Every Sign, In Cycle Order
Rat through Pig, the order the 12-year cycle actually runs in. Each animal is fixed for life; the element paired with it rotates every 12 years and only repeats in full every 60.
How the 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals Work
Your birth year sets your Year Animal, on a fixed 12-year rotation from Rat to Pig. The animal never changes once you know it, and it's the most widely recognized layer of the Chinese zodiac.
What does change is the element riding alongside it. Each animal cycles through Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water as it recurs, so 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 and 2032 are all Rat years, but a Wood Rat, a Fire Rat, an Earth Rat, a Metal Rat, and a Water Rat read differently. The full animal-plus-element pairing only repeats once every 60 years — the traditional sexagenary cycle.
The 12 animals also fall into four trine groups (three signs, four positions apart, traditionally the most compatible) and each has one direct clash directly opposite it on the wheel. Both are shown on every animal's own page, computed from its position in the cycle rather than asserted.
Chinese zodiac animal questions
What are the 12 Chinese zodiac animals in order?
Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, then the cycle repeats. Each animal governs one birth year in a repeating 12-year sequence and one two-hour block of every day.
Does my animal’s element ever change?
The animal itself is fixed for life, but the element paired with it rotates. A Rat born in 1984 is a Wood Rat; one born in 1996 is a Fire Rat. The full pairing (animal + element) only repeats once every 60 years — each animal page shows the nearest real occurrence of all five.
What is a trine, and what is a clash?
The 12 animals split into four trine groups of three, each group four positions apart in the cycle — traditionally the most harmonious pairings. Every animal also has one direct clash: the sign exactly opposite it, six positions around the wheel. Both are computed from cycle position, not assigned by hand.
Which animal am I if I was born in January or early February?
Possibly the previous year’s animal. The Chinese zodiac year starts at Chinese New Year, which moves between late January and mid-February, not on January 1. Check your exact birth year on the years page, or calculate your precise sign above.
Look up your sign by birth year → · Back to the Chinese zodiac hub →