1995 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Wood Pig (乙亥)
乙亥 Yi Hai · Yin Wood over the Pig's Water branch · number 12 of 60
1995 was a 乙亥 (Yi Hai) year — the 12th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Wood Pig year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 乙 (Yin Wood); the branch 亥, the Pig itself, carries Water whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 山头火 — a Fire na yin.
The 1995 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1995, 15:12 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 1996, 4 Feb 1996, 21:07 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 1995 fell on 31 January 1995, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 1995 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
1995 is one of 8 Pig years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Wood Pig years in that span (1935 and 1995), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 乙亥 pillar last stood in 1935 and returns in 2055.
Which sign a 1995 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1995, 00:00 → 4 February 1995, 15:12 | 甲戌 | Wood Dog | Still the Dog year that opened in 1994. |
| 4 February 1995, 15:12 → 31 December 1995, 23:59 | 乙亥 | Wood Pig | The Pig year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 1996. |
Born on 1 January 1995? That is a Dog, not a Pig: the Wood Dog year 甲戌 ran on until 4 February 1995 at 15:12 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 1995 it fell at 15:12 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Pig year, so a birth at 15:12 on that day is already a Pig. 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 乙亥 pillar
| 1995 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 乙亥 (Yi Hai) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 12 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 乙 — Yin Wood 木 |
| Earthly branch | 亥 — the Pig 猪, fixed element Water 水 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 山头火 — a Fire na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 1995, 15:12 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 31 January 1995 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1935 / 2055 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 乙亥 belongs to 1935, 1995 and 2055 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 Pig
Wood Pig (Yi Hai) draws the branch's hidden Wood to the surface, Water producing Wood, and the tradition reads it as the most quietly ambitious of the five: generous, but with something of its own growing steadily underneath. Yi Hai is associated with cultivation, teaching and long patient projects, and the caution is that the sign gives away the resources its own growth needs.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Pig years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Pig | 乙亥 | 1935, 1995 |
| Fire Pig | 丁亥 | 1947, 2007 |
| Earth Pig | 己亥 | 1959, 2019 |
| Metal Pig | 辛亥 | 1971 |
| Water Pig | 癸亥 | 1983 |
Every Pig year from 1924 to 2027
- 1935Wood Pig
- 1947Fire Pig
- 1959Earth Pig
- 1971Metal Pig
- 1983Water Pig
- 1995Wood Pig · this page
- 2007Fire Pig
- 2019Earth Pig
Born in 1995: the 2027 Goat year
| Pig born 1995 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 31–32 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 33 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Three Harmony 三合 |
| 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 | Metal · white, gold · 4, 9 · West |
At Lichun 2027 someone born in 1995 is 31 if their birthday has not yet come round and 32 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 33 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 Pig in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Pig profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 1995 — Dog or Pig?
- Dog. The Pig year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 1995, 15:12 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Wood Dog year 甲戌. Chinese New Year 1995 fell on 31 January 1995, 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 1995 a Wood Pig or a Water Pig?
- Wood Pig, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 1995 is 乙 — Yin Wood. The Water belongs to the branch 亥, the Pig's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Pig year to the next. So 1995 is a Wood stem sitting over a water branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 山头火.
- How old is someone born in 1995 in 2027?
- 31–32 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 33 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. 1995 is one of 8 Pig years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Three Harmony 三合 — but each is a different age.