The Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac

Many people born in a Rabbit year notice sooner than others when the mood turns. A quick glance between your parents, one pause too many in the group, and you have already changed the subject. Tradition calls this diplomacy: the Rabbit looks for the path on which nobody loses face. Perhaps you know the role of the person who, when two friends fall out, ends up calling both of them.

• Reading a message twice before replying so it does not land the wrong way.
• Sensing at dinner who feels left out and drawing them back into the conversation.
• Arranging your home so that guests visibly relax as soon as they walk in.

The Year of the Rabbit returns every twelve years, each time with a different element. It never begins on 1 January but at Chinese New Year. The next one begins on 8 Feb 2035 as the Wood Rabbit.

The shadow side of diplomacy is avoiding conflict. The Rabbit often says "it's fine" when it is not. A colleague presents your idea as their own in a meeting, and you only get annoyed on the way home. Often this is not a lack of opinion but a strong dislike of noise and harshness.

Check for yourself: how many unspoken sentences are you carrying around right now? Tradition describes the Rabbit as someone who withdraws rather than fights. That protects, but it can also mean that others have no idea what is bothering you.

In Chinese folklore a rabbit lives on the moon and mixes an elixir there. That is why it is linked with gentleness, healing and a sense of beauty. Its fixed element is Wood and its polarity Yin, the quiet, receptive side. Its double hour is 05:00 to 06:59, when the light comes up and the day is still quiet.

One curiosity: in the Vietnamese zodiac the cat takes this place instead of the rabbit. The qualities attributed to both are similar: caution, elegance and a fine sense for their surroundings.

At work, people born in a Rabbit year are often described as the ones everyone likes working with: attentive, polite, with an eye for details others miss. Loud competition and tough negotiations, on the other hand, take a lot out of them. With money there is often caution and a liking for beautiful things that last. Check whether you flourish more in calm teams than in rooms where the loudest voice wins.

Each element appears once in 60 years among the Rabbit years. Tradition reads the element as a tint on the animal. Check for yourself which line fits you better.

For the Rabbit, tradition names three patterns. San He, the three animals that traditionally complement each other: Rabbit, Goat and Pig share a wish for harmony and a cosy home. Liu He, the secret friend, is the Dog, which gives the Rabbit protection and loyalty. Liu Chong, the clash, is the Rooster, whose direct, critical manner hits the Rabbit where it is most sensitive. This is an old reading, not a forecast. Check with which people you relax and with which you stay on guard.

To checkWhich sentence have you swallowed recently to keep the peace, and what might have happened if you had said it?