is some good news for the Fire Rooster year:  it's a predicted to be a great year for restaurants, and anyone involved in cooking! So get out that family hot sauce recipe, and launch your business! Expect technological advancements this year.  It is also a great year for those in the beauty and fashion industry - the Rooster Year is all about preening, and looking good!

This is a year when the chickens come home to roost, a time when everyone gets what they deserve. Success will be the result of previous years' hard work and patience, not luck. 

While this is not a new era, it is a time when new ideas are coming into being.  The word, "computer" first appeared in 1897, which was a Red Fire Rooster year.  

While there may be a lot of doom and gloom in this year's predictions, don't be such a chicken!  This is your rooster wake up call!  Be confident (like the Rooster), motivated (like the Rooster), brave (like the Rooster), honest (like the Rooster), trustworthy and loyal (like the Rooster), and sociable (like the Rooster).  Work hard and be patient, and success will come your way. 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated

That's an old (though not yet vintage) wooden rooster posing with a bouquet of flaming orange-red parrot tulips and yellow spider chrysanthemums.