Your birthday animal depends on whether you're asking about the Western Zodiac (stars/planets), the Chinese Zodiac (lunar calendar animals), or maybe even a Native American/Celtic "spirit animal", but most commonly, people mean the Chinese Zodiac; for example, 1984 was the Rat, 1990 was the Horse, and 2000 was the Dragon, so you just need to find your birth year on a chart.
You can find out what your zodiac animal is by using a zodiac calendar (like the one below) and finding your birth year. Every year on the Lunar New Year, a new zodiac animal becomes prominent. Lunar New Year falls in January or February each year.
Your birth year animal is determined by the Chinese Zodiac, a 12-year cycle featuring animals like the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, with each year associated with an animal and element (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) that repeats every 60 years. For example, 2024 was the Wood Dragon, 2025 is the Wood Snake, and 2026 will be the Horse.
Find Your Chinese Zodiac Sign based on your birth year:
The 12 Chinese zodiac animals, in their repeating 12-year cycle, are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (or Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, each symbolizing different personality traits and fortunes, originating from a mythical race organized by the Jade Emperor.
In Chinese culture, the top 5 luckiest/most popular zodiac signs are Dragon, Snake, Pig, Rat, and Tiger conventionally.
Taurus (♉︎; Ancient Greek: Ταῦρος, romanized: Taûros, Latin for "bull") is the second astrological sign in the modern zodiac.
While astrology suggests different signs have their lucky streaks, Sagittarius is most often cited as the luckiest due to its ruler, Jupiter (planet of fortune), bringing expansion, optimism, and opportunities, with Leo, Aries, and Pisces also frequently appearing as very fortunate due to their connection to leadership, bravery, intuition, and Jupiter's influence.
2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake in the Chinese zodiac because it follows the 12-year animal cycle and combines the Snake (the sixth animal) with the Wood element from the 60-year sexagenary cycle, starting January 29, 2025, symbolizing wisdom, transformation, and growth, especially in creativity and strategy. The Wood Snake brings themes of renewal, intuition, and potential fruition of past efforts, making it a time for positive change and development.
Knowing this, the cat asked the rat to wake him up on race day. However, the cunning rat seized the opportunity and left the cat behind, racing ahead without waking him. By the time the cat awoke, the race was already underway, and he had missed his chance for a spot in the zodiac.
The Chinese calculate age differently than Westerners do. They believe that when you are born, you cannot be zero years old, so at birth, you are already one. Then, after the Chinese New Year, you add another year!
Aquarius is the eleventh astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Aquarius. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this sign between January 20 and February 19. If your birthday falls in this date range, you have an Aquarius Sun Sign.
Your birth year animal is determined by the Chinese Zodiac, a 12-year cycle featuring animals like the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, with each year associated with an animal and element (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) that repeats every 60 years. For example, 2024 was the Wood Dragon, 2025 is the Wood Snake, and 2026 will be the Horse.
With the story of the birth of Christ coinciding with this date, many Christian symbols for Christ use the astrological symbol for Pisces, the fishes. The figure Christ himself bears many of the temperaments and personality traits of a Pisces, and is thus considered an archetype of the Piscean.
What does Pisces mean? Pisces is the name of a constellation that is interpreted as resembling two fish. It is sometimes called the Fishes. A constellation is a group of stars that appear near each other in the sky—especially a group that has been given a name.
Pisces will get along swimmingly with fellow Water signs (Cancer and Scorpio) since they share a similar desire for emotional depth. However, they may find their best match in Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn).
Who is the perfect soulmate for Taurus? While several zodiac signs feature personalities that play well with the determined nature of the Taurus, Virgos and Cancerians are undoubtedly the most compatible.
To find your Chinese zodiac animal, you need your birth year; for example, 2020 was the Rat, 2021 the Ox, 2022 the Tiger, 2023 the Rabbit, 2024 the Dragon, 2025 the Snake, and 2026 is the Horse, with each animal repeating every 12 years in a cycle. Just find your year in the list below to see your sign, but remember the Chinese New Year starts in late January or February, so early January births might fall under the previous year's animal.
Libra (♎︎; Ancient Greek: Ζυγός, romanized: Zygós, Latin for "scales") is the seventh astrological sign in the zodiac.
Finding your Chinese Zodiac element is simple: those born during years that end in 0 or 1 are Metal; years that end in 2 or 3 are Water, years that end in 4 or 5 are Wood; years that end in 6 or 7 are Fire; and years that end in 8 or 9 are Earth.
Here's the ranking of signs from rarest to most common, using the Ophiuchus model: