Astrology is a field intimately connected with astronomy in general and stars in particular. A discussion of them is thus a fitting way to begin to detail the differences between Chinese and Western astrology. And, it is one of the big ones, as people of the these two, great cultures see a very different sky when they look to the heavens.

Their constellations have little in common. In fact Pleiades is the only Western constellation used in Chinese astrology. The West uses 12 constellations for their sun signs while Chinese 28 for their lunar mansions and four more to provide a greater division of the night sky. None of the Chinese constellations (except Pleiades) are to be found in Western charts.

More important than the difference in numbers is that the former are associated with the passage of the sun while the latter the moon. The resulting Western signs are effectively month signs while the Chinese are daily ones. This is because the 12 Western signs each rule for a month while the Chinese ones a day.

There is, however, one star critical to Chinese astrology that is also very familiar to people in the West, it is Polaris of the North Star. It is the starting point for Zi Wei Dou Shou, or Purple Star astrology. It signifies the emperor and is a prime determinant of Ming or fate. No single star plays such a prominent role in Western astrology.

The Big Dipper, although not one of the 28 Chinese Astrology constellations, is significant in Chinese but not Western Astrology. Its stars provide seven of the nine used in Flying Star Feng Shui. They can be beneficial or harmful depending on their location in the sky and appearance in a Feng Shui diagram called a Bagua.