Happy Chinese New Year! Also known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year is a time of excitement and joy. Because the Chinese calendar is based on the cycles of the Moon, the beginning of the New Year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. In 2003, it comes on February 1st. The festivities begin 22 days prior to the New Year date and continue for 15 days afterward.

This year we celebrate the Year of the Sheep or Goat. With this gentle Sign guiding most of our 2003, we can expect a time of harmony, tranquility and understanding. The Goat encourages us to be more easygoing and relaxed; for the next year, we'll pledge to live our lives in a quiet, peaceful manner. We'll move slower than usual, taking time to smell the proverbial roses, but we'll also feel less stressed about petty or minor details. We'll spend more time with family and friends, and our kind, compassionate demeanor ensures that we'll make pleasant new connections as well.

Because the Goat is so artistic, we'll spend much of the year pursuing creative endeavors. We'll also indulge our many whims and fantasies -- as long as we get our most important tasks done, we shouldn't feel guilty about catering to our whimsical side. Our imaginations will be given free rein, so we'll be able to come up with innovative plans and solutions. Although we may seem disorganized or scatterbrained at times, we'll actually have everything in order -- it just may take others awhile to see the method to our madness!