New Moon In Aquarius and Chinese New Year's Fire Monkey

We have a new moon coming up this Monday at 2:39 PM UTC and will be falling under the innovative and eccentric zodiac sign of Aquarius.

This new moon under Aquarius creates a very magical and creative time for all of us. Aquarius rules progress, and breakthroughs. This sign influences us to be creative, liberate and experiment. Being under the influence of this sign influences us to be drawn to others, to socialize, work in groups, brainstorm ideas, talk about projects and share ideas. This sign also is calling us to be ourselves, and embrace our uniqueness.

Full moon influence the earth's oceans and tides. Everyone is made of water so a full moon will have a great impact on all of us, especially if any of your astrological houses are Aquarius.

This new moon is a great time to do the following:

Release and let go of any negative thoughts\influences
connect with likeminded people
listen to your intuition
meditate and pray
do yoga or any focused moving art
free yourself from monotony
Be grateful for everything that you have in your life, don't focus on the negative
Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts
Healing, let go of anything that makes you feel ill
Do all things with love
Join a group, organization, or club
Socialize with others
brainstorm new ideas
Let your creativity roam

Along with a new moon, will be the beginning of Chinese New Year's, according to the lunar calendar, and this will last until January 27, 2017. Chinese New Year's is also known as the Lunar New Year, and Spring Festival In China and is China’s most important traditional festival. It is also the most important celebration for families, and a week of official public holiday.

Every Chinese New Year's is characterized by one of the 12 animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is separated into 12 blocks (or houses) and that each house (or block) has a time-length of one year. This year 2016 it's the Year of the Monkey, the ninth animal in the Chinese zodiac. The next Year of the Monkey will be in 2028. Monkeys are playful, funny, energetic, and, confident. But they can also be conniving, restless and arrogant.

As well as this year being the year of the monkey, according to the lunar calendar, this year will be the year of fire and metal. So the mixture of the monkey and fire element will lead on to many changes of all aspects of life. it is also said to "expect the unexpected" for each different sign that you may be falling under the Chinese zodiac.

It is also said to be one of the most unluckiest years in the Chinese calendar, especially for those born under the year of the zodiac monkey. But is said that they may have good luck in wealth this year as well.

People born under the year of the monkey are known to be clever, energetic, wealthy, mischievous, honest, gentle, business minded, but also short tempered, and judgmental on others at times. Those born under the monkey are born under the years: 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004 must be careful and stay low.

People celebrate Chinese new years to celebrate a year of hard work, relax with their families, and rest. They do many traditions to celebrate and to wish for a lucky and prosperous upcoming year. Some of the traditions are to have family reunion dinners with the following:

fish (represents good luck)

Spring rolls (because they look similar to gold bars)

plums (for a more clear mind). celery (for wisdom)

tangerines (they represent success)

lettuce (for gratitude of being alive)

sweets (for a sweet year)

long noodles (they represent longevity)

steamed rice cakes (for improvement)

dumplings (because they resemble old Chinese currency)

Other traditions are to set off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits, wear new clothes particularly vibrant or bright colors (red especially because it symbolizes prosperity.) decorations, give out red envelopes filled with coins, and watch a lion or dragon dance and pray for the year ahead.

It is not a good time to do any of the following:

Wear white or black because they are the traditional colors of mourning

Eat porridge on new year's morning because it represents a poor man's meal

Give, buy, or do anything in the numbers of four. The word for four has the misfortune of sounding like the word for death

Buy new shoes until after day 15 of the Chinese new year so as to avoid rough seas in the year ahead. Also shoe, or "hai", sounds like "rough"

Give sharp objects, that cut such as knifes or scissors as presents. Also other non gifting ideas include, shoes, black or white objects, mirrors, umbrellas, and handkerchiefs