How Much Fun is the
Chinese Zodiac Calendar?
Searching for a Chinese zodiac calendar?
Have you even been to a Chinese restaurant that had paper placemats with a funny looking Chinese zodiac printed on them?
What usually happens is that everyone at the table looks up their birth year to discover what animal they are. Then they might even read aloud the attributes to that animal.
You can be appalled to find out you're a rat (for example) but really the Chinese zodiac calendar is just to be taken lightheartedly. And you'll be be secretly delighted I'm sure!
Actually, you might even discover you're a tenacious and ruthless rat, a hardworking and demanding ox, an impulsive and daring tiger or a gracious, superficial rabbit too!
Which Zodiac Animal Are You?
On the other hand:
You might be a pig, dog, rooster, monkey, ram, horse, snake or dragon. So in additional to discovering your wicked personality traits (sorry), you can also look up the signs you are compatible with and see who might rub you the wrong way.
Chinese zodiac calendar animal signs
All in all though, the Chinese calendar is a load of fun!
If you want to find out now what sign you are right now, see the resources at the bottom of this page.
There you'll see your personal forecast with everything from astrology love matching to your preferences and challenges!
Spend a few minutes and look up your birth date for a free mini soul scope reading. Look around for Chinese calendar websites that give you the planetary positions and house cusp positions, planetary aspects and analysis!
Although 2010 is the year of the Tiger, by seeing the list of zodiac's below you can find out how YOU will fare this coming year!
The Chinese Zodiac Calendar Revealed
Year of the Tiger of course means that anyone born during the year 2010 will in fact, always and forever remain a Tiger according to the Chinese calendar.
Chinese zodiac calendars themselves come in countless designs. Visualize the zodiac calendar as a round, colorful wheel resembling something between a dartboard and a clock, with the clock numbers substituted for animals...
Chinese zodiac calendar astrology designs
Even easier, picture a large pre-sliced pizza to visualize the circular zodiac calendar. They can be quite beautiful. (And tasty too, sorry!)
Chinese zodiac calendars also may come in standard, grid-like formats which aren't always attractive, but are easy to reference.
Because there is not a lot of data in the Chinese Zodiac, usually one page is enough to contain the essential information and still have room for graphics.
Chinese Zodiac Calendar Symbols
12 symbols are needed, with a description plus about 120 year dates. For this reason, a Chinese zodiac calendar make for an excellent poster.
Maybe you'll like the Chinese zodiac paper placemat idea. The zodiac placemats make for great dinner table conversation too!
The actual Chinese zodiac calendar (below) is a twelve year cycle in which each year is associated with a specific animal. Those born during the year of a certain animal are though to share some of the qualities of that animal. The twelve animals in order are:
| Rat | Ox | Tiger | Hare (Rabbit) |
Dragon | Snake | Horse | Ram (Goat) |
Monkey | Rooster | Dog | Pig |
| 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 | 1910 | 1911 |
| 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 |
| 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 |
| 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 |
| 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 |
| 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 |
| 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 |
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
The Chinese Twelve Animal Personalities
Chinese zodiac signs represent the twelve different types of personalities. Traditionally, the zodiac begins with the sign of the Rat and there are many stories about the origins of the Chinese Zodiac which explain why this is so. The following are the twelve zodiac signs in order and their characteristics.
1. Rat - 鼠 (子) (Yang, Fixed Element Water): Forthright, tenacious, intense, meticulous, charismatic, sensitive, intellectual, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable, artistic, shrewd. Can be manipulative, vindictive, self-destructive, envious, mendacious, venal, obstinate, critical, over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant, scheming.
2. Ox - 牛 (丑) (Water buffalo in Vietnam) (Yin, Fixed Element Water): Dependable, ambitious, calm, methodical, born leader, patient, hardworking, conventional, steady, modest, logical, resolute, tenacious. Can be stubborn, dogmatic, hot-tempered, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, demanding.
3. Tiger - 虎 (寅) (Yang, Fixed Element Wood): Unpredictable, rebellious, colorful, powerful, passionate, daring, impulsive, vigorous, stimulating, sincere, affectionate, humanitarian, generous. Can be restless, reckless, impatient, quick-tempered, obstinate, selfish, aggressive, moody.
4. Hare - 兔 or 兎 (卯) (Cat in Vietnam) (Yin, Fixed Element Wood): Gracious, good friend, kind, sensitive, soft-spoken, amiable, elegant, reserved, cautious, artistic, thorough, tender, self-assured, shy, astute, compassionate, lucky, flexible. Can be moody, detached, superficial, self-indulgent, opportunistic, stubborn.
5. Dragon - 龍 / 龙 (辰) (Yang, Fixed Element Wood): Magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, eccentric, intellectual, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, artistic, generous, loyal. Can be tactless, arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, intolerant, dogmatic, violent, impetuous, brash.
6. Snake - 蛇 (巳) (Yin, Fixed Element Fire): Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious, suffocating, cold.
7. Horse - 馬 / 马 (午) (Yang, Fixed Element Fire): Cheerful, popular, quick-witted, changeable, earthy, perceptive, talkative, agile-mentally and physically, magnetic, intelligent, astute, flexible, open-minded. Can be fickle, arrogant, childish, anxious, rude, gullible, stubborn.
8. Ram - 羊 (未) (Yin, Fixed Element Fire): Righteous, sincere, sympathetic, mild-mannered, shy, artistic, creative, gentle, compassionate, understanding, mothering, peaceful, generous, seeks security. Can be moody, indecisive, over-passive, worrier, pessimistic, over-sensitive, complainer, weak-willed.
9. Monkey - 猴 (申) (Yang, Fixed Element Metal): Inventor, motivator, improviser, quick-witted, inquisitive, flexible, innovative, problem solver, self-assured, sociable, artistic, polite, dignified, competitive, objective, factual, intellectual. Can be egotistical, vain, arrogant, selfish, reckless, snobbish, deceptive, manipulative, cunning, jealous, suspicious, and queuey.
10. Rooster - 雞 / 鸡 (酉) (Yin, Fixed Element Metal): Acute, neat, meticulous, organized, self-assured, decisive, conservative, critical, perfectionist, alert, zealous, practical, scientific, responsible. Can be over zealous and critical, puritanical, egotistical, abrasive, proud, opinionated, given to empty bravado.
11. Dog - 狗 / 犬 (戌) (Yang, Fixed Element Metal): Honest, intelligent, straightforward, loyal, sense of justice and fair play, attractive, amicable, unpretentious, sociable, open-minded, idealistic, moralistic, practical, affectionate, sensitive, easy going. Can be cynical, lazy, cold, judgmental, pessimistic, worrier, stubborn, quarrelsome.
12. Pig - 豬 / 猪 (亥) (Boar in Japan and Elephant in Northern Thailand) (Yin, Fixed Element Water): Honest, gallant, sturdy, sociable, peace-loving, patient, loyal, hard-working, trusting, sincere, calm, understanding, thoughtful, scrupulous, passionate, intelligent. Can be naive, over-reliant, self-indulgent, gullible, fatalistic, materialistic.
More About The Chinese Zodiac Calendar
In Chinese astrology the animal signs assigned by year represent how you present yourself or what others perceive you as being. A common misconception is that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many western descriptions of Chinese astrology draw solely on this system.
In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by hours of the day (called secret animals) and months (called inner animals).
To sum it up, while a person might appear to be a dragon because they were born in the year of the dragon, they might also be a snake internally and an ox secretively.
In total, this makes for quite a few different possible combinations - 8,640 in all, made up of a 60 year cycle (5 elements x 12 animals) x 12 months x 12 times of day that a person might be. And they're all considered critical for the proper use of Chinese astrology!
