Cow Tiger Sheep Horse Pig

Some of you may have seen this email before; supposedly, it’s got the wisdom of the Dalai Lama in it & what-not, and part of it is organising a list of animals “by your preference”. If you’ve ever been asked a question which is more random or left-field than that, let me know.

The idea is that these animals reflect your priorities in life. Somehow. Let’s go through this list. If you don’t want to be spoilt for when this email pops in your inbox, look away now.

Ok now the freaks are gone, we can get on with things.

  • Cow: represents Career. I dunno, cows never represented much to me. Some might consider cows “food”, or perhaps “milk”, or even “environment”, but Career? I’m noticing something with these animals – they’re all from the chinese zodiac (aren’t they? Tiger throws out “common domestic animals”). Maybe this email was written in 3000 BC when cows were pretty integral to careers in ye olde China. Wild guess here.
  • Tiger: represents Pride. Hmm, maybe. If you’re a hunter, having a tiger’s head over your hearth is one of those matters of pride, but quite clearly over the years has had an effect on the tigers themselves. And if you’re going to say pride, why not say Lion? King of the jungle et al? Feeds back into that idea of the Chinese zodiac, y’see? Either way, I don’t buy how a tiger is somehow linked to your perception of pride, especially in the era of emails
  • Sheep: represents Love. If there was one animal I had to say did not represent love in any way shape or form, sheep would pretty much have to be it. I don’t know about you, but an animal which is reknowned for its uncanny ability to look like all the other animals of its species doesn’t exactly put me the romancing frame of mind. Maybe something in the Chinese zodiac suggests sheep are particularly associated with love & all that, but it’d have to be a bit of a curveball. To say the least.
  • Horse: represents Family. See, sheep I might have bought here. Cow, even, what with the whole herds. But Horse? Family? That’s illegal practically everywhere you go, my friend. That Chinese Zodiac has got something to answer for.
  • Pig: represents Money. Greed, gluttony, piggy banks… ok, this one I can kinda buy. But since I can’t make a joke about the chinese zodiac here, I’m just going to say: what happend to the other 7 animals?

Next week: my next random email in my inbox! =)

12 Replies to “Cow Tiger Sheep Horse Pig”

  1. I’m so a tiger dude! Hell yeah I’m proud…and how does tiger link with pride…it takes one to know one.

  2. Heh! I picked the sheep XD; Aww, I’m love? XDDD

    As for the cow, cows are seen as very hardworking animals in China. That’s why in certain forms of Buddism, you are not allowed to eat Cows because they are highly respected and allowed to live long lives since they dedicated the better part o their lives to plowing the land for farmers. Hence the Career~~

  3. Hey—I picked tiger first, cos they’re cool. Totally. Well you’re right: random email nonsense. I remember the ones that damned you to hell (or something like that) if you didn’t send it to at least 20 people.

  4. hahah, this had all the hallmarks – “Think of a number, and think of a day – now if you send this email to that number of people, your wish [which we were supposed to make earlier] will by granted by that day” =)

  5. hum…I went Tiger, Horse, Sheep, Cow and Pig
    so Pride, Family, Love, Career and Money…..

    hum…not sure if that’s accurate….

  6. Tiger, Horse, Sheep, Pig and Cow.

    I ordered them by awesomeness.

    Tigers – just plain awesome because they can kill you. Duh.
    Horses – get you places. that’s awesome.
    Sheep – they are easy to draw. awesome.
    Pigs – totally edible in like 5 different and awesome ways
    Cows – less awesome but deserve an honourable mention on the awesome chain

  7. Isn’t it generally said Cow > Pig because Steak > Bacon? I dunno, I’ve never eaten steak. Plus milk dude! milk!

    (think of it: how horrendous would coffee be without milk?)

  8. I don’t know if the symbolism is relevant but it does make for interesting conversation. I remembered the animals but did a search for the meanings–and found this site. Thanks!

  9. Can anyone email me the actual questionaire on the tiger, pig, sheep, horse, etc? I received this some time ago and enjoyed doing it and wanted to pass it on to some friends of mine who’d love it as well. Thank you! ARTISTSlate [at] aol [dot] com I’d really appreciate it.

    Ed: changed email to reduce chances of spammage

  10. I test this question to my friend, and my friend respond “Eagle”!!
    Can somebody knows what it means?!

    I hope I will get a satisfying results…

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