The 60 Element Signs of the Chinese Zodiac
Your Chinese zodiac is more than an animal. Each animal pairs with one of the five elements — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water — to form 60 distinct signs, like the Fire Snake or the Wood Dragon. Find yours below.
Find your element sign
Enter your birth year to reveal which of the 60 signs you are.
In Chinese astrology your birth year gives you both a zodiac animal (your sign) and an element (the energy running through it that year). The animal shapes your character; the element flavours it. Together they cycle through 60 unique combinations every 60 years — which is why two people born in the same animal year can feel quite different. For example, 1998 is the year of the Earth Tiger, 1986 the Fire Tiger, and 2025 the Wood Snake. Use the finder above, or pick your animal then your element below.
Why are there 60 signs, not 120?
You might expect 12 animals × 5 elements × 2 polarities (Yin and Yang) = 120. But the polarity of a sign name is not free. In the 60 year calendar each animal only ever meets one polarity of each element, so there are exactly 12 × 5 = 60 sign names.
That is why every Rat sign name is Yang (Yang Wood Rat, Yang Fire Rat … Yang Water Rat) and every Ox sign name is Yin (Yin Wood Ox … Yin Water Ox). Six animals, Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey and Dog, only ever pair with a Yang year stem. The other six, Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Goat, Rooster and Pig, only ever pair with a Yin year stem. There is no "Yin Water Rat," because the Rat is a Yang sign in the 60 sign naming cycle.
One thing worth knowing, because it trips almost everyone up. The Yin or Yang in a sign name comes from the year stem, the character the calendar pairs with the animal in that year. It describes the year you were born in, not the animal. Every animal also carries its own fixed element, the element and polarity native to that animal, and the two can disagree. The Rat is the clearest example: every Rat sign name is Yang, and yet the Rat's own fixed element is Yin Water. Both statements are true. They are answering different questions.
All 60 signs, by animal
Pick your animal, then your element. Remember that the Yin or Yang in each name below is the polarity of that year's stem. It is not a statement about the animal's own fixed element.
Rat
More on the Rat sign →
Ox
More on the Ox sign →
Tiger
More on the Tiger sign →
Rabbit
More on the Rabbit sign →
Dragon
More on the Dragon sign →
Snake
More on the Snake sign →
Horse
More on the Horse sign →
Goat
More on the Goat sign →
Monkey
More on the Monkey sign →
Rooster
More on the Rooster sign →
Dog
More on the Dog sign →
Pig
More on the Pig sign →
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my Chinese element sign?
What is my Chinese sign if I was born in 1998?
What is the difference between my zodiac animal and my element sign?
Why do two people born in the same animal year feel different?
How often does each element sign repeat?
Is my element sign the same as my BaZi or Four Pillars?
Where this fits in Chinese astrology
Animal times element: the 60 signs are the full resolution of year-sign Chinese astrology.
Your sign is only the beginning
Your element sign comes from your birth year alone. Your full energy chart reads all four pillars of your birth — year, month, day and hour — to reveal how every one of the five elements shapes your love, career and health.