Year of the Rooster

Everything gets counted, sorted and put away in the middle of autumn, and that is the season the Rooster holds, a metal animal, tenth in the line of twelve. It describes you as well: observant, orderly and unwilling to let a sloppy job pass. Remember that the Chinese year starts at the lunar new year, so a birthday in mid January or early February usually belongs to the animal of the year before.

Roosters notice everything. You spot the error on the page, the missing item on the shelf and the mark on a jacket, and your first instinct is to mention it. You are punctual, well presented and proud of your competence, and you would rather be corrected than left wrong, which is why it is hard for you to see that other people do not feel the same when you correct them.

Strengths: You get things done, on time, to a standard. You are hardworking, well organised and brave enough to say what nobody else in the room will say. You keep your promises and your accounts. You are more generous than your brisk manner suggests, and fierce in defending your family when they are treated unfairly.

Challenges: Criticism, delivered too fast and too publicly. You aim at the work but people hear it as being about them. Perfectionism drives you to redo things that were already good enough, and you are unforgiving with yourself when your standard slips. You also enjoy being right a little too much, which turns disagreements into contests.

Work and money: You excel where accuracy and presentation matter: administration, accounting, quality control, healthcare, law, hospitality, teaching, the beauty and fashion trades. You handle money carefully and keep good records. Your risk is overwork, since you absorb the tasks others do badly.

Love and compatibility: You are devoted, practical and reliable, the partner who remembers appointments and keeps the household running. Romance for you is competence plus loyalty. What you need to watch is the running commentary, because nobody wants a daily review of their faults. Praise out loud as often as you correct, and let small imperfections pass.

Best matches: Put yourself beside an Ox or a Snake and life gets easier: the Ox works as hard as you do and never needs chasing, the Snake holds the same standards but keeps them to itself. The Dragon is the unexpected match, all sweep and confidence, glad to leave the details in your hands. The one to work at is the Rabbit, your opposite in the cycle, who needs gentleness and hears your plain speaking as an attack you never meant.

Advice: Ask whether the correction is really needed before you make it. Let the warm thought out of your mouth as well, because nobody hears the affection behind your criticism unless you say it. And lower your own standard once in a while, on something small.