Dragon 2012

Who is a Dragon?

Years: 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000.
Month*: April
Hour: 07.00 am – 09.00
* Caution: the start of the Chinese month can be as early as the 4th & as late as the 9th, depending on the year. I can let you know this too.

What is a Dragon?
The Dragon is yang earth, the most egotistical of the branches as well as being generally considered the most powerful. Putting aside conventional rules of animal compatibility, everyone is either fascinated by the Dragon or suspicious. Many are both.
Though charming and affable, like the Pig, the Horse and the Rooster, the Dragon suffers the self clash which makes him unsuited to working with his equals. Dragons often live alone and enjoy their own company. Sometimes they claim to even when they don’t. Often what he experiences as joy is a subtle experience that others find puzzling. The Horse for instance who likes to dance on tables, sometimes thinks the Dragon is a high maintenance prima donna. Even the Dragon’s ally the Monkey, contrasts his own goonish delights with the impassive Dragon and can make no sense of it.
And yet the Dragon delivers. Sometimes awkward and gauche, the Dragon can appear incompetent and yet still win. The steadfast Dog whose workings always lead to a logical answer detests this about the Dragon and may sabotage him. Put simply the Dog thinks the Dragon goes on a bit. The Ox and the Sheep share something of this attitude but are more passive about it.
The Chinese ideogram for thunder is a Dragon under a raincloud. Remember that all over the world rainclouds speak of plenty. Drenched is good if you’re looking for growth. The Dragon month is April, the time of sudden change. The character of the Dragon is like the awkward times before a storm breaks.
The Dragon does not naturally co-operate or easily share confidences. He will however grudgingly work with those he considers his inferiors as long as they are very clear about the pecking order. This is the central weakness of the unbalanced Dragon. King Lear was a Dragon where Othello may have been a Tiger and Hamlet probably a Snake.
The Dragon’s traditional partners are the hands-on Monkey and the plotting Rat. These three may not mix socially however. They need a task to cooperate upon, otherwise they find it hard to connect. Socially the Dragon will seek out the Rooster and the Horse both of whom can act as pr or spokesperson. Alone or teamed-up, the Dragon is just as creative as he feels like being. He can instantly magic up wealth and as rapidly squander it. Neither Horse nor Rooster are much help in this regard although a benevolent Rat and a diligent Monkey would be.
The Dragon and the Snake form the House of Magic. The Dragon is the Sorceror, the Snake his apprentice. So Merlin was a Dragon and his story illustrates the other central weakness of the Dragon: that he can be beguiled by the glamour of the Rooster. This coupling takes the Dragon off track. In a Rooster year the Dragon may forget all his carefully laid plans and go off-piste. In a Rabbit year he may have to defend himself but either is preferable to the Tiger year which will have found him settling into quicksand.
Note to Employers: A Dragon employee is the best there is if the task suits him. It had better suit him because he will do precisely what he feels like either way.

The Dragon: Outlook for 2012

The central piece of advice for Dragons like George Papandreou in 2012 is to seek alternative employment. In their own year Dragons suffer what is called the “self clash” this means that Dragons (like Horses, Roosters and Pigs but for different reasons) don’t play nicely among themselves. By extension a Dragon year is not unreservedly great for a Dragon.

The Dragon’s demon is ego. The hook you are likely to get stuck on is pride. In your own year, it is as if the air itself is filled with rivals. This weakness is a function of the Dragon’s strength. No Animal is more powerful, more creative or more capable of transformation. But there is nothing more determinedly pathetic than a Dragon stuck on a point of pride. Best to play fair with the Dragon because he may think you didn’t, even when you did.

So this year, Dragons, be flexible. Take advice. Assume your peers have human but essentially benevolent motives. Some will want to put you down, steal your job, or steal your wife but to assume that of all of them will tend to debilitate. Nonetheless 2012 is likely to be a contentious year. Stick to your guns when you honestly ought and back down otherwise. I know you don’t need me to tell you that.

However to mark someone’s card and still love them is among the hardest tasks presented to us: hard to love someone and see their faults, sometimes even harder to despise and remain evenhanded. And the powerful, magical, multitalented Dragon has one central weakness: once he has faced you down, he drops his guard. And he remains -often secretly – pathetically grateful for the friendship of anyone around whom he may keep it down. That’s why at the heart of every feud or vendetta you’ll find a Dragon. He opened up and you abused him; that’s his view. Never again.

Disputatious Dragons include neo-con historian Niall Ferguson, maverick film maker Terry Gilliam and of course idealist/troublemaker/genius John Lennon. Each of these appears to have believed themselves affable and reasonable but possessed of a vision that would not be compromised. And each might have achieved more or for longer had they compromised. Or would they? You get the picture. This is interesting company to keep..

None of the above is a forecast of your reaction. We are all a great deal more than our horoscopes. We can choose. Knowing these probabilities about the year of the Water Dragon doesn’t commit you to any pattern of behaviour. Think of yourself as forewarned and therefore forearmed. You don’t have to fall into the simple but beguiling pitfall of ego. And it’s about time you reviewed whether you are actually getting anywhere. If not, change now. If you are, be ready and waiting for novelty or a new way of doing what you do. This applies as much in the areas of relationship, family and indeed health as it does to career.

It is an ancient Chinese adage that the only constant is change. My advice is to tattoo that truth somewhere prominent.