Animal 3 of 12 · Wood · Yang
The Tiger
Courage, intensity and a refusal to be managed.
Strength. Acts when others hesitate, and inspires people to follow without asking them to.
Friction. Burns hot and short. Authority provokes rather than restrains it.
Each animal also governs two hours of the day — the Tiger holds 03:00–05:00. Someone born in those hours is said to carry the Tiger as an inner sign regardless of their year.
Traits
Tiger years
| Year | Element | New year began |
|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Earth Tiger | 31 January |
| 1950 | Metal Tiger | 17 February |
| 1962 | Water Tiger | 5 February |
| 1974 | Wood Tiger | 23 January |
| 1986 | Fire Tiger | 9 February |
| 1998 | Earth Tiger | 28 January |
| 2010 | Metal Tiger | 14 February |
| 2022 | Water Tiger | 1 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 Tigers
The Tiger'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 Tiger | 1926, 1986 | Drained by it — productive but costly |
| Earth Tiger | 1938, 1998 | Dominated by it — most forceful |
| Metal Tiger | 1950, 2010 | Controls it — most restrained |
| Water Tiger | 1962, 2022 | Feeds it — best supported |
| Wood Tiger | 1974, 2034 | Doubled — strongest expression |
Calculated from the lunar calendar
Not every Tiger 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 13 Feb 1926 | 1 Feb 1927 | 354 | 12 |
| 1938 | 31 Jan 1938 | 18 Feb 1939 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1950 | 17 Feb 1950 | 5 Feb 1951 | 354 | 12 |
| 1962 | 5 Feb 1962 | 24 Jan 1963 | 354 | 12 |
| 1974 | 23 Jan 1974 | 10 Feb 1975 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 1986 | 9 Feb 1986 | 28 Jan 1987 | 354 | 12 |
| 1998 | 28 Jan 1998 | 15 Feb 1999 | 384 | 13 — leap year |
| 2010 | 14 Feb 2010 | 2 Feb 2011 | 354 | 12 |
| 2022 | 1 Feb 2022 | 21 Jan 2023 | 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 Tiger year is 2034
By tradition that is the year for a Tiger to be careful in, not to celebrate. Why your own animal's year is considered unlucky.
Tiger compatibility
| With | Relation | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Horse | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Dog | Traditional ally | 90% |
| Pig | Traditional ally | 88% |
| Rat | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Dragon | Sextile — easy | 78% |
| Tiger | Same sign | 72% |
| Ox | Neutral | 68% |
| Rabbit | Neutral | 68% |
| Goat | Neutral | 68% |
| Rooster | Neutral | 68% |
| Snake | Square — friction | 60% |
| Monkey | Traditional clash | 45% |