2009 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Ox (己丑)
己丑 Ji Chou · Yin Earth over the Ox's Earth branch · number 26 of 60
2009 was a 己丑 (Ji Chou) year — the 26th of the sixty stem-and-branch combinations, and in everyday English a Earth Ox year. The element in that name comes from the heavenly stem 己 (Yin Earth); the branch 丑, the Ox itself, carries Earth whatever the stem above it says. Its na yin, the older sixty-part scheme, reads 霹雳火 — a Fire na yin.
The 2009 zodiac year did not start on 1 January. It started at Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2009, 00:49 (Beijing time, UTC+8), and ran until the instant before Lichun 2010, 4 Feb 2010, 06:47 (Beijing time, UTC+8). Chinese New Year 2009 fell on 26 January 2009, a separate boundary that festivals use; between the two dates the popular and the classical conventions disagree. Anyone born in January or early February 2009 should check the table below before claiming a sign.
2009 is one of 9 Ox years between 1924 and 2027, and one of 2 Earth Ox years in that span (1949 and 2009), because stem and branch only line up again after sixty years: the same 己丑 pillar last stood in 1949 and returns in 2069.
Which sign a 2009 birthday belongs to
| Born between (Beijing time) | Stem and branch | Sign | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2009, 00:00 → 4 February 2009, 00:49 | 戊子 | Earth Rat | Still the Rat year that opened in 2008. |
| 4 February 2009, 00:49 → 31 December 2009, 23:59 | 己丑 | Earth Ox | The Ox year proper; it runs on past 31 December until Lichun 2010. |
Born on 1 January 2009? That is a Rat, not a Ox: the Earth Rat year 戊子 ran on until 4 February 2009 at 00:49 Beijing time.
Lichun is an astronomical instant, not a date: in 2009 it fell at 00:49 Beijing time (UTC+8). The instant itself starts the Ox year, so a birth at 00:49 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 己丑 pillar
| 2009 | |
|---|---|
| Stem and branch | 己丑 (Ji Chou) |
| Place in the sixty-year cycle | 26 of 60 |
| Heavenly stem | 己 — Yin Earth 土 |
| Earthly branch | 丑 — the Ox 牛, fixed element Earth 土 |
| Na yin (纳音) | 霹雳火 — a Fire na yin |
| Lichun (start of the zodiac year) | 4 Feb 2009, 00:49 (Beijing time, UTC+8) |
| Chinese New Year | 26 January 2009 |
| Same pillar last seen / next seen | 1949 / 2069 |
Ten stems and twelve branches only return to the same pairing after sixty years, so 己丑 belongs to 1949, 2009 and 2069 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 Ox
Earth Ox (Ji Chou) doubles the element and is the most concentrated version of the sign. Stem and branch both Earth gives the texts their image of bedrock: extreme persistence, deep conservatism with money, strong attachment to home ground. The standard caution is isolation, since an Ox with nothing to soften it is read as slow to ask for anything, including help.
| 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
- 1997Fire Ox
- 2009Earth Ox · this page
- 2021Metal Ox
Born in 2009: the 2027 Goat year
| Ox born 2009 | |
|---|---|
| Age at Lichun 2027 | 17–18 |
| Nominal age 虚岁 | 19 |
| 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 2009 is 17 if their birthday has not yet come round and 18 if it has. The nominal age (虚岁), counted as one at birth and raised at each Chinese New Year, is 19 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 2009 — Rat or Ox?
- Rat. The Ox year did not begin until Lichun (立春), 4 Feb 2009, 00:49 (Beijing time, UTC+8), so every birthday from 1 January up to that instant still belongs to the Earth Rat year 戊子. Chinese New Year 2009 fell on 26 January 2009, 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.
- Why is 2009 called a Earth Ox twice over?
- Because both halves of the pillar carry the same element. The stem 己 is Yin Earth, and the branch 丑 — the Ox itself — is fixed as Earth in the branch tables. 2009 is one of the years where the two agree, which is why tables that read the stem and tables that read the branch both print Earth Ox. Its na yin, a third and older system, reads 霹雳火 (Fire).
- How old is someone born in 2009 in 2027?
- 17–18 by the ordinary count at Lichun 2027, and 19 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. 2009 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.