Chinese Astrology and the Five Elements
Knowing your zodiac animal is a fun way to plan for the year ahead. How, then, can we determine which animal we are? The chart below outlines every year from 1936 through 2019, and shows which animals represent what years. Chinese New Year begins on a different day each year, falling somewhere between mid-January and mid-February. If you are born in those weeks, consult a Chinese Astrological Chart available on numerous websites to determine which animal represents you.
| +Rat | 1936 | 1948 | 1960 | 1972 | 1984 | 1996 | 2008 |
| -Ox | 1937 | 1949 | 1961 | 1973 | 1985 | 1997 | 2009 |
| +Tiger | 1938 | 1950 | 1962 | 1974 | 1986 | 1998 | 2010 |
| -Rabbit | 1939 | 1951 | 1963 | 1975 | 1987 | 1999 | 2011 |
| +Dragon | 1940 | 1952 | 1964 | 1976 | 1988 | 2000 | 2012 |
| -Snake | 1941 | 1953 | 1965 | 1977 | 1989 | 2001 | 2013 |
| +Horse | 1942 | 1954 | 1966 | 1978 | 1990 | 2002 | 2014 |
| -Sheep | 1943 | 1955 | 1967 | 1979 | 1991 | 2003 | 2015 |
| +Monkey | 1944 | 1956 | 1968 | 1980 | 1992 | 2004 | 2016 |
| -Rooster | 1945 | 1957 | 1969 | 1981 | 1993 | 2005 | 2017 |
| +Dog | 1946 | 1958 | 1970 | 1982 | 1994 | 2006 | 2018 |
| -Boar | 1947 | 1959 | 1971 | 1983 | 1995 | 2007 | 2019 |
This chart has animals and years presented in five different colors to correspond to each of the Five Elements:
- Green / Wood
- Red / Fire
- Yellow / Earth
- White (Gray) / Metal
- Blue / Water
In a glance you can see that all years in green are influenced by Wood Element, all years in red by Fire Element, and so on.
The Rat, Ox and Boar in the first column of the chart are in blue meaning they are fixed Water Element animals. Fixed Wood animals are the Tiger, Rabbit and Dragon, and so on. Note that there are no fixed Earth Element animals in the Chinese Zodiac. The ancient Taoist philosophers believed that since humans all reside on the Earth we are all by nature already endowed with basic Earth Element traits.
Let’s do a little basic interpretation. We call this an Earth Rat year. Yet the Rat is a fixed Water animal sign. Those of you who know Mien Shiang and therefore the Taoist theory of the Five Elements know that Earth and Water have a challenging relationship because Earth controls Water, limiting its natural flow and exploration. That means that in this very successful year of the Rat, the challenges most of us will have in common will be that we might feel that we are stymied, or muddled – stuck in the mud if you will.
