I CHING, DECODED

The twelve animals

The Chinese Zodiac

Each animal pairs with one of five elements. A 60-year cycle that names a person by birth year.

The Five Elements

An animal is half the picture.

Every zodiac year is also coloured by one of the five elements - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water. The element shifts the emphasis: a Wood Dragon is not a Fire Dragon. Together, the animal and the element name sixty distinct years before the cycle repeats.

Wood

Spring

Fire

Summer

Earth

Center

Metal

Autumn

Water

Winter

Find yours

Which animal and element are you?

Enter your birth year and see the pairing the cycle gave you - one of sixty.