Chinese Astrology

Your Chinese zodiac sign is determined by your birth year, following a 12-animal cycle. Important: Chinese New Year falls between late January and mid-February — if you were born during that period, check the exact date before concluding. The calculator above determines your sign automatically from your full date of birth.

The 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac are, in cycle order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit (or Hare), Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each animal recurs every 12 years and is associated with distinct character traits according to Chinese tradition.

Chinese astrology assigns five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water — to each year following a 10-year cycle. Combined with the 12-animal cycle, they form the 60-year sexagenary cycle: each animal-element combination is unique and repeats only every 60 years. The element nuances the personality traits associated with each sign.

The sexagenary cycle pairs 12 animals with 5 elements, producing 60 unique combinations (12 × 5). This means your exact animal-element combination occurs only once in an ordinary lifetime, at age 60. This cycle has structured the traditional Chinese calendar for over 2,000 years.

Tradition identifies three natural compatibility triines: Rat-Dragon-Monkey (active Yang energy), Ox-Snake-Rooster (Yin perseverance), Tiger-Horse-Dog (idealism), Rabbit-Goat-Pig (sensitivity). Signs opposite each other in the cycle (e.g. Rat and Horse) often show tension, though every relationship remains unique. These correspondences belong to cultural tradition, not predictive science.

Western astrology is based on the birth month and the Sun's position across 12 zodiac signs (Aries, Taurus, etc.). Chinese astrology relies primarily on the lunar birth year and a 12-animal cycle combined with 5 elements. Both are distinct cultural traditions — neither is a predictive science in the modern sense.