October belongs to the Dog month, from 8 October to 6 November, and it is the best month of the autumn for the Tiger. Tiger, Horse and Dog form one of the four natural teams of the zodiac, which Chinese astrology reads as shared fire and shared goals, and this year the Horse is the ruling animal. Confidence is high, people are receptive and big decisions tend to go well. There is one catch, and it comes from your element: Wood feeds Fire, so the Tiger supplies fuel to a hot year and can end up giving too much. Enjoy the month and plan your recovery.
In the traditional almanac every day belongs to one of the twelve animals, in a cycle that repeats every twelve days. Friendly days belong to an animal in harmony with yours, and careful days to the animal opposite yours, the clash.
Born in January or early February? Check the lunar new year date to be sure of your animal.
Love is generous to you now. You are warm, direct and openly affectionate, and in a friendly month people answer those qualities with interest instead of finding them overwhelming. If you are single, say yes to invitations, even the ones that look like one more ordinary evening, because the month favours meeting new people. If you are attached, October suits plans: a trip, moving in together, a decision that has been waiting.
The weak point is jealousy, and a friendly month does not remove it. When a partner is busy or distracted, your first reaction may be to feel left out and your second to pick a fight about something unrelated. Say the real feeling instead: I miss you, I would like more of your time. It sounds smaller than the quarrel and does far more good. With friends and family the month is easy, so offer to organise the gathering everyone keeps postponing.
Your career is where the harmony is easiest to see. Ideas that were turned down earlier are heard differently now, and people with influence seem keener to say yes. The month suits launches, pitches and negotiations, anything that needs courage and a clear voice. If you have been waiting for the right moment to ask for a raise, a new role or a bigger budget, make the request this month.
The risk is one you already know: you are brilliant at starting and bored by the last ten per cent. In a lucky month unfinished work is the main thing that holds luck back. Choose two projects to carry all the way to the end, give them dates and tell someone who will ask about them. If you are looking for a new job, send your applications and make your calls now.
Opportunities lean in your favour, and so does the temptation to spend money as fast as it arrives. Earnings tend to spike for you and then vanish into generosity and impulse, and a good month only makes the spike bigger. Set up an automatic transfer on payday, before you see the money, and treat whatever remains as your spending.
October is a good month to talk to a partner or adviser about longer plans, because cooperation around money is favoured. Avoid large purchases made in a burst of confidence; decide on them after a night's sleep.
A friendly month can be more tiring than a hard one. You say yes more often, take on more and enjoy it so much that you do not notice the bill until it arrives. In a hot year you are the one supplying energy, and the signs of running low are familiar: a short temper, a cold that will not clear, a sudden need to lie on the floor.
Plan the recovery in advance. A fixed rest day, a long walk away from your phone and an early night every week will cost you less than a crash.
Use the month for the things that need courage: the proposal, the pitch, the difficult conversation. Finish two projects properly instead of starting a third. Schedule rest before you need it. Pause before sending the sharp message, especially when you are tired. And thank someone out loud for helping to make your good month possible.
Sweeter still is the Pig month that opens on 7 November: it is your secret-friend month, the best of the stretch for relationships, partnerships and joint plans. Keep some energy back for it, and say yes to the introduction, the invitation and the proposal that arrives.
Chinese months follow the Sun and change on solar dates around the 4th to 8th of each Western month, so the dates on this page come from the Sun's position, not from the Western calendar. Your animal is compared with the animal of the year, the month and each day using the classical relationships between the twelve animals: harmony, clash, harm and break. This is traditional astrology, offered for reflection and enjoyment, and it is not a prediction of facts or advice on health, money or legal matters.


