THE MONKEY

2 February 1908 ~ 21 January 1909 - Earth Monkey
20 February 1920 ~ 7 February 1921 - Metal Monkey
6 February 1932 ~ 25 January 1933 - Water Monkey
25 January 1944 ~ 12 February 1945 - Wood Monkey
12 February 1956 ~ 30 January 1957 - Fire Monkey
30 January l968 ~ 16 February 1969 - Earth Monkey
16 February 1980 ~ 4 February 1981 - Metal Monkey
4 February 1992 ~ 22 January 1993 - Water Monkey

THE PERSONALITY OF THE MONKEY

The Monkey is intelligent, well-read and always eager to learn. He has an extremely good memory and there are many Monkeys who have made particularly good linguists. The Monkey is also a convincing talker and enjoys taking part in discussions and debates. His friendly, self-assured manner can be very persuasive and he usually has little trouble in winning people round to his way of thinking - it is for this reason that the Monkey often excels in politics and public speaking. He is also particularly adept in PR work, teaching and any job which-involves selling.

The Monkey can, however, be crafty, cunning and occasionally dishonest and he will seize on any opportunity to make a quick gain or outsmart his opponents. He has so much charm and guile that people often don't realize what he is up to until it is too late. But despite his resourceful nature, the Monkey does run the risk of outsmarting even himself. He has so much confidence in his abilities that he rarely listens to advice or is prepared to accept help from anyone. The Monkey likes to help others but prefers to rely on his own judgement when dealing with his own affairs.

Another characteristic of the Monkey is that he is extremely good at solving problems and has a happy knack of extricating himself (and others) from the most hopeless of positions. He is the master of self-preservation.

With so many diverse talents the Monkey is able to make considerable sums of money, but he does like to enjoy life and will think nothing of spending his money on some exotic holiday or luxury which he has had his eye on. He can, however, become very envious if someone else has got what he wants.

The Monkey is an original thinker and, despite his love of company, he cherishes his independence. He has to have the freedom to act as he wants and any Monkey who feels hemmed in or bound by too many restrictions can soon become unhappy. Likewise, if anything becomes too boring or monotonous, he soon loses interest and turns his attention to something else. The Monkey lacks persistence and this can often hamper his progress. He is also easily distracted, a tendency which all Monkeys should try to overcome. The Monkey should concentrate on one thing at a time and by doing so will almost certainly achieve more in the long run.

The Monkey is a good organizer and, even though he may behave slightly erratically at times, he will invariably have some plan at the back of his mind. On the odd occasion when his plans do not quite work out, he is usually quite happy to shrug his shoulders and put it down to experience. He will rarely make the same mistake twice and throughout his life he will try his hand at many things.