Chinese zodiac calculator

How the Chinese zodiac works

Each Chinese year belongs to one of twelve animals, always in the same order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. After the Pig the cycle starts again with the Rat, so your animal comes back every twelve years.

Each year also has one of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. An element lasts two years in a row, so the full pairing of element and animal only repeats every sixty years. 2026 is a Fire Horse year; the last Fire Horse year was 1966.

Why your year might not start on January 1

The Chinese year begins at Chinese New Year, which follows the Moon. It falls on a new moon between January 21 and February 20, usually the second new moon after the winter solstice. If you were born in January or early February, check the date your year began: you may belong to the year before.

Someone born on February 12, 1985 is a Wood Rat, not a Wood Ox. Chinese New Year 1985 fell on February 20, so the Rat year that began in 1984 was still running.

Some practitioners of the Four Pillars (BaZi) start the year at Lichun instead, the start of spring in the solar calendar, around February 4. For birthdays between the two dates the answers can differ. This calculator uses Chinese New Year, which is what most people mean by their Chinese zodiac sign.

The twelve animals

What each animal is traditionally linked with, and the years it ruled since 1948. The Goat is also called the Sheep or the Ram.

Each year in the list means the Chinese year that began in it, early that year.

The five elements

Every year from 1924 to 2031

The date each Chinese year began and its sign. Dates are in China time, which can be a day ahead of the Americas.

Your animal is one part of the picture

Chinese astrology also reads the month, the day and the hour of your birth, each with its own animal and element. You can see today’s month and day in our sky calendar, next to the Western sun sign and the Mayan day sign.