How it works...

What is described here was first discovered in Dan Millman's excellent and highly recommended book The Life You Were Born to Live
Through years of experience it has been modified 

The format is based on a nine year cycle using the analogy of harvesting

To find out what year you're in, write down your birthday, month and the current year
Add the digits up until they are narrowed down to a number between 1 and 9 - this is the year you are in right now.
ie: 23.07.2010 = 2+3+7+2+1 = 15 = 1+5 = Year 6
A year is January to December