Sexagenary cycle

Have you ever heard about a special calendar that tells you what year you were born in and predicts what will happen to you in the future? It's called the sexagenary cycle - a fancy name for a system that uses 60 different combinations of two numbers to represent different years and events.

Let's imagine you are a baby born today. According to the sexagenary cycle, your birth would fall into a certain combination of two numbers: one from a series of ten called the Heavenly Stems (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10), and the other from another series of twelve known as the Earthly Branches (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig).

So, your birth year would have a specific name, such as "Ji Hai" (Earthly Branches name of Pig and Heavenly Stems name of Ji) in the sexagenary cycle. Then, after 60 years, the same combination repeats itself, so you can expect a "Ji Hai" year to come again.

But what's really cool about the sexagenary cycle is that each combination is thought to have a unique personality and destiny. For instance, if you are born in a "Ji Hai" year, it's believed that you might be a kind and honest person who loves music and literature but also faces many challenges and changes in life.

But don't worry, the sexagenary cycle is not only about predicting your fate. It's also used in many important areas of Chinese culture, such as agriculture, medicine, and fortune-telling. So, next time you hear about the sexagenary cycle, you'll know it's a calendar with 60 combinations of numbers and names that tell a story about your future and your place in the world.