Chinese zodiac signs

Unlike the Western or Indian zodiacs, the Chinese zodiac signs are not derived from constellations, and are not assigned to sections of the ecliptic. Instead, Chinese astrological signs operate on cycles of years, lunar months, and two-hour periods of the day (also known as shichen). A particular feature of the Chinese zodiac is its operation in a 60-year cycle in combination with the Five Phases of Chinese astrology (Wood, Fire, Metal, Water, and Earth).Nevertheless some researches say that there is an obvious relationship between the Chinese 12-year cycle and zodiac constellations: each year of the cycle corresponds to a certain disposal of Jupiter. For example, in the year of Snake Jupiter is in the Sign of Gemini, in the year of Horse Jupiter is in the Sign of Cancer and so on. So the Chinese 12-year calendar is a solar-lunar-jupiterian calendar.

Zodiac symbolism

The following table shows the twelve signs and their attributes.

Sign	Yin/Yang	Direction	Season	Fixed Element	Trine
Rat	Yang	North	Mid-Winter	Water	1st
Ox	Yin	North	Late Winter	Water	2nd
Tiger	Yang	East	Early Spring	Wood	3rd
Rabbit	Yin	East	Mid-Spring	Wood	4th
Dragon	Yang	East	Late Spring	Wood	1st
Snake	Yin	South	Early Summer	Fire	2nd
Horse	Yang	South	Mid-Summer	Fire	3rd
Goat	Yin	South	Late Summer	Fire	4th
Monkey	Yang	West	Early Autumn	Metal	1st
Rooster	Yin	West	Mid-Autumn	Metal	2nd
Dog	Yang	West	Late Autumn	Metal	3rd
Pig	Yin	North	Early Winter	Water	4th

The twelve signs

Chart showing the 24 cardinal directions and the symbols of the sign associated with them.

In Chinese astrology the zodiac of twelve animal sign represents twelve different types of personality. The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, and there are many stories about the Origins of the Chinese Zodiac which explain why this is so. When the twelve zodiac signs are part of the 60-year calendar in combination with the four elements, they are traditionally called the twelveearthly branches. The Chinese Zodiac follows the lunisolar Chinese calendar and thus the "changeover" days in a month (when one sign changes to another sign) vary each year. The following are the twelve zodiac signs in order.^[34]

1. 子 Rat (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Water): Rat years include 1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008. The Rat also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Rat are 11pm – 1am.
2. 丑 Ox (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Water): Ox years include 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009. The Ox also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Ox are 1am – 3am.
3. 寅 Tiger (Yang, 3rd Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Tiger years include 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010. The Tiger also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Tiger are 3am – 5am.
4. 卯 Rabbit (Yin, 4th Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Rabbit Years include 1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011. The Rabbit also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Rabbit are 5am – 7am.
5. 辰 Dragon (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Dragon years include 1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012. The Dragon also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Dragon are 7am – 9am.
6. 巳 Snake (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Snake years include 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013. The Snake also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Snake are 9am – 11am.
7. 午 Horse (Yang, 3rd Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Horse years include 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014. The Horse also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Horse are 11am – 1pm.
8. 未 Goat (Yin, 4th Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Goat years include 1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015. The Goat also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Goat are 1pm – 3pm.
9. 申 Monkey (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Metal): Monkey years include 1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016. The Monkey also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Monkey are 3pm – 5pm.
10. 酉 Rooster (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Metal): Rooster years include 1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017. The Rooster also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Rooster are 5pm – 7pm.
11. 戌 Dog (Yang, 3rd Trine, Fixed Element Metal): Dog years include 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018. The Dog also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Dog are 7pm – 9pm.
12. 亥 Pig (Yin, 4th Trine, Fixed Element Water): Pig years include 1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019. The Pig also corresponds to a particular month in the year. The hours of the Pig are 9pm – 11pm.

The five elements

• Wood: The wood person has high morals, is self-confident, expansive and co-operative, with wide and varied interests and idealistic goals. The direction associated with Wood is East, and the season is spring, which makes it the fixed element for the animal signs Tiger and Rabbit.^[35]

• Fire: The fire person has leadership qualities, dynamic passion, and is decisive, self-confident, positive and assertive. The direction associated with Fire is South, and the season is summer, which makes it the fixed element for the animal signs Snake and Horse.^[35]

• Earth: The earth person is serious, logical and methodical, intelligent, objective and good at planning. The direction associated with Earth is Center. The season for Earth is the changeover point of the four seasons. It is the fixed element for the animal signs Ox, Dragon, Goat and Dog.^[35]

• Metal: The metal person is sincere, has fixed values and opinions, is strong of will, and has eloquence of speech. The direction associated with Metal is West. The season for Metal is Autumn. It is the fixed element for the animal signs Monkey and Rooster.^[35]

• Water: The water person is persuasive, intuitive, and empathetic. The water person is objective and often sought out for their counsel. The direction associated with water is North. The season for Water is Winter. It is the fixed element for the animal signs Rat and Pig.^[35]

The five elements operate together with the twelve animal signs in a 60-year calendar. The four elements appear in the calendar in both their yin and yang forms and are known as the eight heavenly stems. When trying to calculate the relevant year of the cycle in relation to the Western calendar, an easy rule to follow is that years that end in an odd number are Yang (representing masculine positive, and light), those that end with an even number are Yin (representing feminine, negative, and darkness)

Chinese Zodiac Signs

Chinese zodiac signs, also known as Shengxiao in Chinese, is a scheme, which uses Twelve Earthly Branches and 12 animals to symbolize the year when a person is born. The cycle of the Chinese zodiac signs is every 12 years. Zodiac is prevalent among many countries in Asia, Eastern Europe, North Africa and so on.

The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat. The twelve zodiac signs are Rat, Ox，Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snack, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Chicken, Rooster, Dog And Pig, each of which has its matching earth branch and character. In Chinese astrology, the animal signs assigned by year represent what others perceive you as being or how you present yourself.

Besides presenting oneself, the zodiac signs also have another function, that is, deducing a person's age from the sign of the person. Know the current sign of the year and then a person's perceived age would be deduced. For example, if it is the year of ox in 2011, then persons of ox is either 12, 24, 36 or 48 years old in 2011, while persons of rabbit zodiac are two years younger than those Oxen accordingly in 2011.

Chinese Zodiac years of birth are also called Chinese Zodiac animal years, better known as Ben Ming Nian in Chinese, in which people usually wear something red like to avoid bad luck during this year, such as socks, a ribbon, clothes, underwear, a waistband or a bracelet and the likes.

1. Rat – 鼠 (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Water): Forthright, tenacious, intense, meticulous, charismatic, sensitive, hardworking, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable, artistic, shrewd. Can be manipulative, vindictive, self-destructive, mendacious, venal, obstinate, critical, over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant, scheming.

2. Ox – 牛 (Water buffalo in Vietnam) (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Water): Dependable, ambitious, calm, methodical, born leader, patient, hardworking, conventional, steady, modest, logical, resolute, tenacious. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, demanding.

3. Tiger – 虎 (Yang, 3rd Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Unpredictable, rebellious, colorful, powerful, passionate, daring, impulsive, vigorous, stimulating, sincere, affectionate, humanitarian, generous. Can be restless, reckless, impatient, quick-tempered, obstinate, selfish, aggressive, moody.

4. Rabbit – 兔 (Cat in Vietnam) (Yin, 4th Trine, Fixed Element Wood):Gracious, good friend, kind, sensitive, soft-spoken, amiable, elegant, reserved, cautious, artistic, thorough, tender, self-assured, shy, astute, compassionate,lucky, flexible. Can be moody, detached, superficial, self-indulgent, opportunistic, stubborn.

5. Dragon – 龍 (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, jealous, eccentric, intellectual, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, artistic, generous, loyal. Can be tactless, arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, intolerant, dogmatic, violent, impetuous, brash.

6. Snake – 蛇 (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious, suffocating, cold.

7. Horse – 馬 (Yang, 3rd Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Cheerful, popular, quick-witted, changeable, earthy, perceptive, talkative, agile—mentally and physically, magnetic, intelligent, astute, flexible, open-minded. Can be fickle, arrogant, childish, anxious, rude, gullible, stubborn.

8. Sheep, Goat, or Ram – 羊 (Yin, 4th Trine, Fixed Element Fire):Righteous, sincere, sympathetic, mild-mannered, shy, artistic, creative, gentle, compassionate, understanding, mothering, determined, peaceful, generous, seeks security. Can be moody, indecisive, over-passive, worrier, pessimistic, over-sensitive, complainer, weak-willed.

9. Monkey – 猴 (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Metal): Inventor, motivator, improviser, quick-witted, inquisitive, flexible, innovative, problem solver, self-assured, sociable, artistic, polite, dignified, competitive, objective, factual, intellectual. Can be egotistical, vain, selfish, reckless, snobbish, deceptive, manipulative, cunning, jealous, suspicious.

10. Rooster – 雞 (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Metal): Acute, neat, meticulous, organized, self-assured, decisive, conservative, critical, perfectionist, alert, zealous, practical, scientific, responsible. Can be over zealous and critical, puritanical, egotistical, abrasive, opinionated, given to empty bravado.

11. Dog – 狗 (Yang, 3rd Trine, Fixed Element Metal): Honest, intelligent, straightforward, loyal, sense of justice and fair play, attractive, amicable, unpretentious, sociable, open-minded, idealistic, moralistic, practical, affectionate, sensitive, easy going. Can be cynical, lazy, cold, judgmental, pessimistic, worrier, stubborn, quarrelsome.

12. Pig – 猪 (Wild boar in Japan and Elephant in Northern Thailand) (Yin, 4th Trine, Fixed Element Water): Honest, gallant, sturdy, sociable, peace-loving, patient, loyal, hard-working, trusting, sincere, calm, understanding, thoughtful, scrupulous, passionate, intelligent. Can be naïve, over-reliant, self-indulgent, gullible, fatalistic, materialistic.

Find Your Animal Year!

Rat	Ox	Tiger	Rabbit	Dragon	Snack	Horse	Goat	Monkey	Rooster	Dog	Pig
1900	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910	1911
1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920	1921	1922	1923
1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935
1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947
1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971
1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983
1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031
2032	2033	2034	2035	2036	2037	2038	2039	2040	2041	2042	2043
2044	2045	2046	2047	2048	2049	2050	2051	2052	2053	2054	2055
2056	2057	2058	2059	2060	2061	2062	2063	2064	2065	2066	2067
2068	2069	2070	2071	2072	2073	2074	2075	2076	2077	2078	2079
2080	2081	2082	2083	2084	2085	2086	2087	2088	2089	2090	2091
2092	2093	2094	2095	2096	2097	2098	2099	2100	2101	2102	2103