Forget everything you know about the easy going, laid-back, roll-in-the-mud Pig. This is the year of the Fire Pig, and there will be fireworks aplenty. It should be a feel-good year loaded with excitement. Water is the Pig's fixed element. In Chinese astrology, Water plus Fire equals disaster. Also, the fifth month of the Chinese calendar is the month of the Fire Horse. This will be a time of daring accomplishments and serious calamities. The Fire Pig is nevertheless a Pig, and we need to remember what that means for us. The Pig is the 12th and last sign of the Chinese zodiac. We have come to the end of the cycle, and it's time to celebrate our accomplishments. Yes, it's party time! Be good to yourself this year; you've earned it. Family reunions, extended vacations and a spa membership are in order. Like last year's sign, the Dog, the Pig calls us to focus on family. Now we need to concentrate more on relationships. It's a Fire year, a year filled with passion. What a great time to begin a new romance or take an existing one to a new level -- a vacation in Paris or Bali might be just the thing. When is the last time you shared a hot tub with your sweetheart? Make it a priority this year. The West has their fat cats and the Chinese, their fat pigs. We're talking money! Yes, this is a year to make more than a little, so be alert for opportunities. It may seem incongruous to link the Pig with scholars, but the association is there; and it's a positive one, due in part to the fact that the Pig's fixed element is Water. This could thus be a very good year for those in academia. Although Pig is the last year in the 12-year cycle, it is only the 24th in the larger, 60-year cycle. At this point it should be emphasized that 2007 is a Fire year. This is not a year for the faint of heart. On the positive side, Fire provides each of us the energy we need to initiate action, regardless of whether or not immediate attention is required. It is not a time to sit on the sidelines. Fire and Pig together call us to work on vigorously attacking existing projects and completing them. It is not a particularly favorable time to conceive of and begin new ventures. With the clash of Fire and Water, now is not the time to take a lot of risk. Use the energy of positive Fire to raise your work level to a high intensity, but avoid the foolhardiness associated with negative Fire, and your business interests will prosper. Since this is a Fire year, those people born in an Earth year will generally fare better than others of their animal sign, while those born in a Metal year are likely to do worse than those born in Wood, Fire, Earth and Water years. Health issues vary not only by sign but by individual. Your best bet is to visit a Chinese doctor to have your balances checked and get some advice for the coming year. It is a Fire year, so one thing we can say in general is to be on the lookout for signs of stress and a tendency to overextend one's self. 2007 will be an exciting year. We will experience passion and crises on and off throughout the year. The Pig is a go-with-the-flow type. If you follow the Pig's example by enjoying life's pleasures and heating up your relationships, this will be a very memorable year indeed..