THE METAL RABBIT YEAR 2011
(February 3, 2011 - January 22, 2012)
In Rabbit years, life slows down. After the tumultuous and difficult Tiger year we lived through (or didn't) in 2010, we all need to decelerate. Nature must have planned it. Give people a horrible Tiger year, full of war and pestilence, struggle, strife and illness. Then tender them a whole year to recover.
So let's think of the Metal Rabbit Year as a 12 month long convalescent home for us troubled soldiers and hopeless cases. A recovery sanatorium for the unemployed and the over extended. Enter this Rabbit year on crutches and you will be comforted and cajoled, fed and clothed and perhaps even given a smashing new job.
Rabbits, you may remember, are sometimes called Cats. It depends on the culture. Vietnamese and some other small Asian countries use the Cat symbol. China uses Rabbit. Whichever name you give to this peculiarly refined and prosperous sign, people born in Rabbit years are : discreet, virtuous, sociable, tactful, sensitive, companionable, solicitous, ambitious, prudent, tradition-bound and hospitable.
The bad news is that Rabbit people are also quite old-fashioned, a bit pedantic, thin-skinned, devious, aloof, secretive, squeamish and ever so hypochondriacal.
The Rabbit character is an odd mix. Rabbits are cautious, family-oriented stay-at-homes. They love their interiors, adore puttering in their gardens and enjoy inviting small groups of well-brought up people to share tea, cucumber sandwiches and Scrabble. They despise conflict, prefer to do things in their own private space and remain above and outside of the madding crowd. You won't catch many Rabbits boogying down at the local after hours club. Too many germs and noise.
So what does this Metal Rabbit year have in store for us Earthlings? Quite simply put, 2011 will give us a year devoted to calm. The emphasis will be on matters related to family, higher education and improvement of the world picture and the environment. Everything to do with culture with a capital C will be favored. Artists will produce masterful works and receive much public acclaim. Everything to do with peace and negotiation will get front page attention.
Sound deadly? Well, for those among you who are hell bent on living life as though it were a three ring circus, this peace-loving Rabbit year might well bore you to extinction. If you don't make plans now to busy yourself with fascinating activities, you will do more than your share of thumb twiddling in the months ahead. Unlike Tigers and Dragons, Rabbits do not supply us with dazzling entertainment. Oh yes. They might encourage an evening of chamber music or invite an aging mezzo soprano to sing at your graduation. But they are not going to hire a DJ or allow dancing on the terrazzo floor in the foyer of their mansion. No way.
Because of the retiring nature of the Rabbit, the year will spawn an unusual amount of societal efforts at maintaining diplomatic relations, avoiding conflict and ending wars. We will see many international meetings and conferences, conventions and summits - all scheduled to sort out thorny issues which beleaguer nations, cause uprisings and encourage dissension. In the Rabbit year, nobody wants trouble. The trouble-filled Tiger year was quite turbulent enough, thank you very much.
In sum, the Rabbit encourages saving (conserving money, resources and goods) , sound investments (lower interest, longer term and more certain to yield) , beautification projects (property and personal - even plastic surgery) , enduring love (marriage, babies, acquisition of property, pets and friendships) and learning (courses in myriad and sundry subjects) Choose to involve yourself in any of the above and your year will go swimmingly. Should you choose otherwise and wax aggressive, antagonistic or pushy, you will be swimming upstream all the way.(By Suzanne White)
