Animal 12 of 12 · Water · Yin
The Pig
Generosity, appetite and unguarded good faith.
Strength. Genuinely kind and hard to provoke. Gives without keeping a ledger.
Friction. Trusts too readily and indulges too easily.
Each animal also governs two hours of the day — the Pig holds 21:00–23:00. Someone born in those hours is said to carry the Pig as an inner sign regardless of their year.
Traits
Pig years
| Year | Element | New year began |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Fire Pig | 22 January |
| 1959 | Earth Pig | 8 February |
| 1971 | Metal Pig | 27 January |
| 1983 | Water Pig | 13 February |
| 1995 | Wood Pig | 31 January |
| 2007 | Fire Pig | 18 February |
| 2019 | Earth Pig | 5 February |
| 2031 | Metal Pig | 23 January |
Born in January or early February of one of these years? Check the new year date — you may belong to the previous animal.
The five Pigs
The Pig's own fixed element is Water. The element of the year interacts with it differently each time, which is what separates the five versions — and why the cycle runs sixty years.
| Version | Years | Relation to Water |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Pig | 1935, 1995 | Drained by it — productive but costly |
| Fire Pig | 1947, 2007 | Dominated by it — most forceful |
| Earth Pig | 1959, 2019 | Controls it — most restrained |
| Metal Pig | 1971, 2031 | Feeds it — best supported |
| Water Pig | 1983, 2043 | Doubled — strongest expression |
Calculated from the lunar calendar
Not every Pig year is the same length
A lunisolar year runs 12 or 13 lunar months, so it lasts between 353 and 385 days rather than a fixed 365. That means the window for being born under a sign is genuinely wider in some years than others.
| Year | Ran from | To | Days | Lunar months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | 4 Feb 1935 | 23 Jan 1936 | 354 | 12 |
| 1947 | 22 Jan 1947 | 9 Feb 1948 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1959 | 8 Feb 1959 | 27 Jan 1960 | 354 | 12 |
| 1971 | 27 Jan 1971 | 14 Feb 1972 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1983 | 13 Feb 1983 | 1 Feb 1984 | 354 | 12 |
| 1995 | 31 Jan 1995 | 18 Feb 1996 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 2007 | 18 Feb 2007 | 6 Feb 2008 | 354 | 12 |
| 2019 | 5 Feb 2019 | 24 Jan 2020 | 354 | 12 |
| 2031 | 23 Jan 2031 | 10 Feb 2032 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
A leap month is inserted seven times every nineteen years to keep the lunar calendar aligned with the seasons. Those are the 13-month years, and they run a full month longer than the others — a difference of about a month in how long a sign lasts.
The next Pig year is 2031
By tradition that is the year for a Pig to be careful in, not to celebrate. Why your own animal's year is considered unlucky.
Pig compatibility
| With | Relation | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Goat | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Tiger | Traditional ally | 88% |
| Ox | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Rooster | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Pig | Same sign | 72% |
| Rat | Neutral | 68% |
| Dragon | Neutral | 68% |
| Horse | Neutral | 68% |
| Dog | Neutral | 68% |
| Monkey | Square — friction | 60% |
| Snake | Traditional clash | 45% |