2012: Year of the Water Dragon
In the Chinese sexagenary calendar, 2012 is 壬辰 — Yang Water over the Dragon branch.
The Heavenly Stem: 壬 (Water)
Yang Water is the ocean or the flood — expansive, adventurous, and restless with momentum that's hard to contain.
The Earthly Branch: 辰 — Year of the Dragon
The Dragon is ambitious and dynamic — a commanding presence that tends to set the pace for whatever it's part of.
What 2012 holds in the sky
Computed from the same ephemeris as the charts: every date below is a position, not a prediction, and can be checked against any astronomical almanac.
Eclipses
- May 20Solar eclipse
- June 4Lunar eclipse
- November 13Solar eclipse
Retrogrades
- January 24 – April 14Mars retrograde
- March 12 – April 4Mercury retrograde
- May 15 – June 27Venus retrograde
- July 15 – August 8Mercury retrograde
- November 6 – November 26Mercury retrograde
Slow planets changing sign
- February 3Neptune enters Pisces
- June 11Jupiter enters Gemini
- October 5Saturn enters Scorpio
This is the story every Dragon year shares
The stem and branch of 2012 describe the year itself, so they read the same for everyone born into it and everyone living through it. That is the group-level half. Your own chart also weighs your exact birth date, time, and location, which is what turns this into something specific to you.
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