Chinese Zodiac Calculator: Animal, Element and Yin-Yang

Find your Chinese zodiac animal, element and yin-yang from your exact birth date, using the Lunar New Year (or Lichun) boundary so January and February birthdays are correct.

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Why your birth year alone can give the wrong animal

Most zodiac charts list animals by Gregorian year, but the Chinese zodiac year starts on Lunar New Year, which falls anywhere between January 21 and February 20. Anyone born in January or early February may belong to the previous animal. Someone born on January 20, 1990 is an Earth Snake, not a Metal Horse, because Lunar New Year 1990 did not arrive until January 27. A baby born on February 16, 2026 is a Wood Snake; one born the next day, February 17, 2026, is a Fire Horse.

This calculator looks up the exact Lunar New Year date for your birth year from a verified table covering 1900 to 2100, compares it with your birth date, and reports the zodiac year you actually belong to, along with the full date span of that lunar year.

Animal, element, yin-yang and the 60-year cycle

The zodiac combines two cycles. The 12 earthly branches give the animals in a fixed order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The 10 heavenly stems give the element and polarity, and each element covers two consecutive years, first yang then yin. A year ending in 0 or 1 is Metal, 2 or 3 Water, 4 or 5 Wood, 6 or 7 Fire, and 8 or 9 Earth; even years are yang and odd years are yin.

  • 1984: Jia-Zi, Yang Wood Rat, the start of the current 60-year cycle.
  • 2000: Geng-Chen, Yang Metal Dragon.
  • 2026: Bing-Wu, Yang Fire Horse. The next Fire Horse year is 2086.

Lunar New Year or Lichun: which boundary to use

In everyday use, and on most festival calendars, the animal changes on Lunar New Year. Traditional Four Pillars of Destiny (BaZi) astrology instead starts the year at Lichun, the start-of-spring solar term, when the Sun reaches ecliptic longitude 315°. Lichun falls on February 3, 4 or 5 in China Standard Time, so the two systems disagree for birthdays between Lichun and Lunar New Year.

For example, February 10, 2026 comes after Lichun (February 4) but before Lunar New Year (February 17). It is a Wood Snake by Lunar New Year and a Fire Horse by Lichun. The toggle lets you see both answers, and the result states which boundary date was used.

Compatibility as cultural tradition

Chinese astrology groups the animals into relationships that are often quoted at weddings and naming ceremonies. The three harmonies (trines) group animals four years apart: Rat, Dragon and Monkey; Ox, Snake and Rooster; Tiger, Horse and Dog; Rabbit, Goat and Pig. The six harmonies pair secret friends: Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat. The clash is the animal six positions away, such as Rat and Horse.

  • These pairings are folklore and a way to take part in a tradition, not evidence about personality or relationships.
  • Vietnamese and some other zodiacs swap animals (Cat for Rabbit, Buffalo for Ox), but the order and relationships are the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the Chinese Zodiac Calculator: Animal, Element and Yin-Yang

It depends on the exact Lunar New Year date that year. If you were born before it, you belong to the previous year's animal. For example, January 20, 1990 is an Earth Snake because Lunar New Year 1990 was January 27.

Sources & References

Gregorian-Lunar Calendar Conversion Table

Lunar New Year dates used as the zodiac year boundary.
→Source: Hong Kong Observatory

The 24 Solar Terms

Lichun (Beginning of Spring) dates used for the alternative boundary.
→Source: Hong Kong Observatory

The Chinese Calendar

Sexagenary (stem-branch) cycle and the relationship between animals, elements and years.
→Source: Helmer Aslaksen, National University of Singapore

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