1991 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Metal Goat (辛未)
辛未 Xin Wei · Yin Metal over the Goat's Earth branch · number 8 of 60
1991 was a 辛未 (Xin Wei) year — the 8th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Metal Goat year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 辛 (Yin Metal); the branch 未, the Goat itself, carries Earth whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 路旁土 — an Earth na yin.
The 1991 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1991, 16:08 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1992, 4 Feb 1992, 21:48 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1991 fell on 15 February 1991, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1991 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1991 is one of 9 Goat years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Metal Goat years in that span (1931 and 1991), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 辛未 pillar last stood in 1931 and returns in 2051.
Which sign a 1991 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1991, 00:00 → 4 February 1991, 16:08 | 庚午 | Metal Horse | Still the Horse year that opened in 1990. |
| 4 February 1991, 16:08 → 31 December 1991, 23:59 | 辛未 | Metal Goat | The Goat year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1992. |
Born on 1 January 1991? That is a Horse, not a Goat: the Metal Horse year 庚午 ran on until 4 February 1991 at 16:08 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1991 it fell at 16:08 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Goat year, so a birth at 16:08 on that day is already a Goat. 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 辛未 pillar
| 1991 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 辛未 (Xin Wei) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 8 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 辛 — Yin Metal 金 |
| Earthly branch | 未 — the Goat 羊, fixed element Earth 土 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 路旁土 — an Earth na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1991, 16:08 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 15 February 1991 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1931 / 2051 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 辛未 belongs to 1931, 1991 and 2051 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 Goat
Metal Goat (Xin Wei) puts Metal over the wood vault, the controlling relationship, and the reading is craft with a standard attached — refinement, editing, the ability to discard nine attempts and keep the tenth. Xin Wei is described as the most quietly demanding of the five, and the classical note is that the demand is turned on the sign's own work first.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Goat years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Goat | 乙未 | 1955, 2015 |
| Fire Goat | 丁未 | 1967, 2027 |
| Earth Goat | 己未 | 1979 |
| Metal Goat | 辛未 | 1931, 1991 |
| Water Goat | 癸未 | 1943, 2003 |
Every Goat year from 1924 to 2027
- 1931Metal Goat
- 1943Water Goat
- 1955Wood Goat
- 1967Fire Goat
- 1979Earth Goat
- 1991Metal Goat · this page
- 2003Water Goat
- 2015Wood Goat
- 2027Fire Goat
Born in 1991: the 2027 Goat year
| Goat born 1991 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 35–36 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 37 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Presiding (Ben Ming Nian) 值太岁 |
| Traditional reading | Challenging — a major Tai Sui affliction |
| Ben Ming Nian 本命年 | Yes — 2027 is a Goat year |
| Lucky element for the year | Water · black, blue · 1, 6 · North |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1991 is 35 if their birthday has not yet come round and 36 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 37 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 Goat in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Goat profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1991 — Horse or Goat?
- Horse. The Goat year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1991, 16:08 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Metal Horse year 庚午. Chinese New Year 1991 fell on 15 February 1991, 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 1991 a Metal Goat or an Earth Goat?
- Metal Goat, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1991 is 辛 — Yin Metal. The Earth belongs to the branch 未, the Goat's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Goat year to the next. So 1991 is a Metal stem sitting over an earth branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 路旁土.
- How old is someone born in 1991 in 2027?
- 35–36 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 37 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. 1991 is one of 9 Goat years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Presiding (Ben Ming Nian) 值太岁 — but each is a different age.