2008 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Rat (戊子)
戊子 Wu Zi · Yang Earth over the Rat's Water branch · number 25 of 60
2008 was a 戊子 (Wu Zi) year — the 25th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Earth Rat year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 戊 (Yang Earth); the branch 子, the Rat itself, carries Water whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 霹雳火 — a Fire na yin.
The 2008 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2008, 19:00 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 2009, 4 Feb 2009, 00:49 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 2008 fell on 7 February 2008, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 2008 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
2008 is one of 9 Rat years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Earth Rat years in that span (1948 and 2008), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 戊子 pillar last stood in 1948 and returns in 2068.
Which sign a 2008 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2008, 00:00 → 4 February 2008, 19:00 | 丁亥 | Fire Pig | Still the Pig year that opened in 2007. |
| 4 February 2008, 19:00 → 31 December 2008, 23:59 | 戊子 | Earth Rat | The Rat year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 2009. |
Born on 1 January 2008? That is a Pig, not a Rat: the Fire Pig year 丁亥 ran on until 4 February 2008 at 19:00 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 2008 it fell at 19:00 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Rat year, so a birth at 19:00 on that day is already a Rat. 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 戊子 pillar
| 2008 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 戊子 (Wu Zi) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 25 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 戊 — Yang Earth 土 |
| Earthly branch | 子 — the Rat 鼠, fixed element Water 水 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 霹雳火 — a Fire na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 2008, 19:00 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 7 February 2008 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1948 / 2068 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 戊子 belongs to 1948, 2008 and 2068 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 Rat
Earth Rat (Wu Zi) puts Earth above Water, the controlling relationship, and the traditional image is of an embankment. Planning becomes structure: this variant is associated with administration, property and patience with slow processes. The note of caution is rigidity — a Rat that has built good systems can defend them past the point where they still fit.
| Variant | Stem and branch | Rat years 1924–2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Rat | 甲子 | 1924, 1984 |
| Fire Rat | 丙子 | 1936, 1996 |
| Earth Rat | 戊子 | 1948, 2008 |
| Metal Rat | 庚子 | 1960, 2020 |
| Water Rat | 壬子 | 1972 |
Every Rat year from 1924 to 2027
- 1924Wood Rat
- 1936Fire Rat
- 1948Earth Rat
- 1960Metal Rat
- 1972Water Rat
- 1984Wood Rat
- 1996Fire Rat
- 2008Earth Rat · this page
- 2020Metal Rat
Born in 2008: the 2027 Goat year
| Rat born 2008 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 18–19 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 20 |
| Relationship with the 2027 Tai Sui | Harm 害太岁 |
| Traditional reading | Mixed — a minor Tai Sui affliction |
| 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 2008 is 18 if their birthday has not yet come round and 19 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 20 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 Rat in 2027. For the part of the sign that does not move with the year, see the Rat profile.
Frequently asked questions
- Someone born in January 2008 — Pig or Rat?
- Pig. The Rat year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2008, 19:00 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Fire Pig year 丁亥. Chinese New Year 2008 fell on 7 February 2008, 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 2008 an Earth Rat or a Water Rat?
- Earth Rat, and both labels are describing something real. The element in the popular name comes from the year's heavenly stem, which for 2008 is 戊 — Yang Earth. The Water belongs to the branch 子, the Rat's own fixed element, and it does not change from one Rat year to the next. So 2008 is an Earth stem sitting over a water branch; its na yin, a third system again, is 霹雳火.
- How old is someone born in 2008 in 2027?
- 18–19 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 20 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. 2008 is one of 9 Rat years between 1924 and 2027; in 2027 all of them stand in the same relationship to the Tai Sui — Harm 害太岁 — but each is a different age.