Computed, not typed
The Monkey at a Glance
Your Earthly Branch is Shēn (申), carrying the fixed element Metal and Yang (assertive) polarity — both fixed for life, unlike the rotating element below. In the 12-animal cycle the Monkey sits 9th of 12, trine-linked to Rat and Dragon, and in direct clash with the Tiger straight across the wheel. Traditionally, the Monkey hour runs 3 PM – 5 PM. None of that is typed in by hand — it comes straight from the Monkey's 9th-of-12 position in the cycle, computed the same way for all 12 signs.
- Earthly Branch
- Shēn (申)
- Fixed Element
- Metal
- Polarity
- Yang (assertive)
- Archetype
- The Inventive Improviser
- Ruling Hours
- 3 PM – 5 PM
- Cycle Position
- 9th of 12
- Trine Allies
- Rat & Dragon
- Direct Clash
- Tiger
- Next Monkey Year
- 2028 (Earth)
| Element | Year | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Monkey | 1992 | February 4, 1992 | January 22, 1993 |
| Wood Monkey | 2004 | January 22, 2004 | February 8, 2005 |
| Fire Monkey | 2016 | February 8, 2016 | January 27, 2017 |
| Earth Monkey | 2028 | January 26, 2028 | February 12, 2029 |
| Metal Monkey | 2040 | February 12, 2040 | January 31, 2041 |
Your nearest Water Monkey year is 1992, opening February 4, 1992 and closing January 22, 1993.
Metal · Yang
The Monkey: The Inventive Improviser
Everything below is true of every Monkey, in any year. What makes it yours is the chart above — your Shēn (申) branch, your Yang (assertive) polarity, and the 9th-of-12 seat in the cycle a full BaZi reading builds on. Your fixed element, Metal, colors how that 9th-of-12 personality actually shows up day to day.
You're the most adaptable problem-solver of the twelve, and you don't need full information before you'll move. You step into the mess, gather what you need in real time, and adjust faster than the situation can turn against you. In chaos, where the careful planners freeze waiting for certainty that never comes, you come alive. You'd rather wing it brilliantly than wait to be sure.
Your curiosity runs wide. You'll go deep on something, get genuinely good at it, and then catch fire over something completely unrelated. People who don't share your range call it scattered. People who do recognize it for what it is, a mind that connects things across worlds that specialists never get close enough to see. Your best ideas come from setting two unrelated things side by side and noticing what jumps.
But the maintenance phase feels like a punishment built specifically for you. Your gift fires hottest in the early, open-ended part, and the long grind of keeping something running drains you dry. You also lean on your cleverness to slip around rules and structures you find dumb, which wins you the moment and quietly costs you trust over time.
That's the line you keep having to find. People notice when the same quick mind that solves the problem is also the one that cut the corner. Some systems deserve to be outsmarted and some deserve to be respected, and pretending you can't tell the difference is its own kind of dodge.
That's the Monkey in general. Born under a Metal branch at the 9th seat of the cycle, with Yang (assertive) polarity running underneath it, is what a full chart uses to make it specific to you.
Where it goes from here
Reading a Monkey Chart
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Confirm your exact year
The Monkey covers a birth year, but the Chinese zodiac year opens at Chinese New Year, not January 1 — check your exact boundary before you assume. 1992, 2004 are Monkey years on this site.
-
See your rotating element
Monkey is fixed for life, but its paired element rotates. Your next Monkey year is 2028, a Earth Monkey, opening January 26, 2028.
-
Read the rest of the chart
Your Year Animal is the public layer. A full BaZi reading also weighs your Day Master and the balance of the five elements, plus how your chart sits against the Monkey's own 9th-of-12 cycle position and its 3 PM – 5 PM hour branch.
Monkey birth years on this site
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Before you go
Monkey — Questions People Ask
What years are the Chinese zodiac Monkey?
Monkey years repeat every twelve years, each one paired with a different element. On this site, 1992, 2004 are Monkey years — your next one lands in 2028, opening January 26, 2028. That's a Earth Monkey year, 9th in line since the last full rotation.
What element is the Monkey?
The Monkey's fixed branch element is Metal, but the Heavenly Stem paired with it rotates through all five elements across the 60-year cycle — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water each take a turn. The nearest Water Monkey year is 1992; the full rotation is in the table above.
What hours does the Monkey rule?
In traditional BaZi, each of the 12 animals also rules a two-hour block of the day. The Monkey's hours are 3 PM – 5 PM — the same branch, Shēn (申), that gives the Monkey its year also governs an Hour Pillar for anyone born in that window.
Which signs is the Monkey most compatible with?
Rat and Dragon and Snake sit closest to the Monkey — Rat and Dragon share its 9th-of-12 trine position, one of the three harmonious groupings the 12-animal cycle forms every 4 positions. Monkey tends to hit more friction with Tiger, Pig, Monkey — and its direct clash, straight across the cycle, is the Tiger.
Is the Monkey the same every year?
The animal itself never changes — anyone born in a Monkey year is a Monkey for life. What changes is the element: Monkey sits 9th of 12 in the cycle, and each time it comes back around (every 12 years) it's paired with the next element in the 60-year rotation, which is why 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 and 2032 are all Monkey years with five different elemental characters.
Where does the Monkey sit in the 12-year cycle?
9th of 12. The cycle runs Rat through Pig in a fixed order, and the Monkey's position sets both its trine allies — Rat and Dragon — and its direct clash, the Tiger, which always sits exactly 6 positions around the wheel.
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