Core answer: The 12 zodiac animals cycle yearly: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. 2025 is the Year of the Snake (from Spring Festival Jan 29, 2025), 2026 is the Horse (from Feb 17, 2026). To find your sign: (birth year − 4) mod 12 maps to the cycle — but anyone born in January or early February must check that year's Spring Festival date, or risk getting the wrong animal.
The cycle and quick formula
| Index (year−4) mod 12 | Animal | Recent years |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Rat 鼠 | 2008, 2020, 2032 |
| 1 | Ox 牛 | 2009, 2021 |
| 2 | Tiger 虎 | 2010, 2022 |
| 3 | Rabbit 兔 | 2011, 2023 |
| 4 | Dragon 龙 | 2012, 2024 |
| 5 | Snake 蛇 | 2013, 2025 |
| 6 | Horse 马 | 2014, 2026 |
| 7 | Goat 羊 | 2015, 2027 |
| 8 | Monkey 猴 | 2016, 2028 |
| 9 | Rooster 鸡 | 2017, 2029 |
| 10 | Dog 狗 | 2018, 2030 |
| 11 | Pig 猪 | 2019, 2031 |
Formula check: born 1990 → (1990 − 4) mod 12 = 6 → Horse ✓.
The January/February trap (read this before tattooing anything)
The zodiac year does NOT start on January 1. Two schools:
- Spring Festival school (mainstream): the animal changes on lunar 1/1. A baby born 2025-01-28 is a Dragon; born 2025-01-29 is a Snake.
- Lichun school (traditional astrology/八字): the animal changes at Lichun (Feb 3–5). By this rule a 2025-02-10 baby is already a Snake even though Spring Festival was Jan 29 — wait, that agrees; the divergence hits when birth falls between Jan 1 and Lichun: e.g., 2025-02-02 is Dragon by Lichun (Lichun fell Feb 3) but Snake by festival (Jan 29 passed). BaZi practitioners use Lichun; everyday usage uses Spring Festival.
Beyond the year: the full cycle
- 12-year cycle: your 本命年 (zodiac year) returns at ages 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 — tradition says wear red for luck (and caution).
- 60-year grand cycle: 12 animals × 5 elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) = 60 unique combinations; 2025 is 乙巳 Wood-Snake, repeating 1965.
- Month/day/hour pillars: BaZi (Eight Characters) assigns an animal-element pair to year, month, day, AND hour — the hour pillar divides the day into 12 two-hour blocks (Rat hour = 23:00–01:00).
Common mistakes and myths
- Zodiac by Jan 1 — the single most common error; January/early-February births must check the boundary.
- "Goat year is unlucky" — a folk bias with no statistical basis; birth-rate dips in Goat years (2015 saw ~2% fewer registrations in some regions) reflect the myth, not fate.
- Compatibility charts as science — 六合/六冲 pairings are cultural tradition; enjoy them as heritage, not decision tools.
- Assuming all of Asia shares China's year — Vietnam's zodiac replaces Rabbit with Cat and Ox with Water Buffalo; the Japanese zodiac switches on Jan 1 since 1873.
- Confusing zodiac with Western star signs — zodiac = birth YEAR (12-year cycle); horoscopes = birth MONTH (12 solar months). Entirely different systems.