Olympic Games at Beijing, China August 08, 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES FACTS Opening Ceremony : Aug 8th 2008 Closing Ceremony : Aug 24th 2008 Sports : 28 Medals : 303 This Rat Year of 2008 is going to be quite special particularly for the Chinese people because the Olympics are going to be held in China. The Olympic Games open on the 8th of August 2008 at 8:08 pm, and that's considered an auspicious date because of all the 8's in the date. In the lunar calendar, it's also the eighth day of the seventh month. The Rat is the leader of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, so the Year of the Rat begins a new cycle of twelve. The Rat is renowned in Chinese astrology for being very clever and quite astute when managing finances. Rats are also very sociable, they enjoy the company of other people and they like to enjoy themselves and have a good time. Rats also generally have good taste and are quite elegant. This is an incredibly high octave year (2008) as we also see a global power shift symbolized by one of the most anticipated Olympics of all time in China. The Olympics begin at 8:08 on 8/08/08.Chinese history has a special reverence for the number eight. There are eight trigrams in the I Ching, based in the elemental and directional energies. During the Olympics, the Sun in the sky will cross China's Pluto. This could signify a range of events, from an obvious shift of world power and wealth to China, or it could spell a huge disaster or catastrophe, possibly an act of terrorism. With a Mutable T-Square involving Mars opposite Uranus and Uranus square Pluto (and Mars square Pluto), the atmosphere is likely to be 'explosive' around the opening ceremony of August 8th.China may go through a highly tense, challenging and stressful time.Pluto is also at the apex of the mutable T-Square increasing even more the tensions and the challenges of the event, almost to a critical point. Olympics - Relevance to Astrology The Olympic wreath - The wreath is made of olive leaves. It is the one offered to the medal winners of each event. The olive branch/wreath represents peace, a most important need for the current world trends. The Olympic symbol - the Olympic symbol is five interwined circles rereprsenting the five continents of this universe of ours. These circles also symbolize Venus the morning and evening star which traces a perfect pentacle across the sky every eight years., Venus is the symbol of perfection and beauty, and rules athletic bodies. As a tribute to Venus, the Greeks used the 8 year cycle to organize their Olympic Games. The four-year schedule of the Olympics follow the Venus´s half-cycle. The five pointed star of Venus became the official Olympic seal but later the five points were exchanged for five intersecting rings to reflect the spirit of inclusion and harmony within the games and also the five continents. Olympics - the history behind The first Olympics were held in 776 BC. Every four years thereafter, until their cancellation by the Roman government in 393 AD, the Olympics were held in Greece. 1,593 years later in 1896 the Olympic Games were resumed. Winners in the ancient games did not receive any gold or silver medals. Instead they were presented with olive branches and praise by poets and philosophers. Also poets, artists, historians, and orators along with athletes, demonstrated their myriad skills they possessed. The chart for the first Olympics shows a retrograde Mars conjoining Uranus and opposing Pluto, resulting in a fierce competition. The Olympics were revived on the 6th April 1896 in Athens. This took place with during a grand trine involving Venus exalted in Pisces, Jupiter exalted in Cancer, and Uranus/Saturn in Scorpio. The position of Venus in Pisces is very significant for Greece because it marked the establishment of their kingdom in 1830.