MBTI VS The Chinese Zodiac, Pt. II

Good news, everyone!

So, to be honest, I really didn’t want to complete this blog because I feel like it’s super boring to everyone but me. But since this is something I started, I must finish it. Do I still plan on doing astrology and zodiac comparisons to MBTI in online interviews? Maybe. I have a lot to do these last three months of 2021 and I’m going to have even more to do in 2022. Maybe I should put the video idea on hold while I work on getting my rhythm down with writing and work.

Anyway, if you don’t know what’s going, a few months back I started writing a blog on how being a Snake in the Chinese Zodiac compares to being an INTJ. Why? Well, because some traits and characteristics of the zodiac animals and the astrological signs do describe people accurately. To see the similarities between Snakes and INTJs, click here. In this entry, I’ll be covering the differences, as well as what it means to be an Earth, Winter, and Pisces Snake, and then I’ll tell you my theory on how it is that astrology and zodiacs sometimes type a person accurately. Let’s get into these differences.

Differences

If you remember/read my last blog, you’ll know there are a lot of similarities between Snakes and INTJs. But what about the differences? Well, there are a few, and I really do mean a few. Seriously, you really have to go over the Snake horoscope with a fine toothed comb to find these. Anyway…

Firstly, apparently, Snakes can be totally hedonistic. Now, while INTJs can struggle with those times when they don’t get their way,  INTJs are generally not known as hedonists. Thanks to having Se as their Inferior function, the chances of them being hedonists is very slim. In fact, most INTJs are more likely to go the other way and practically live their lives like ascetics.

Secondly, Snakes can lead dangerous lives. Now, it wasn’t specified in the Handbook how Snakes lead dangerous lives, but generally speaking, people don’t view INTJs as thrill seekers. True, INTJs do have quite a lot of “interesting” hobbies, including sports cars, guns, knives, and motorcycles, but INTJs are going to stress safety at all times. After all, there’s a big difference between something being exciting and something getting you killed.

Thirdly, the handbook claims Snakes hold little animosity for each other. Now, while INTJs may not necessarily hold animosity toward each other, they generally don’t really like one another. Each INTJ is so individualistic, opinionated, and ethical that other people, including other INTJs, can be easily put off. Having high values isn’t cheap.

Lastly, and this has more to do with me as an Earth Snake, but supposedly Snakes can communicate with the public and function effectively in group activities. Now, obviously there are a couple of things wrong with this claim. INTJs don’t really communicate with anyone unless necessary, INTJs generally don’t like “the public”, and INTJs don’t like group activities.

So, like I said, there are only a few differences between Snakes and INTJs. But the differences that do exist are quite big ones that seem to almost contradict each other’s nature. Maybe being a Snake is not like being an INTJ at all.

The Earth Snake

So, that’s the differences. For now, let’s get into the different kinds of Snake, but only as they are related to me and how they compare to being an INTJ.

The first kind is what’s known as an Earth Snake. In Oriental philosophy, the universe is composed of five elements, which are interrelated by a balance of conducive and controlling relationships—each element is brought forth by another element, and each element controls another. Looking at the conducive relationships of Earth, Earth is created by Fire (fire burns everything to ash which helps things grow) and Earth creates Metal (since metal is mined from the earth); looking at the controlling relationships, Earth controls Water (it directs the flow) and Earth is controlled by Wood (roots hold the soil together and prevent it from dissipating). Now, how or why is it that the five elements are applied to the Zodiac, I have no idea. But they are. And while I could go into the traits of a person born under an Earth sign, let’s just keep things simple and look at Earth Snakes.

Earth Snakes are a warm and spontaneous variety, who form slow, but correct, opinions of people and situations. They are more principled, persistent, and reliable than the other kinds of Snake, and they are able to communicate with the public and function effectively in group activities.

Earth Snakes are armed with vision and ambition, and can take control during times of confusion or panic. They are not easily intimidated or influenced by public opinion. They are constant in their convictions and reserve the right to pass judgment. They may be able to locate and identify new opportunities before others do.

Earth Snakes are called the most graceful and enchanting. They are cool, collected, and charming, and will be loyal to their friends and have an army of supporters. Conservative and frugal, hard-working and systematic, they do well with investments, and know their limits so they don’t overextend themselves.

So, where does that leave us when compared to INTJs? Well, INTJs are not generally considered “warm and spontaneous” and able to “communicate with the public and function effectively in group activities”. Additionally, they’re not necessarily graceful (Se is the Inferior function), nor are they necessarily known as enchanting or charming. Although, I think I know a few people who might say that I am enchanting and charming, but you really do have to catch me in the right mood. The only other part that doesn’t add up is the army of supporters. Other than that, the rest of it is pretty spot on when compared to INTJs.

The Pisces Snake

So, that’s Earth Snakes covered. Now, let’s move onto the Pisces and Winter Snakes, but first a question: how does one become an Earth, Pisces, or Winter Snake? Elements are dependent on what year you’re born and follow a 60 year pattern, meaning the next year of the Earth Snake will be 2049 (the last one was 1989). As for Pisces and Winter Snakes, I’m one of each because I was born during the winter in February, making me a Pisces in the standard Greek horoscope. Anyway…

The Pisces Snake has gracious charm and fluid manners. He is elegant and conceals his wisdom and psychic powers well. The Snake is generally intense, passionate, and lucid, while Pisces is deep and silent. Pisces compensates for the Snake’s ruthless determination by being compassionate. This warmth can bring forth surrealistic dreams and brilliant observations, but a Pisces Snake is easily hurt by callous gestures. But, how does that stack up against being an INTJ?

Well, some of it sounds right and some of it sounds wrong. INTJs aren’t known for gracious charm and fluid manners, or being elegant. They are known for being “psychic”, but that has more to do with being able to read a situation and accurately predict the most likely conclusion (Ni-Te). However, the description of an INTJ being generally intense, passionate, lucid, deep, and silent does sound sort of accurate. (It also sounds like you’re describing a Lovecraftian god.) However, I don’t know what to do with the “surrealistic dreams and brilliant observations”. Do you have any insight?

So, as I said, some of this sounds right, but some of it sounds wrong. What a Pisces Snake more reminds me of is 5w4 from the Enneagram. A 5w4 is plagued by fears of being incompetent and useless, but tends to have more of an artistic flair or spirit. 5w4s also tend to feel emotion more intensely than pure 5s and 5w6s. And in case you haven’t guessed it yet, the reason why I mention 5w4s is because I think I am one. I mean, I still have a few issues with the Enneagram (read why here), but 5w4 is the type I most closely associate with. That being the case, a Pisces Snake more accurately describes me in the Enneagram than as an INTJ.

Winter Snake

Moving onto Winter Snakes, they are the guardians of wisdom and wealth. They have a protected existence and are usually docile and peaceful. They care about their safety and are guarded in their emotions. They tend to be philosophical and patient, and they do not court trouble. They have a tendency to rely on tried and true methods of doing things. However, despite this passive existence, they are still not to be underestimated as they can still be vindictive if provoked.

In this regard, Winter Snakes do sound more like INTJs. INTJs possess wisdom, are often wealthy, and they can be described as “docile and peaceful”. Not necessarily in an actual peaceful sense, but more in a passive and apathetic sense. If something doesn’t bother them or have anything to do with them, they don’t care about it or show any concern. Further, INTJs do possess a healthy preoccupation with self-preservation and do guard their emotions. They are philosophical, and again, they can be described as “patient”. (But their patience is more of a learned detachment.) Lastly, INTJs can be vindictive when provoked. The only sentiment here that doesn’t describe INTJs very well is the idea of them relying on tried and true ways. INTJs will follow the most logical way of doing things, but if that means changing tried and true methods, they will do so.

Compatibility, Conflicts, and the Ascendant

Now, this is something I wasn’t sure if I was going to add or not, but I think it is an interesting tidbit, and it’s short.

So, another thing covered in the Handbook is who the Snake is compatible with and who he conflicts with. According to the Handbook, the Snake is a part of the Second Triangle of Affinity along with the Ox and Rooster. These three signs are the most purposeful and steadfast. They are dutiful and dedicated fighters who strive to achieve great heights and conquer via constancy and unfailing determination. They’re also given to thought and systematic planning. They are considered the most intellectual of the signs. They also depend on their own assessments of facts and figures and give little credence to hearsay. They are the most likely to comply with dictates from the head instead of the heart, and they like to act independently. In this regard, if the Snake is an INTJ, we could say the Ox and Rooster are an ISTJ and ENTJ, respectively. But that’s not the real interesting part.

The real interesting part starts with whom the Snake conflicts with, which is the Boar. The Boar has an outgoing nature and embraces new things with spontaneity and optimism. The boar’s actions may be too adventurous, and the Snake is skeptical of his generous nature. To me, that sounds like the Boar is either an ESFP or ENFP, which is interesting considering ENFPs are widely regarded as being the most compatible with INTJs. However, things become really interesting when you consider “Ascendants”.

So, according to the Handbook, an ascendant is the animal sign that rules the hour of our birth and becomes a comrade in our journey through life. This may represent the Shadow or the inferior function as the more opposing the ascendant, the greater the inner battle is. However, this is largely dependent on what hours a Snake is born. It is possible for a Snake to have his own sign as his ascendant. In my case, however, I was born at 10 PM, the hour of the Boar, which we’ve already concluded could be an EXFP. Further, the Handbook says that the Boar’s large appetites combined with the natural Snake instincts and ambition could be devastating or helpful to others, depending on how they are handled. The Pig is a great partygoer who does everything on a grand scale, but he can also motivate with honesty and conscientiousness. With the Boar’s natural simplicity and generosity, a Snake could turn out to be a popular leader who really knows how to live it up. This combination makes someone more inclined to share good fortune with others and they will be loved for their big-hearted ways.

Now, that’s all very interesting. I don’t think any of that describes me necessarily, but I do wonder what an INTJ-EXFP couple would be like. Would they be something like what is described above? Is it possible that an EXFP’s way of life would rub off on the INTJ and help them become more popular and generous and even…(gasp!) well-liked?! Maybe. But I can’t say for certain as I’ve never dated an EXFP. I hope to though, someday.

My Theory

All right. So, enough stalling. What is my theory as to why it may be possible for astrology and horoscopes to nail a person’s personality? Well, it all has to do with gravity and the tides.

As we know, every celestial body within the universe exerts a gravitational pull of some kind. We know this because our moon’s location can give us high tides and low tides, depending on its location in the sky. Therefore, would it not be possible for the gravitational pull of all the celestial bodies in the universe to affect the “tides” of the fluids in the brain or in the womb as a person develops? Depending on their location, they perhaps affect the “tides” at certain times of the year, which affects how a person develops, and since the celestial bodies are always more or less in the same spot year after year (with some exceptions), this could explain why some horoscopes have shared characteristics. For instance, if you were born between February 19th and March 20th, then you would share the characteristics of all other people born between those dates because you all developed in the same nine month period before hand. Likewise the same could be true for the Chinese Zodiac, except instead of it being a nine month period, it’s a 12 month period. (And 60 years if you start adding in the elements.)

It’s an intriguing theory, but there are of course several problems with testing it. And it assumes several things about the developmental period of a fetus, which is a topic I know nothing about. However, I think it may still be wise to investigate the factors that lead to personality development. They could include nurturer and environment, but it is likely unique to a person’s inherent nature. After all, introverts are sometimes unfortunately born to extraverts and vice versa, however, it isn’t unusual for introverts to be born to introverts and likewise with extraverts. It is likely that much of a person’s personality relies on their DNA.

Conclusion

So, what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is more or less self-evident, that being that sometimes horoscopes and zodiacs do get personality right, but there are times when they are wrong. And just like with the MBTI, they are not right 100% of the time, as after all, people are not stereotypes, but rather dynamic individuals with a myriad of unique perspectives and experiences. But, if there is some truth to all personality typing in the world, whether it is MBTI, Enneagram, Big 5, astrology, or the Chinese Zodiac, it is that while we are all unique, each person is not so unique that they can’t be understood by those around them and that they are not alone in the world. This is good news for the rarer personalities.

Thank you for your patronage.

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