1990 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Horse (庚午)
庚午 Geng Wu · Yang Metal over the Horse's Fire branch · number 7 of 60
1990 was a 庚午 (Geng Wu) year — the 7th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Metal Horse year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 庚 (Yang Metal); the branch 午, the Horse itself, carries Fire whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 路旁土 — an Earth na yin.
The 1990 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1990, 10:14 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1991, 4 Feb 1991, 16:08 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1990 fell on 27 January 1990, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1990 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1990 is one of 9 Horse years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Metal Horse years in that span (1930 and 1990), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 庚午 pillar last stood in 1930 and returns in 2050.
Which sign a 1990 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1990, 00:00 → 4 February 1990, 10:14 | 己巳 | Earth Snake | Still the Snake year that opened in 1989. |
| 4 February 1990, 10:14 → 31 December 1990, 23:59 | 庚午 | Metal Horse | The Horse year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1991. |
Born on 1 January 1990? That is a Snake, not a Horse: the Earth Snake year 己巳 ran on until 4 February 1990 at 10:14 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1990 it fell at 10:14 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Horse year, so a birth at 10:14 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 庚午 pillar
| 1990 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 庚午 (Geng Wu) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 7 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 庚 — Yang Metal 金 |
| Earthly branch | 午 — the Horse 马, fixed element Fire 火 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 路旁土 — an Earth na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1990, 10:14 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 27 January 1990 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1930 / 2050 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 庚午 belongs to 1930, 1990 and 2050 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 Metal Horse
Metal Horse (Geng Wu) puts Metal under Fire, the element the branch controls, which the texts read as drive with a target. This is the competitive variant — sport, sales, anything scored — and the one most likely to convert energy into money. The classical note is that Fire melting Metal is hard on both, so the advice concerns rest and the treatment of rivals.
| 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
- 1990Metal Horse · this page
- 2002Water Horse
- 2014Wood Horse
- 2026Fire Horse
Born in 1990: the 2027 Goat year
| Horse born 1990 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 36–37 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 38 |
| 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 1990 is 36 if their birthday has not yet come round and 37 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 38 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 1990 — Snake or Horse?
- Snake. The Horse year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1990, 10:14 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Earth Snake year 己巳. Chinese New Year 1990 fell on 27 January 1990, 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 1990 a Metal Horse or a Fire Horse?
- Metal Horse, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1990 is 庚 — Yang Metal. 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 1990 is a Metal stem sitting over a fire branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 路旁土.
- How old is someone born in 1990 in 2027?
- 36–37 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 38 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. 1990 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.