In honor of J.K. Rowling's 42nd birthday today, we will do a Chinese Zodiac sign analysis on the first writer in history to sell over 1 billion dollars worth of books. Find out what Chinese Astrology can reveal about Rowling's personality and talent as a best-selling author.

Joanne Rowling was born on July 31, 1965 at 2pm in Yate, Gloucesterhire, England. She also has a younger sister named Dianne. Rowling writes under the pen name J.K. Rowling. Although she has no middle name, she says the K stands for Kathleen, the name of her paternal grandmother.

The following are J.K. Rowling's Four Pillars Chinese Zodiac animal signs:

Four Pillar Signs

Chinese Zodiac Year Sign Wood Snake
Chinese Zodiac Month Sign Wood Monkey
Chinese Zodiac Day Sign Fire Dog
Chinese Zodiac Hour Sign Wood Sheep

For the purposes of this article we will just concentrate on Rowling's primary year Chinese Zodiac animal sign and her Western Zodiac sign the Leo.

Wood Snake

Although the Snake is often a loner, the Wood Snake has a humanitarian streak and seeks out ways to make the Earth a better place according to Chinese Astrology. Rowling is more family oriented than other Snakes and actively contributes to a quality home environment. She presently has 3 children from 2 different marriages. With her creativity and appreciation of beauty and style she probably enjoys expressing herself in unusual ways in the arts and is capable of presenting herself in a most attractive package. Rowling actually used her pen name J.K. Rowling because the publisher's thought that a female author would not appear to her target audience of young boys.

The Snake's many interests and insatiable thirst for knowledge results in an increasingly complex persona. The Snake is a karmic sign, which means they will probably experience many high highs and low lows in their lives. Rowling completed her first Harry Potter book as an unemployed single mother and now is the richest writer in the world. With their wisdom and charisma, which has an almost magical quality, they probably command our respect more than any other sign.

Like the Rat and Monkey, Snakes spend a lot of time in their heads, but they are not worriers. Rather, they pass their quiet time in reflection and contemplation. This, together with their love of learning, is what gives them such great depth. Rowling's love of learning began as a young child, writing fantasy stories for her sister Dianne. She was also encouraged to read by her aunt. Of all the signs of the Chinese zodiac, the Snake is most closely associated with wisdom.

Although the Snake is more than willing to share their knowledge, they have a penchant for secrecy when it comes to their personal lives. This adds an aura of mystery to their already commanding presence. And, what you see is not what you get.

Rowling's Western sign is Leo. That makes her a Leo Snake.

Leo, a Fire sign, combines with the Chinese Zodiac Snake, whose fixed element is Fire, to produce a combination signifying intense mental activity. This also tends to make Rowling very success driven. Winning and the status that comes with it are important to her. Outwardly, she presents a calm, self-assured image and is likely to be respected for her abilities. Inwardly, she tends to have doubts and depends more than other Snakes on the approval of others. And, she probably have a penchant to think big like turning her books into movies.