Imagine going to dinner at a Chinese restaurant with some high school friends. Everyone's got a placemat before them with a bunch of animals circling it. It turns out to be the Chinese horoscope. We're all keen to discover what our "sign" is. Needless to say, I was a lot less keen when I learned my sign was The Cock. Chinese restaurants have since gotten a lot smarter and that sign is now labeled as The Rooster because, let's face it, their patrons are totally turned off chicken dishes when their fellow diners give them hell about their sign.

Needless to say, I opted to stick with Sagittarius.

But, that placemat is a pretty simplistic rendition of a complex and fascinating system. I actually have FOUR animals associated with me based on year, month, day and two-hour period of the day. Oh, and when you hear reference to years, those years are also associated with the five elements as well.

Unlike many astrology books, if you note a problem in your forecast, this book offers "cures" for issues that are going to come up at certain times. This is quite useful and interesting.

Shelly Wu has written several other books on the topic of Chinese astrology. In addition, she's appeared on national television and radio programs as well. She explains the system in a manner that is easily comprehendible to the Western mind. At least, to this one.

The book also comes with a handy CD that will help you chart your own Chinese horoscope. Unfortunately, the CD and my Mac are not compatible. That's my only complaint about the book, actually. Otherwise, this is an excellent and informative reference that I plan on keeping on my shelves and using.