1978 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Horse (戊午)
戊午 Wu Wu · Yang Earth over the Horse's Fire branch · number 55 of 60
1978 was a 戊午 (Wu Wu) year — the 55th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Earth Horse year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 戊 (Yang Earth); the branch 午, the Horse itself, carries Fire whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 天上火 — a Fire na yin.
The 1978 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1978, 12:26 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1979, 4 Feb 1979, 18:12 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1978 fell on 7 February 1978, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1978 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1978 is one of 9 Horse years between 1924 and 2027, and the only Earth Horse year in that span, because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 戊午 pillar last stood in 1918 and returns in 2038.
Which sign a 1978 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1978, 00:00 → 4 February 1978, 12:26 | 丁巳 | Fire Snake | Still the Snake year that opened in 1977. |
| 4 February 1978, 12:26 → 31 December 1978, 23:59 | 戊午 | Earth Horse | The Horse year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1979. |
Born on 1 January 1978? That is a Snake, not a Horse: the Fire Snake year 丁巳 ran on until 4 February 1978 at 12:26 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1978 it fell at 12:26 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Horse year, so a birth at 12:26 on that day is already a Horse. Convert your own birth moment to Beijing time first — a birth in the Americas on the previous evening can already be past Lichun in Beijing. Check an exact birth date and time.
The 戊午 pillar
| 1978 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 戊午 (Wu Wu) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 55 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 戊 — Yang Earth 土 |
| Earthly branch | 午 — the Horse 马, fixed element Fire 火 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 天上火 — a Fire na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1978, 12:26 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 7 February 1978 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1918 / 2038 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 戊午 belongs to 1918, 1978 and 2038 and to no year in between. That is why a sixtieth birthday is traditionally marked: it is the year the whole pillar comes back.
The Earth Horse
Earth Horse (Wu Wu) has Fire producing Earth, so the branch's energy is discharged into something solid. The tradition reads it as the most grounded of the five: the same drive applied to land, buildings or a business with inventory. Stem and branch even share a romanisation, and the descriptions emphasise a reliability unusual for the sign, with stubbornness as its shadow.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Horse years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Horse | 甲午 | 1954, 2014 |
| Fire Horse | 丙午 | 1966, 2026 |
| Earth Horse | 戊午 | 1978 |
| Metal Horse | 庚午 | 1930, 1990 |
| Water Horse | 壬午 | 1942, 2002 |
Every Horse year from 1924 to 2027
- 1930Metal Horse
- 1942Water Horse
- 1954Wood Horse
- 1966Fire Horse
- 1978Earth Horse · this page
- 1990Metal Horse
- 2002Water Horse
- 2014Wood Horse
- 2026Fire Horse
Born in 1978: the 2027 Goat year
| Horse born 1978 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 48–49 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 50 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Six Harmony 六合 |
| Traditional reading | Favourable — supported by the Tai Sui |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Wood · green, teal · 3, 8 · East |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1978 is 48 if their birthday has not yet come round and 49 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 50 once New Year 2027 has passed.
The full reading — the month-by-month table, the five-element relationship with the year stem and the traditional remedies — is on Horse in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Horse profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1978 — Snake or Horse?
- Snake. The Horse year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1978, 12:26 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Fire Snake year 丁巳. Chinese New Year 1978 fell on 7 February 1978, which is a different boundary again; classical chart work uses Lichun. Convert your birth moment to Beijing time before comparing it, because the Chinese calendar is defined on that meridian.
- Is 1978 an Earth Horse or a Fire Horse?
- Earth Horse, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1978 is 戊 — Yang Earth. The Fire belongs to the branch 午, the Horse's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Horse year to the next. So 1978 is an Earth stem sitting over a fire branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 天上火.
- How old is someone born in 1978 in 2027?
- 48–49 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 50 by the nominal count (虚岁) that starts at one and rises at each Chinese New Year. The two answers differ because the ordinary count waits for the birthday and the nominal one does not. 1978 is one of 9 Horse years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Six Harmony 六合 — but each is a different age.