Chinese zodiac: your animal and your element
The Chinese zodiac gives each year one of twelve animals, along with an element and a polarity, yin or yang.
- cycle
- animal
- element
By Thomas Guilhot · updated
Chinese astrology at a glance
An ancient way of reading time: each year carries an animal, an element, and a polarity, to be read as a climate, never as a verdict.
A simple, widely shared reference point that offers common words for talking about temperaments and the seasons of a life.
Your animal depends on the Chinese New Year, not on January 1: a birth in January or February needs to be checked.
- The animals
- 12, one per year
- The elements
- 5, two years each
- The cycle
- 60 years, then it all starts over
- The year 2026
- Fire Horse, since February 17, 2026
Your animal and your element
Enter your date of birth: the tool applies the Lunar New Year of that year, then shows your animal, element, and polarity, flagging dates close to the changeover.
Born on May 14, 1990
Metal Horse
庚午 · Yang · 7th year of the 60-year cycle
The animal of the open air: it needs space to give its best, and a heading so as not to scatter.
- Chinese year
- 1990
- From
- January 27, 1990
- To
- February 14, 1991
Chinese New Year: the real changeover date
The Chinese year does not begin on January 1. It opens on a new moon at the end of winter, within a window that runs from late January to late February depending on the year. A person born in January, or in early February, therefore often belongs to the animal of the previous year. The calculation on this page relies on the actual phases of the Moon, and flags any date within a day of the changeover, where doubt is allowed.
- Window
- From January 21 to February 20Second new moon after the winter solstice, most often
- Reference time
- Midnight, Beijing timeUTC+8 since 1929
- Another convention
- Lichun, around February 4Used by bazi (Four Pillars)
- The site’s table
- 1900 to 2101Calculated, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory
| Year | Starts | Element | Polarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022壬寅 | February 1, 2022 | Water | Yang |
| 2023癸卯 | January 22, 2023 | Water | Yin |
| 2024甲辰 | February 10, 2024 | Wood | Yang |
| 2025乙巳 | January 29, 2025 | Wood | Yin |
| 2026丙午 | February 17, 2026 | Fire | Yang |
| 2027丁未 | February 6, 2027 | Fire | Yin |
| 2028戊申 | January 26, 2028 | Earth | Yang |
| 2029己酉 | February 13, 2029 | Earth | Yin |
| 2030庚戌 | February 3, 2030 | Metal | Yang |
One animal per year
Each animal has its rank in the order of the cycle, its polarity, a fixed element, and two companions in its triangle of affinity. The twelve profiles detail character, readings, and variations by element.
The five elements
The five elements are not substances but phases of transformation. According to tradition, each one generates the next, from Wood to Fire, to Earth, to Metal, to Water, and back to Wood, and also controls another.
Twelve animals, five elements, sixty years
Twelve animals follow one another, from the Rat to the Pig. In parallel, ten “stems” each carry an element and a polarity: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, each in a yang version and then a yin one. The two series advance together and only meet at the same point again after sixty years. That is why a year is named by a pair, such as a Fire Horse, and not by its animal alone.
- Heavenly Stems
- 10Element and polarity of the year
- Earthly Branches
- 12The animal of the year
- Start of the current cycle
- 1984, Wood Rat甲子, 1st year of the cycle
- Next start
- 2044, Wood Rat
Four triangles of affinity
Tradition groups the twelve animals into four triangles, four years apart. Each of the 78 pairs has its own page, with no score.
The water triangle
Rat and Dragon →The metal triangle
Ox and Snake →The fire triangle
Tiger and Horse →The wood triangle
Rabbit and Goat →
The current year and the next
What tradition says
A popular tale says that the Jade Emperor invited the animals to a race across a river, and that the order in which they arrived set the order of the years. The Rat, it is said, crossed first by slipping onto the Ox’s back. This tale, handed down from generation to generation in several versions, belongs to legend: it explains the cycle more than it proves it. More broadly, the Chinese zodiac has circulated across East Asia over the centuries, with local adaptations: some countries substitute one animal for another. This flexibility is a reminder that the cycle serves first as a shared reference point, full of stories, before being a tool for reading people.
Share the tool: the link leads to the page, without anything you entered.
Frequently asked questions about Chinese astrology
How do I find my Chinese zodiac sign?
You only need your date of birth, which you compare with the Lunar New Year of that year. Before that date, the animal of the previous year counts. The tool on this page makes the comparison for you and also gives the element and polarity, which complete the animal.
Why doesn’t the Chinese year start on January 1?
The traditional Chinese calendar combines the Moon and the Sun: its months follow the new moons, and the year opens on one of them. January 1 is a convention of the Gregorian calendar, with no equivalent in this system. The date therefore changes every year, over a range of about a month.
Born in January or February: which animal am I?
It all depends on the exact date of the New Year in the year concerned. If the birth comes before that day, the animal is that of the previous year; if it comes after, it is that of the calendar year. The tool applies this rule and warns you when the date falls within a day of the changeover.
What does the element of a year mean?
Each year receives one of the five elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, or Water, which colors the animal. A Wood Dragon and a Metal Dragon would share the same animal but not the same nuance: tradition reads in this a different way of expressing the animal’s traits.
What are the yin and yang of a year?
Years alternate between yang, turned toward action and the outside world, and yin, more receptive and inward. Polarity adds to the element: the same element thus comes in two nuances, which gives ten combinations before the cycle starts over.
Lichun or the New Year: which date counts?
For the popular calendar and the festivals, it is the New Year. Some Chinese astrologers, especially for bazi, prefer Lichun, the start of spring, set at the moment the Sun reaches 315°. The tool follows the New Year and flags the period between the two dates, where readings differ.