The twelve zodiac animals
The zodiac animal is the oldest and most widely known layer of Chinese character reading. It is simply the earthly branch of the year pillar in Bazi — twelve branches, twelve animals.
Its weight is worth stating before anything else: the animal is one character out of eight. It gives you the direction, not the whole of it.
What each animal tends toward
Rat Quick-witted, adaptable, sociable; overthinks, and finds security hard to come by.
Ox Steady, dependable, with staying power; stubborn, and not given to saying what they feel.
Tiger Confident and brave, a natural at leading; impulsive, and no friend of rules.
Rabbit Gentle, perceptive, easy to like; avoids conflict, and hesitates.
Dragon Commanding, ambitious, after excellence; sometimes arrogant, and demanding of everyone, themselves included.
Snake Clever, intuitive, considered; suspicious, and keeps what is on their mind to themselves.
Horse Warm, full of energy, after freedom; impatient, and quick to lose interest.
Goat Tender and considerate, genuinely empathetic; short on conviction, and inclined to melancholy.
Monkey Sharp, funny, able to turn a hand to anything; restless, and fond of a shortcut.
Rooster Diligent, disciplined, organised, plain-spoken; critical, and more easily stung than they look.
Dog Loyal, straight, responsible, true to people; a worrier, and inclined to expect the worst.
Pig Kind, sincere, forgiving, cheerful; a little naive, and apt to come off worse in a relationship.
The animals, the elements and the body
Each animal is one earthly branch, and each branch carries a fixed element:
Rat (子) and Pig (亥) are Water ｜ Tiger (寅) and Rabbit (卯) are Wood ｜ Snake (巳) and Horse (午) are Fire ｜ Monkey (申) and Rooster (酉) are Metal ｜ Ox (丑), Dragon (辰), Goat (未) and Dog (戌) are Earth
In traditional Chinese medicine each element has its organs: Wood the liver, gallbladder and eyes; Fire the heart and blood vessels; Earth the spleen and stomach; Metal the lungs and skin; Water the kidneys and bones. A tendency recorded in the tradition, not a diagnosis — anyone who looks after themselves is entitled to look nothing like it.
Past the animal
If the animal does not describe you well, that is ordinary enough — it is one character out of eight. For anything finer you need the full four pillars and the Day Master, with numerology and MBTI read alongside them.
Common questions
- Does the animal change at Lunar New Year, or at the start of spring?
In metaphysics it turns at 立春, the start of spring. So someone born in January or early February may have a different animal from the one the Lunar New Year reckoning gives them. This site uses 立春.
- If our animals clash, can we not be together?
That is not what it says. Relations like the six clashes and the six harms describe where two people tend to get stuck, not whether they can be together at all. Knowing where the sticking point is makes it easier to handle, not harder.
Enter your birth details once and all seven systems are worked out together. The core number, the Day Master, the four pillars, your zodiac profile and the daily reading are all free.
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