You’re well-versed in Western astrology, regularly read your horoscope, brace yourself whenever Mercury goes retrograde, and get excited when your Sun sign’s season rolls around (happy Aquarius season, btw). However, you *might* be less familiar with your Chinese zodiac sign—and how it reflects your personality.
While Western and Chinese astrology differ in the time periods assigned to each sign—Western astrology is based on months, while Chinese astrology is based on years—the two share many similarities, says Laura Lau, a Chinese-American writer and the co-author of The Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, based in Los Angeles, California.
Chinese astrology uses 12 different animal signs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. “They all have big reputations,” says Lau. And this year, the Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year), begins on February 10, welcoming the Year of the Dragon. But there's a little more to it than that—the five elements also play a role in the rotations—making this the Year of the Wood Dragon.
Ahead, find out the next time your Chinese zodiac sign will match the year, as well as what it says about your personality.
When is Chinese New Year?
Each Chinese New Year arrives in either late January or early February, says Lau. The starting date changes every year based on how long it takes the calendar to cycle through each of the 12 animals, she adds. February 10, 2024 marks the start of this year's Lunar New Year, the year of the Dragon!
Okay, so how can I find out my Chinese zodiac sign?
Your main animal sign correlates with the year you were born (and repeats on a 12-year cycle). But it goes a bit deeper than that—if you look at your entire Chinese astrology chart, there's also "an animal that corresponds to the month, day, and hour that you were born," Lau says.
For example, you might have been born in the year of the Ox but the hour of the Rooster, and that can explain a part of yourself that you didn’t quite understand before. FYI, you can quickly find your sign with this calculator, or take a look below:
- Dragon: 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
- Snake: 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
- Horse: 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
- Sheep: 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
- Monkey: 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
- Rooster: 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
- Dog: 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
- Pig: 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
- Rat: 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032
- Ox: 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033
- Tiger: 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034
- Rabbit: 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035
The Mythology Behind the Chinese Zodiac
There's lots of folklore around the Chinese zodiacs and how they came to be, Lau says. However, the story that she's always known is that when Lord Buddha left Earth and ascended into the heavens, he told the animals of the Earth that he would be leaving.
The 12 animals that joined him are the ones honored in the cycle, and the order was determined by who came first to honor Buddha and bid him farewell, she continues. That's why the order goes: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Monkey, Sheep, Rooster, Dog, then Pig.
