Why does this table start at 1924 and stop at 2027?

1924 is a 甲子 year, the opening cell of the sixty-year cycle, so starting there keeps whole cycles rather than cutting one in half — 1984 is the same pillar again. The table stops at 2027 because that is the current Goat year on this site; the full boundary table, with no year pages behind it, runs from 1900 to 2043 on the "what is my Chinese zodiac sign" page.

Why is the same animal listed with five different elements?

The cycle pairs ten heavenly stems with twelve earthly branches. The branch carries the animal and repeats every twelve years; the stems carry the five elements in yang/yin pairs and repeat every ten. Twelve and ten only line up again after sixty, so each animal passes through all five elements before the exact pillar returns. The animal's own fixed element is a separate idea and does not move.

Does the element change what the sign means?

In the tradition it colours it rather than replaces it. Every year page carries the short reading for that element-and-animal pairing taken from the sign's own profile, alongside the tables that do not change: the branch relationships, the double hour, the compass sector. These are cultural correspondences, not a forecast.

Chinese Zodiac Years 1924–2027

104 birth years · 12 signs · 5 elements · one page each

1924 was a 甲子 year, the first cell of the sixty-year stem-and-branch cycle, so this table starts where the cycle does and runs to 2027. That is 104 years: the whole cycle once, then most of it again. Every year below links to a page with its exact boundary, its stem, its branch, its na yin and what the 2027 Goat year means for people born in it.

The element printed next to each year comes from the heavenly stem, which is why the same animal appears as Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water in turn — twelve years for the animal to come round, sixty for the pair. The animal's own fixed element, listed in the heading of each block, never changes.

A birth year on its own does not settle a sign. The zodiac year turns at Lichun (立春) in early February, and Chinese New Year is a second, different boundary: in 101 of these 104 years the two fall on different days, and anyone born in the gap gets two different answers depending on which convention a site used. Each year page prints both dates and the Lichun time to the minute.

The twelve signs in this table

The fixed element belongs to the branch and never changes. The element printed beside each year below comes from the heavenly stem, which is why the same sign appears as all five in turn.
Sign	Branch	Fixed element	Years 1924–2027	First	Latest	Profile
Rat	子 (Zi)	Water 水	9	1924	2020	Rat personality
Ox	丑 (Chou)	Earth 土	9	1925	2021	Ox personality
Tiger	寅 (Yin)	Wood 木	9	1926	2022	Tiger personality
Rabbit	卯 (Mao)	Wood 木	9	1927	2023	Rabbit personality
Dragon	辰 (Chen)	Earth 土	9	1928	2024	Dragon personality
Snake	巳 (Si)	Fire 火	9	1929	2025	Snake personality
Horse	午 (Wu)	Fire 火	9	1930	2026	Horse personality
Goat	未 (Wei)	Earth 土	9	1931	2027	Goat personality
Monkey	申 (Shen)	Metal 金	8	1932	2016	Monkey personality
Rooster	酉 (You)	Metal 金	8	1933	2017	Rooster personality
Dog	戌 (Xu)	Earth 土	8	1934	2018	Dog personality
Pig	亥 (Hai)	Water 水	8	1935	2019	Pig personality

Years of the Rat 鼠

Branch 子 (Zi) · fixed element Water 水 · Rat personality, elements and matches

Years of the Ox 牛

Branch 丑 (Chou) · fixed element Earth 土 · Ox personality, elements and matches

Years of the Tiger 虎

Branch 寅 (Yin) · fixed element Wood 木 · Tiger personality, elements and matches

Years of the Rabbit 兔

Branch 卯 (Mao) · fixed element Wood 木 · Rabbit personality, elements and matches

Years of the Dragon 龙

Branch 辰 (Chen) · fixed element Earth 土 · Dragon personality, elements and matches

Years of the Snake 蛇

Branch 巳 (Si) · fixed element Fire 火 · Snake personality, elements and matches

Years of the Horse 马

Branch 午 (Wu) · fixed element Fire 火 · Horse personality, elements and matches

Years of the Goat 羊

Branch 未 (Wei) · fixed element Earth 土 · Goat personality, elements and matches

Years of the Monkey 猴

Branch 申 (Shen) · fixed element Metal 金 · Monkey personality, elements and matches

Years of the Rooster 鸡

Branch 酉 (You) · fixed element Metal 金 · Rooster personality, elements and matches

Years of the Dog 狗

Branch 戌 (Xu) · fixed element Earth 土 · Dog personality, elements and matches

Years of the Pig 猪

Branch 亥 (Hai) · fixed element Water 水 · Pig personality, elements and matches

Frequently asked questions

Why does this table start at 1924 and stop at 2027?: 1924 is a 甲子 year, the opening cell of the sixty-year cycle, so starting there keeps whole cycles rather than cutting one in half — 1984 is the same pillar again. The table stops at 2027 because that is the current Goat year on this site; the full boundary table, with no year pages behind it, runs from 1900 to 2043 on the "what is my Chinese zodiac sign" page.
Why is the same animal listed with five different elements?: The cycle pairs ten heavenly stems with twelve earthly branches. The branch carries the animal and repeats every twelve years; the stems carry the five elements in yang/yin pairs and repeat every ten. Twelve and ten only line up again after sixty, so each animal passes through all five elements before the exact pillar returns. The animal's own fixed element is a separate idea and does not move.
Does the element change what the sign means?: In the tradition it colours it rather than replaces it. Every year page carries the short reading for that element-and-animal pairing taken from the sign's own profile, alongside the tables that do not change: the branch relationships, the double hour, the compass sector. These are cultural correspondences, not a forecast.