The Chinese zodiac animals
The Chinese zodiac runs on a twelve-year cycle, each year governed by an animal, and it is one of the oldest continuously used systems of character reading in the world. It is not numerology in the Pythagorean sense — but it rhymes with it, and the two are often read side by side.
Where a Life Path number comes from your exact birth date, your zodiac animal comes from your birth year — with one wrinkle worth knowing: the Chinese year begins at Lunar New Year, in late January or February, so anyone born in those weeks may belong to the previous animal.
Explore each one
Finding your animal
Your animal is set by your birth year, counted from Lunar New Year rather than 1 January. If you were born in January or early February, check the exact date of that year’s New Year before deciding — a great many people carry the wrong animal for exactly this reason. See also our comparison of numerology systems for how the Chinese tradition sits alongside the Western one.
Common questions
How is the Chinese zodiac different from numerology?
The Chinese zodiac runs on a twelve-year cycle of animals set by your birth year, while Pythagorean numerology reduces your full birth date to a number. They are separate systems, though they are often read side by side.
When does the Chinese year actually begin?
At Lunar New Year, in late January or February — not on 1 January. Anyone born in those weeks may belong to the previous year’s animal, and a great many people carry the wrong animal for exactly this reason.
Which animal is the luckiest?
The Dragon is traditionally held to be the most auspicious sign, which is why birth rates measurably rise in Dragon years across parts of East Asia.
Keep exploring