Book excerpt: People may be familiar with the celebrations around Chinese New Year (usually towards the end of January or beginning of February) and how the year is devoted to a particular animal. As with the more commonly known form of astrology, there are 12 signs (such as the ox, the rabbit, the dragon and the tiger), but these signs are also combined with a 60-year calendar and the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth to form a fascinating and unique system that gives insight into people's characters and considers how they will be affected during different years of the calendar's cycle. Drawing on the principles of yin and yang and the Chinese philosophical theory of the three harmonies, this fascinating work is a wonderful introduction to the subject.