Why Your Annual Chinese Zodiac Predictions Are Inaccurate

If you read the free annual luck predictions based on your animal sign, then you should read this.

If you read the free daily, weekly, monthly, or annual horoscope luck predictions, then you should read this too.

If you think that those predictions are true, then you should DEFINITELY read this. If you find those predictions inaccurate, this article will tell you why.

Just to be clear – I’m referring to the FREE forecasts that’s available to the masses. I’m NOT talking about the annual forecasts you get from a paid professional who uses your birthday and time of birth.

Every time around Chinese New Year, I have readers making references about their “Feng Shui luck” forecast for the upcoming year based on their animal sign. Sometimes I also hear my friends talking about the year being good for certain animal signs, while bad for other animal signs. 

First, let me make the distinction – luck forecasts based on your animal sign, or Chinese astrology, is NOT part of Feng Shui (see also: Top Feng Shui Misconceptions). Chinese astrology, or astrology in general, is about Heaven Luck. Feng Shui is about Earth Luck. Then there’s Human Luck, which are your decisions and actions.

Although Feng Shui can complement, amplify, and transcend your Heaven Luck, they are two completely different subjects.

Second, let me make this clear – these free predictions that’s available to the masses are overly generalized. They can be inaccurate and misleading.

I feel that these free predictions have given astrology a bad reputation. People brush off astrology as nonsense because these free predictions are all that they are exposed to. In this article, I hope to give it some justice.

Here, you will see why these predictions are inaccurate, without going into the technical details of astrology. But if you still like reading them because you’re curious (like me), I will suggest the mindset you should have when you read about these free predictions. I don’t want you to be misled.

“But Wait… I think Free Astrology Predictions are Quite Accurate!”

Every time during Chinese New Year, an annual prediction is published for the 12 animal signs. What is your reaction when you read them? What about the horoscopes based on your birth month – do you read them too? What do you think of them?

Some people feel that horoscopes really apply to them. They are firm believers, and you’d constantly hear them making references to either their horoscope or their animal sign when certain things happen to them. (I think most of us have that one friend who does just that.)

This is called Confirmation Bias. In short, it is:

“Confirmation bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses… People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way.” – Source: Wikipedia

I’m sure we’ve all encountered someone who behaves this way.

For instance, strong believers of a religion will attribute all good things that are happening in their life as a reward or assistance from their deity (or bad as punishment). Strong believers of prophecy and omens will attribute some bad events to the black cat they saw that crossed the street, or to the fact that they woke up at the other end of the bed.

If you’re in this camp, I suggest you start afresh and take a critical look at these free astrology predictions.

These predictions are mostly written vaguely and non-specific. That’s why it’s easy for us to get into confirmation bias and mentally connect the good events happening around us to the astrology predictions. It’s even easier to get into this mental state when we feel warm and relieved because we read good predictions for ourselves.

In a sense, it’s like reading fortune cookies. If you think hard enough, you WILL think of something that conforms with what the fortune cookie has to say.

Having the Same Luck as All Others Just Doesn’t Make Sense

Whether you read the constellation horoscope column or the animal sign predictions, do you really think that the same type of luck applies to everyone born within that month or year? Does that really make sense to you?

Because of this, I feel that both Chinese and Western astrology has become some sort of “parlor trick” and lack the respect it deserves.

These predictions lump all sorts of people together and make broad generalizations about them. It’s similar to saying that people born in North America all share the same luck, disregarding their environment (East/West coast), their family background, and all the other factors that shape us.

Both Chinese and Western astrology has precise mathematical calculations to generate your astrology chart. Your chart can unveil what your innate talents are, your luck phases, and the ups and downs of your life. That information can give you clarity and peace, and it can help you make better decisions about your life’s journey so you can transcend your destiny.

But to get that information, you’ll need more than just your year or month of birth.

An Accurate Astrology Reading Needs More than Just Your Birth Year (or Birth Month)

This the main reason why the free forecasts you read are inaccurate. What is needed is your date of birth AND time of birth.

You cannot use your birth year alone. You cannot use your birth month alone. Some even use the birth day (but without the birth year). But again, just using that still lacks the proper information because other variables are not considered.

I can sometimes relate astrology as people profiling. Do you think you’ll have an accurate profile just by knowing a person’s gender? Or just the age group? How about just using country of residence?

But once you combine all the information together, a more accurate profile of the person starts to take shape. You’ll have a better guess of who this person is when I tell you that she is female, age 21, and lives in USA, as opposed to just telling you that is she is female.

That is also how astrology works. If you have the complete birth profile (date of birth and time), you’ll have a SIGNIFICANTLY more accurate picture of the person and how her life’s journey will look like. That’s what free predictions lack.

A Brief Intro About Bazi Chinese Astrology

“Bazi”, in Chinese, stands for “Eight Characters” and has been around for more than a century. It is also called the Four Pillars of Destiny, with each pillar deriving from (1) birth year, (2) birth month, (3) birth day, and (4) birth time.

I’m sure you can imagine – if you’re only using your birth year, like your animal sign, 3/4 of the chart will be missing. How much can Bazi astrology say about you with that amount of missing information?

Just so you know, there are more than 1 million different Bazi combinations. Here’s the math: 60 (Year) x 12 (Month) x 60 (Day) x 12 (Time) = 518,400. Then, multiply that by 2 for gender, and you’ll come up with 1,036,800. (Note: some say that the time has 13 variations because of the 12am cut-off. In that case, the total possible combination is 1,123,200.)

Why are there 60 years? That’s because there is an Element associated with that year. The same concept goes with days.

So even if you know your animal sign, do you know the element (Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, or Wood) that goes with your animal sign in the year that you were born? So essentially, solely using your animal sign is just 1/8 of the information!

With 7/8 (87.5%) of the information missing, do you now see how free astrological predictions are incomplete and could be completely inaccurate?

When we do Bazi astrology reading service, most practitioners will refrain from providing service if the birth time is not provided. That’s because 1/4 of the chart is still missing, and the reading results can change, sometimes drastically, when the birth time is added to the chart.

Related: How to Read a Bazi Astrology Chart

What can Bazi Chinese Astrology Tell You?

After your full chart is generated, the focus of Bazi revolves around the Yin-Yang theory and the Five Elements (Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, or Wood), and how they interact with each other.

With your chart and it’s eight characters, each with its Yin-Yang and Five Elements, we can uncover many things about you, including whether the year would be a good year for you or not.

For instance, 2018, the year of the Dog (戌), is Yang Earth. Some people will benefit and some not, even for those born in the same year. The whole chart needs to be assessed in order to find out.

In addition, a Bazi reading can tell you your suitable career path, your suitable partner, your ability to make money, as well as potential health issues. It can also tell you the ups and downs of your life in 10-year luck phases, to just mention a few.

Related: What is Bazi Astrology and Why Does It Work?

What About Those with Same Exact Birthday and Time?

With about 353,000 babies born everyday, two or more people in the world can easily share the same Bazi chart.

Another person being born in another part of the world at the same time would share the same ups and downs in life. However, whether they can maximize and leverage their chart and luck phases is another matter.

For instance, those born in more well-off families usually have more opportunities to grow and use their environment to their benefit. However, they can choose to do nothing and waste away their innate talents and luck phases.

Essentially, the results you get from a Bazi astrology reading can be tremendous. But keep in mind that you are in control of your destiny. What really matters is what you do with the information uncovered by your astrological reading.

Do NOT be Misled. Treat Free Astrology Predictions as Entertainment.

By now, you should have a basic idea why I think free astrological readings are inaccurate. Simply put, astrology needs your date of birth AND time of birth to be meaningful.

The next time when you read free astrology predictions, simply treat them as entertainment (and don’t get suckered into buy charms to “improve your luck”). I do not want you to get overly excited when you read something good and be misled into making really bad decisions.

Conclusion

If you find the free astrology predictions to be accurate, I hope you don’t get misled into making bad decisions. If you find them to be inaccurate, I hope you give astrology another chance, but through a proper astrology reading.

The reality is that if you have important questions about your life’s journey, you can get your answers through astrology. The goal here is helping you achieve a level of self-awareness so you can make better decisions about your life and maximize your potential.

Did you ever get an astrology reading? If not, here’s where you can find an professional Bazi Astrologer to get started. If yes, what was your experience? Comment below and share your experience with us!