When a Tiger Meets a Leo: Comparing Eastern and Western Astrology

Tropical vs. Chinese Astrology

Can a Tiger be a Crab or a Bull? If so, is it also possible for a Scorpion to be a Monkey or a Rabbit? It’s all absolutely possible when you compare someone’s Eastern astrology sign with their Western one.

Western astrology, as you might read online or in a newspaper, has many differences from Eastern or Chinese astrology—but there are also many similarities. Knowing a little about one or the other can be informative, but knowing even a little about both and how they match up can be truly insightful.

Twelve Signs—Twelve Months—Twelve Years

Eastern, or Chinese astrology has twelve symbols on their zodiac wheel, as does western astrology. Eastern astrology’s symbols are all animals, while Western astrology is a mix of representations. Chinese astrology follows the lunar calendar and runs in twelve-year cycles; Western astrology follows the solar calendar year and runs in twelve-month cycles. In Chinese astrology, there are 144 possible personality types.

Elements—Four vs. Five

While both systems possess elements in their makeup, the way they are used in reading someone’s chart are slightly different. The five Chinese elements—water, wood, fire, earth and metal—are assigned to each of the twelve zodiac symbols, meaning that you could be a wood Tiger or a Metal Tiger, and so on. Western astrology, however, has just four elements—water, fire, air and earth—and those elements govern only three signs each. In Western astrology, a love relationship with someone of your same element is likely to be a good love match. For example, Scorpio and Pisces, both water signs and they are both very compatible, and two Librans together are another good match, always seemingly balancing each other out.

Western Qualities—Three Groups of Four

In Western astrology, we group signs into qualities. People born of the same quality have similar modes to approaching life. The three qualities are Cardinal (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn), Fixed (Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Taurus) and Mutable (Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini and Virgo).

Eastern Trines—Four Groups of Three

Chinese astrology groups their signs similarly to our qualities, but they act more like the Western elements do, and they are set off in four groups of three signs. These signs are often a chief indicator of who would make a good lifetime mate. The Rat, Dragon and Monkey form one group; the Ox, Snake and Rooster are another group; the Horse, Tiger and the Dog form yet another group; and the Rabbit, Goat and Pig, yet another.

To sum it all up, if you’re searching for love using Western astrology, first look to the elements, and if your search leads you to Chinese astrology, the Trines are a good place to start. In matters of friendship, look to the qualities for the people that you click with.

If you want to look deeply into your own makeup or the makeup of a relationship, mixing and matching the guidance of both East and West makes great sense. A trained astrologer with knowledge of both disciplines would be able to give you the full picture and supply you with the answers you seek in matters of love, money and even help you find the occupation that you would be best suited for.

Although their approaches are slightly different, both the east and west roads lead to a common place. You have your own ideas and views about you and your relationships, adding these two additional dimensions will give you a panoramic view of your life’s path and where it can take you.