Chinese zodiac calculator

How the Chinese zodiac works

The Chinese zodiac gives each year one of twelve animals, in a fixed order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Each year also carries one of five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) for two years in a row, and is either yang (even years) or yin (odd years). Twelve animals times five elements makes a cycle of 60 years: a Wood Pig comes back only every 60 years.

When the Chinese year starts

The most common mistake is to change the animal on 1 January. The Chinese year starts at Chinese New Year, the second new moon after the December solstice, counted in China time. It moves between 21 January and 20 February: it was 29 January 2025, 17 February 2026, and will be 6 February 2027, the start of the Fire Goat year. Someone born on 9 February 2024 is a Rabbit; a day later, on New Year’s day, the Dragon year began.

Feng shui and the four pillars (BaZi) count differently: they start the year at Li Chun, the “start of spring”, when the Sun reaches 315° along its path, on 3, 4 or 5 February. For birthdays between the two dates the animals differ, which is why two websites can give you two answers. Switch Year starts at to see both; the tool names the other answer whenever they disagree.

How it’s worked out

1. New Year: the December solstice (Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, 2nd edition, 1998, chapter 27) and the true new moons (chapter 49), counted on China’s calendar day (UTC+8). In the rare years when a leap month comes before New Year, it is one moon later; between 1900 and 2100 that happens only in 2034 (19 February 2034). Every New Year date from 1900 to 2100 was checked against published Chinese calendar tables.
2. Li Chun: the moment the Sun reaches 315°, from the VSOP87 planetary theory (main terms), in China time.
3. Animal: (Chinese year − 4) ÷ 12; the remainder is the animal’s place, 0 being the Rat. Element: (year − 4) ÷ 10; remainders 0–1 are Wood, 2–3 Fire, 4–5 Earth, 6–7 Metal, 8–9 Water.
4. Hour animal: the day is split into 12 blocks of two hours, starting with the Rat at 23:00.

The four pillars

Turn on Four pillars to see your BaZi chart: a heavenly stem and an earthly branch for the year, month, day and hour of your birth. The year pillar counts from Li Chun; the month pillar changes at each solar term (the Sun’s place in steps of 30°); the day pillar follows the unbroken 60-day cycle used in Chinese calendars for over two thousand years; the hour pillar follows from the day stem. The tool shows the chart as a reference. Reading it is a craft of its own, and practitioners differ on details such as whether the day turns at 23:00 or at midnight (this tool turns it at midnight).

Arjun’s two answers in Chennai

Arjun, a college student in Chennai, was born on 2 February 1995. One app said he was a Pig, another a Dog. Both were right. Chinese New Year 1995 fell on 31 January, so by New Year he is a Wood Pig. Li Chun 1995 fell on 4 February, so by the solar year, which feng shui uses, he was still in the Wood Dog year. The tool shows both and explains why.

Matching two animals

Tradition groups the animals into four trines of friends (Rat, Dragon, Monkey · Ox, Snake, Rooster · Tiger, Horse, Dog · Rabbit, Goat, Pig), six pairs of secret friends (such as Rat and Ox), six clashes (animals six years apart, such as Rat and Horse) and six harms (such as Rat and Goat). Turn on Compare a partner and the tool names your relation in words. It gives no percentage, because tradition doesn’t.

Common mistakes

• Counting from 1 January. January and early February birthdays often belong to the year before.
• Mixing the two year starts. Calendars use New Year; feng shui uses Li Chun.
• Ignoring China time. New Year is the day the new moon falls in China; elsewhere the clock may still show the day before.
• Treating it as a forecast. It is a tradition and a part of culture, not a prediction.