Animal 4 of 12 · Wood · Yin
The Rabbit
Tact, refinement and avoidance of unnecessary conflict.
Strength. Keeps the peace intelligently and notices what everyone needs before it is said.
Friction. Avoids confrontation past the point of usefulness, and withdraws instead of arguing.
Each animal also governs two hours of the day — the Rabbit holds 05:00–07:00. Someone born in those hours is said to carry the Rabbit as an inner sign regardless of their year.
Traits
Rabbit years
| Year | Element | New year began |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Earth Rabbit | 19 February |
| 1951 | Metal Rabbit | 6 February |
| 1963 | Water Rabbit | 25 January |
| 1975 | Wood Rabbit | 11 February |
| 1987 | Fire Rabbit | 29 January |
| 1999 | Earth Rabbit | 16 February |
| 2011 | Metal Rabbit | 3 February |
| 2023 | Water Rabbit | 22 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 Rabbits
The Rabbit's own fixed element is Wood. 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 Wood |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Rabbit | 1927, 1987 | Drained by it — productive but costly |
| Earth Rabbit | 1939, 1999 | Dominated by it — most forceful |
| Metal Rabbit | 1951, 2011 | Controls it — most restrained |
| Water Rabbit | 1963, 2023 | Feeds it — best supported |
| Wood Rabbit | 1975, 2035 | Doubled — strongest expression |
Calculated from the lunar calendar
Not every Rabbit 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 2 Feb 1927 | 22 Jan 1928 | 355 | 12 |
| 1939 | 19 Feb 1939 | 7 Feb 1940 | 354 | 12 |
| 1951 | 6 Feb 1951 | 26 Jan 1952 | 355 | 12 |
| 1963 | 25 Jan 1963 | 12 Feb 1964 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1975 | 11 Feb 1975 | 30 Jan 1976 | 354 | 12 |
| 1987 | 29 Jan 1987 | 16 Feb 1988 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1999 | 16 Feb 1999 | 4 Feb 2000 | 354 | 12 |
| 2011 | 3 Feb 2011 | 22 Jan 2012 | 354 | 12 |
| 2023 | 22 Jan 2023 | 9 Feb 2024 | 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 Rabbit year is 2035
By tradition that is the year for a Rabbit to be careful in, not to celebrate. Why your own animal's year is considered unlucky.
Rabbit compatibility
| With | Relation | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Goat | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Pig | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Dog | Traditional ally | 88% |
| Ox | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Snake | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Rabbit | Same sign | 72% |
| Tiger | Neutral | 68% |
| Dragon | Neutral | 68% |
| Monkey | Neutral | 68% |
| Rat | Square — friction | 60% |
| Horse | Square — friction | 60% |
| Rooster | Traditional clash | 45% |