1985 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Wood Ox (乙丑)
乙丑 Yi Chou · Yin Wood over the Ox's Earth branch · number 2 of 60
1985 was a 乙丑 (Yi Chou) year — the 2nd of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Wood Ox year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 乙 (Yin Wood); the branch 丑, the Ox itself, carries Earth whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 海中金 — a Metal na yin.
The 1985 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1985, 05:11 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1986, 4 Feb 1986, 11:07 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1985 fell on 20 February 1985, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1985 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1985 is one of 9 Ox years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Wood Ox years in that span (1925 and 1985), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 乙丑 pillar last stood in 1925 and returns in 2045.
Which sign a 1985 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1985, 00:00 → 4 February 1985, 05:11 | 甲子 | Wood Rat | Still the Rat year that opened in 1984. |
| 4 February 1985, 05:11 → 31 December 1985, 23:59 | 乙丑 | Wood Ox | The Ox year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1986. |
Born on 1 January 1985? That is a Rat, not a Ox: the Wood Rat year 甲子 ran on until 4 February 1985 at 05:11 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1985 it fell at 05:11 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Ox year, so a birth at 05:11 on that day is already a Ox. 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 乙丑 pillar
| 1985 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 乙丑 (Yi Chou) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 2 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 乙 — Yin Wood 木 |
| Earthly branch | 丑 — the Ox 牛, fixed element Earth 土 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 海中金 — a Metal na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1985, 05:11 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 20 February 1985 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1925 / 2045 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 乙丑 belongs to 1925, 1985 and 2045 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 Wood Ox
Wood Ox (Yi Chou) puts yin Wood over frozen Earth — the controlling relationship, roots working into hard ground. Tradition reads it as the most flexible of the five: an Ox that negotiates, that will accept a new method if the goal survives. The caution is that Wood on Earth is slow work, so this variant is described as tiring itself out against obstacles it could have walked round.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Ox years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Ox | 乙丑 | 1925, 1985 |
| Fire Ox | 丁丑 | 1937, 1997 |
| Earth Ox | 己丑 | 1949, 2009 |
| Metal Ox | 辛丑 | 1961, 2021 |
| Water Ox | 癸丑 | 1973 |
Every Ox year from 1924 to 2027
- 1925Wood Ox
- 1937Fire Ox
- 1949Earth Ox
- 1961Metal Ox
- 1973Water Ox
- 1985Wood Ox · this page
- 1997Fire Ox
- 2009Earth Ox
- 2021Metal Ox
Born in 1985: the 2027 Goat year
| Ox born 1985 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 41–42 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 43 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Clash 冲太岁 + Punishment 刑太岁 |
| Traditional reading | Challenging — a major Tai Sui affliction |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | No — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Water · black, blue · 1, 6 · North |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1985 is 41 if their birthday has not yet come round and 42 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 43 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 Ox in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Ox profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1985 — Rat or Ox?
- Rat. The Ox year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1985, 05:11 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Wood Rat year 甲子. Chinese New Year 1985 fell on 20 February 1985, 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 1985 a Wood Ox or an Earth Ox?
- Wood Ox, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1985 is 乙 — Yin Wood. The Earth belongs to the branch 丑, the Ox's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Ox year to the next. So 1985 is a Wood stem sitting over an earth branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 海中金.
- How old is someone born in 1985 in 2027?
- 41–42 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 43 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. 1985 is one of 9 Ox years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Clash 冲太岁 + Punishment 刑太岁 — but each is a different age.