Birth Year Animals

What is your Birth Year Animal?

• Mouse: 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008
• Cow: 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009
• Tiger: 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010
• Rabbit: 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999 2011
• Dragon: 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012
• Snake: 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013
• Horse: 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014
• Sheep: 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015
• Monkey: 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016
• Bird: 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005 2017
• Dog: 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006 2018
• Boar: 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007 2019

Personalities
The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, the following are the twelve zodiac signs and their characteristics.

1. Mouse
Forthright, tenacious, intense, meticulous, charismatic, sensitive, intellectual, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable, artistic, and shrewd. Can be manipulative, vindictive, self-destructive, envious, mendacious, venal, obstinate, critical, over-ambitious, ruthless, intolerant, and scheming.

2. Cow
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
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. Rabbit
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
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
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
Cheerful, popular, quick-witted, changeable, earthy, perceptive, talkative, agile, magnetic, intelligent, astute, flexible, open-minded. Can be fickle, arrogant, childish, anxious, rude, gullible, stubborn.

8. Sheep
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
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.

10. Bird
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
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. Boar
Honest, gallant, sturdy, sociable, peace-loving, patient, loyal, hard-working, trusting, sincere, calm, understanding, thoughtful, scrupulous, passionate, intelligent. Can be naïve, over-reliant, self-indulgent, gullible, fatalistic, materialistic.

In Japanese astrology the animal signs assigned by year represent what others perceive you as being or how you present yourself. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many western descriptions of Japanese astrology draw solely on this system. In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by month (called inner animals) and hours of the day (called secret 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 8,640 possible combinations (60 year cycle (5 elements × 12 animals) × 12 months × 12 times of the day) that a person might be. These are all considered critical for the proper use of Japanese astrology.