The Year of 2008 is the Year of the Rat. In Korea, it is referred to as the Muja Year - the combination of mu, which means earth, and ja, which means rat. In Western calendars, the number 2008 signifies the number of years since the birth of Christ. In the Eastern traditional lunar calendar, however, time is governed by the ten Celestial Stems and twelve Terrestrial Branches, or sipgansipiji. Each Stem corresponds to one of the five elements (yin and yang exist for each element). Each Branch corresponds to one of twelve animals, which symbolizes the year of birth as well as the people born in that year. Ganji (short for sibiganji) is a method of representing the dates, time, and direction based on the cyclical period of nature. The method enables one to forecast changes in the living environment and even divine personal fortune according to the changes in nature. Moreover, the marking of years with corresponding animals has given rise to various cultural symbols related to the characteristics of such creatures.