The 12 Chinese Zodiac Signs
The sign changes at Lichun, around 4 February — not on 1 January and not at Chinese New Year.
Each animal is the popular name of an Earthly Branch, and the branch is what the rules actually use: it carries a fixed element, a polarity, a two-hour block of the day, a solar month and a compass sector, and it stands in a defined relationship with every other branch. The twelve pages below describe the sign itself, which does not change from year to year.
Born in January or the first half of February? Check which side of the boundary you fall on with What is my Chinese zodiac sign? — it gives the Lichun instant and the Chinese New Year date for every year from 1900 onwards.
Choose a sign
Rat 鼠Branch 子 (Zi) · Water 水 · 23:00–00:59
First of the twelve, the midnight branch: watchful, thrifty and quick to spot an opening.
Ox 牛Branch 丑 (Chou) · Earth 土 · 01:00–02:59
The frozen-earth branch that stores metal: slow to commit, very hard to move afterwards.
Tiger 虎Branch 寅 (Yin) · Wood 木 · 03:00–04:59
The branch that opens the solar year at Lichun — beginnings, nerve and unfinished business.
Rabbit 兔Branch 卯 (Mao) · Wood 木 · 05:00–06:59
Sunrise and the spring equinox month: tact, taste and a strong instinct for the exit.
Dragon 龙Branch 辰 (Chen) · Earth 土 · 07:00–08:59
The only mythical branch, and the vault where water is stored: scale, weather and self-imposed pressure.
Snake 蛇Branch 巳 (Si) · Fire 火 · 09:00–10:59
The little dragon of early summer: strategy, privacy and periodic reinvention.
Horse 马Branch 午 (Wu) · Fire 火 · 11:00–12:59
Noon and peak yang: momentum, independence and a poor relationship with waiting.
Goat 羊Branch 未 (Wei) · Earth 土 · 13:00–14:59
The midsummer branch and the vault of wood: gentleness, craft and a well-defended reticence.
Monkey 猴Branch 申 (Shen) · Metal 金 · 15:00–16:59
The branch where metal begins: invention, mischief and a low tolerance for boredom.
Rooster 鸡Branch 酉 (You) · Metal 金 · 17:00–18:59
Dusk and pure metal: exactness, visible standards and a voice that carries further than intended.
Dog 狗Branch 戌 (Xu) · Earth 土 · 19:00–20:59
The Earth Net: dry autumn ground with metal buried in it and a banked fire underneath.
Pig 猪Branch 亥 (Hai) · Water 水 · 21:00–22:59
The last branch, where winter begins and the cycle closes: abundance, sincerity and poor defences.
Each card shows that sign in one of ten painting styles. All 120 illustrations — twelve animals in ten styles — are in the zodiac art gallery.