About the Chinese Zodiac Signs
Learn how the twelve animals, earthly branches, five elements and Chinese New Year boundary form the zodiac cycle.
The Chinese zodiac combines twelve earthly branches and animals with a ten-stem cycle of Yin and Yang forms of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Together they create a repeating sixty-year cycle: a full year name such as Yang Fire Horse returns once every sixty years.
This site's date calculator uses Chinese New Year for the animal-year boundary. That scope differs from complete BaZi (Four Pillars) chart calculation, which also accounts for month, day, and hour pillars.