The Year of the Pig geocoin was made exclusively for Shop Geocaching by designer Christian Mackey. It is trackable at Geocaching.com with a unique icon.

Here are some design notes from Chris Mackey:

The Pig is the final sign in the Chinese Zodiac and will end the 12 year reign of the earth element cycle.  According to ancient Chinese mythology, the pig was the last member of the zodiac to arrive when called to gather by the Jade Emperor. There are numerous tales as to why the pig arrived last, but all agree Pig was the final attendee. The year of the Earth Pig is a particularly good year in the zodiac cycle. Pig in the earth element is stronger than ever and combined with his static element of water, which is easily absorbed by earth, his powers of influence are formidable. Despite sometimes being regarded as a dubious figurehead, the pig is renowned as the archetype of hard work, aesthetics, beauty and intellect. It is symbol of hard work, creative and tactful leadership and financial stability.  

On the face of this coin we see the Earth Pig with its traditional script sign overhead, its lucky flower (lily) and it’s static water symbol surrounding it within a 5 sided and 5 ringed base reinforcing his primary lucky number (5 of course).  He actually has several lucky numbers: 5 is his primary, but also 2, 6 and 8. These numbers are matched throughout the design in numerous places on both sides. How many can you find?  From the number of petals in a flower, the stamen, stems, and more, these numbers will repeat again and again on both sides of this coin.

On the reverse side, the single greatest component of Pig is represented… Love! The soul of a pig is overflowing with love. Being caring, self-sacrificing and sensibly empathetic creatures by nature, they are ideally suited for love and the fine art of loving relationships. The Chinese have a beautiful symbol for this kind of love roughly translated to “double-happiness”. This symbol is commonly used to depict a perfect union of love and a favorite charm for marriage. This symbol is encased in a heart shaped frame and bracketed by lucky flowers, in the Earth Pig‘s lucky color yellow. Being a static water symbol and and end of cycle symbol, Pig is also a harbinger of winter so we have to include snowflakes into the scene as well. Lastly, the Earth Pig resides heavily in the Yin symbol as an earth based entity. Pig really does have it all!

Geokolikon ikoni: