The Tiger is the animal of courage: enterprising spirit, contagious energy, and a need for independence.
The animal that dares the first step: it carries others along with its momentum, even if it must learn to temper its tempo.
An energy that carries others: the Tiger dares, defends its convictions, and makes people want to follow its lead.
Impulse can come before reflection: it decides fast, gets irritated by delays, and tolerates being guided poorly.
By Thomas Guilhot · updated
| Year | Starts | Element | Polarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962壬寅 | February 5, 1962 | Water | Yang |
| 1974甲寅 | January 23, 1974 | Wood | Yang |
| 1986丙寅 | February 9, 1986 | Fire | Yang |
| 1998戊寅 | January 28, 1998 | Earth | Yang |
| 2010庚寅 | February 14, 2010 | Metal | Yang |
| 2022壬寅 | February 1, 2022 | Water | Yang |
| 2034甲寅 | February 19, 2034 | Wood | Yang |
The Tiger is the animal of openly owned courage.
It likes challenges, room to maneuver, and causes that call for bravery. Generous and frank, it says what it thinks and takes risks that others avoid. Its charisma attracts, but its independence disconcerts: it likes neither being watched nor justifying itself. The downside of this strength is a taste for confrontation, difficulty giving up first place, and impulses that reflection could have slowed. It sometimes throws itself into a cause out of pure conviction, without calculating what it will gain; it can be seen defending someone unfairly accused or taking up a bet no one dared try. Its generosity is broad, sometimes demonstrative, and its sense of honor makes it sensitive to the idea of being caught at fault. It likes having the last word on its own choices and hates having others decide for it. When a period forces it to wait, it may go in circles, grow irritable, or look for another arena. Teaching it the art of preparation, rather than that of the leap, is giving it the strength to last.
The Tiger loves with ardor, seeks shared adventure, and can hardly bear the routine that creeps in unnoticed.
It offers enthusiasm, protection, and candor. It needs a partner who leaves some air, and who can say plainly what displeases them, without fear of a sharp reaction. It likes bold gestures, straightforward declarations, and fiercely protects its own.
It thrives where initiative can be taken: starting a business, leading a project, fieldwork, causes to defend.
It galvanizes a team when it senses the team is following. Rigid hierarchies irritate it, and repetitive tasks switch it off. A clear framework, with real responsibilities, suits it better than detailed instructions. It appreciates being given difficult challenges, but expects recognition and freedom in return.
The Tiger needs to move: sports, walking, travel, projects that occupy hands and mind.
Its calendar fills fast, sometimes at the expense of rest. It does better with flexible habits than with fixed schedules. A place of its own, where no one asks it to account for itself, serves as an anchor. It unwinds through physical effort, in wide open spaces, and in conversations that do not beat around the bush.
The element changes from one twelve-year cycle to the next: the same animal year comes back with a different element, and the same pairing returns every sixty years.
1914, 1974, 2034, 2094
The Wood Tiger is said to double its element: very enterprising and generous, it sometimes spreads itself thin across too many projects at once.
The Wood element →1926, 1986, 2046
The Fire Tiger is said to be the most flamboyant: charisma, raised voices, brief and burning enthusiasms that settle as fast as they rise.
The Fire element →1938, 1998, 2058
The Earth Tiger is said to be more thoughtful: it weighs things more before springing and turns its daring into projects that last.
The Earth element →1902, 1962, 2022, 2082
The Water Tiger is said to be more flexible and more diplomatic: it keeps its courage, but first seeks to understand before charging ahead.
The Water element →Triangle, opposition, secret friend, harm: relationships handed down by tradition, described without a score.
Four years apart: the same affinities, according to tradition.
Six years apart: face to face on the circle.
A pair known as “secret friends” (liuhe).
A pair known as “harm” (liuhai), one that needs adjusting.
King of the animals in Chinese imagination, the Tiger bears stripes on its forehead whose pattern is said to evoke the character meaning “king.” In the legendary race, it arrives third, despite its strength in the current.
It is credited with a role as protector against bad influences, which would explain the tiger figures placed in homes. These uses vary by region. In villages, figurines or slippers with a tiger head were sometimes meant for children, to ward off bad influences, according to a custom reported in several provinces. The tiger also appears in martial arts, where entire styles draw on its postures. These uses are popular and their exact meaning varies.
Each year of the Tiger begins at Chinese New Year, between January 21 and February 20: a birth in January or early February often belongs to the previous animal.
Before the year’s Chinese New Year, the animal is still that of the previous year: the Ox. Example: February 18, 2034, the eve of the 2034 New Year, still belongs to the Ox.
Check with my date →All the years in the table: 1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034, 2046, 2058, 2070, 2082, 2094.
The Tiger comes around every twelve years, in third position in the cycle. This page lists the years concerned, each with its Chinese New Year: the Tiger does not always begin on January 1, nor on the same date from one year to the next.
Not necessarily: the Tiger applies only from its New Year, which falls somewhere between late January and late February. Before that, a person belongs to the previous animal. Enter your date in the tool to see which side of the line it falls on.
It is associated with courage, generosity, charisma, and a taste for freedom. The traditional downside is impulsiveness and difficulty accepting authority. This portrait remains a symbolic framework, which does not replace knowing a real person.
Its trine of affinity brings together the Tiger, the Horse, and the Dog. It forms a secret harmony with the Pig. Opposition sets it against the Monkey, and harm against the Snake. These are climates of encounter, never verdicts: the compatibility page details how to read them.