The Rat

People born under the sign of the Rat are charming and aggressive. At first sight he seems to be calm, well balanced, and happy. But beware! Underneath this calm exterior there is hidden an aggression linked to constant restlessness. Stay with the Rat for a couple of minutes, and you will soon find evidence of his anxiety, his nervousness, and his temper.

He is a creator of embarrassing situations, a niggler, sometimes neurotic. He is always the one to grumble.

He is fond of camaraderie. He wants to go social every now and then. But because he enjoys gossip and scandal, he usually has more acquaintances than real friends. The fact that he himself never tells anyone has something to do with this too: he is a self contained man and he keeps his problems to himself.

Although the Rat is an opportunist, all his life, he profits from everything around him: from his parents from his friends, from his relatives, from his own money as well as from the others, from his charm… oh that charm! He uses it and abuses it without stopping to think.

Gambler and glutton, he does not know how to – does not wish to --- deny himself anything. Paradoxically, he is always afraid that he may lack the necessities. While living the present day, he dreams of saving to have security when he will grow old! The female Rat, for the same reasons, stocks up her cupboards with non-essential provisions which she proceeds to eat as soon as possible! She’s the one you see at the sales, busy buying things she doesn’t need in the hope of making a good discount!

The Rat, imaginative in the high hope, is sometimes the creator but it is as a critic he excels, and one is well advised to listen to his advice. Carried to excel, this quality can become a defect and there are Rats who go far as to criticize to the point of destruction, just for pleasure.

Sometimes mean, narrow-minded and suburban in outlook, the Rat nevertheless honest. He has the followers through anything he undertakes to the bitter end – even if the undertaking is doomed to failure! He always makes a success of his life as long as he manages to master his perpetual discontent and his insistence on living for the present time.

Whatever he wants to do, the Rat prefers to live but wits rather than by his job. He is making a living by the sweat of other people’s brows than by his own.

At the worst, he becomes parasite, a money lender, or a pawnbroker. A lazy creature with a fondness for the soft life, acts as a kind of cushion for some Rats. This is why they make good businessmen or politicians. At the same time, the Rat is able to follow an artistic course with success. HE is more oriented towards the intellectual than the manual.

As soon as the Rat earns money, he spends it. He denies himself nothing – and if he lends money, he’ll give interest on it!

Profiteer though he is, the Rat is nevertheless sentimental. He can be generous to the person he loves – even though this love is not reciprocated. For it is in affairs of the heart that the Rat fulfills himself. The gambler Rat, the drinker Rat, the hell-raising Rat, the Greedy Rat, is also the sentimental Rat.

From the point of view of romance, the Rat is well advised to link up with someone under the sign of the dragon – someone who will bring to the partnership the Dragon’s strength and equilibrium, but who will benefit from the Rat’s critical faculty.

The Cow, too, makes a good partner for the Rat. With the Cow, the Rat finds sense of security and feels the reassurance he needs.

The Monkey truly casts a spell over the Rat – even if the Rat isn’t prepare to admit it. The Rat will fall hopelessly, madly head-over-heels in love with Miss Monkey, and Miss Monkey will find that great fun!

The one sign the Rat must avoid is that of the Horse. Individualistic and independent, the Horse will not tolerate the Rat’s profiteering attitude.
The Rats may also be wary of those born under the sign of the Rabbit, for same reasons!

The Rat will have a happy childhood and carefree youth. The second part of his life may be stormy and troublesome. He may lose his money in a bad business deal, or his happiness in an unfortunate love affair. The third part of his life will be comfortable, and his old age as peaceful as he could wish.

For the Rat, however, everything varies according to whether he was born in the summer or in the winter of his year. In summer the lofts and granaries are full, but in winter he is obliged to go out and forage for his food, and he must look out for the traps set along the route. In human terms this could mean the risk of prison or an accidental death.

If you were born in one of these periods then you are a Rat
5th February 1924 to 23rd January 1925
24th January 1936 to 10th February 1937
10th February 1948 to 28th January 1949
28th January 1960 to 14th February 1961
15th February 1972 to 2nd February 1973
2nd February 1984 to 19th February 1985
19th February 1996 to 6th February 1997