Animal 10 of 12 · Metal · Yin
The Rooster
Precision, candour and visible competence.
Strength. Notices detail others miss and says so. Prepares more thoroughly than required.
Friction. Critical out loud, and mistakes bluntness for honesty.
Each animal also governs two hours of the day — the Rooster holds 17:00–19:00. Someone born in those hours is said to carry the Rooster as an inner sign regardless of their year.
Traits
Rooster years
| Year | Element | New year began |
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Wood Rooster | 13 February |
| 1957 | Fire Rooster | 31 January |
| 1969 | Earth Rooster | 17 February |
| 1981 | Metal Rooster | 5 February |
| 1993 | Water Rooster | 23 January |
| 2005 | Wood Rooster | 9 February |
| 2017 | Fire Rooster | 28 January |
| 2029 | Earth Rooster | 13 February |
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 Roosters
The Rooster's own fixed element is Metal. 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 Metal |
|---|---|---|
| Water Rooster | 1933, 1993 | Drained by it — productive but costly |
| Wood Rooster | 1945, 2005 | Dominated by it — most forceful |
| Fire Rooster | 1957, 2017 | Controls it — most restrained |
| Earth Rooster | 1969, 2029 | Feeds it — best supported |
| Metal Rooster | 1981, 2041 | Doubled — strongest expression |
Calculated from the lunar calendar
Not every Rooster 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | 26 Jan 1933 | 13 Feb 1934 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1945 | 13 Feb 1945 | 1 Feb 1946 | 354 | 12 |
| 1957 | 31 Jan 1957 | 17 Feb 1958 | 383 | 13 — leap year |
| 1969 | 17 Feb 1969 | 5 Feb 1970 | 354 | 12 |
| 1981 | 5 Feb 1981 | 24 Jan 1982 | 354 | 12 |
| 1993 | 23 Jan 1993 | 9 Feb 1994 | 383 | 13 — leap year |
| 2005 | 9 Feb 2005 | 28 Jan 2006 | 354 | 12 |
| 2017 | 28 Jan 2017 | 15 Feb 2018 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 2029 | 13 Feb 2029 | 2 Feb 2030 | 355 | 12 |
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 Rooster year is 2029
By tradition that is the year for a Rooster to be careful in, not to celebrate. Why your own animal's year is considered unlucky.
Rooster compatibility
| With | Relation | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Ox | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Snake | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Dragon | Traditional ally | 88% |
| Goat | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Pig | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Rooster | Same sign | 72% |
| Tiger | Neutral | 68% |
| Monkey | Neutral | 68% |
| Dog | Neutral | 68% |
| Rat | Square — friction | 60% |
| Horse | Square — friction | 60% |
| Rabbit | Traditional clash | 45% |