Began February 2, 1984 · 384 days long
1984: year of the Wood Rat
The Rat year started on February 2, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1984 before that date is a Pig.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 1, 1984 11:46 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 7:46 AM Thu, Feb 2 · sets the date
- Year of the Rat
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 19, 1985 6:43 PM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1984: the new moon in your city
The Wood Rat year opened with the new moon at 11:46 PM UTC on February 1, 1984 — 7:46 AM on February 2 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 6:46 PM on February 1 in New York, 11:46 PM on February 1 in London and 10:46 AM on February 2 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Wed, Feb 1, 1984 |
| Honolulu United States | 1:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 2:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−9 |
| Los Angeles United States | 3:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 4:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 4:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 5:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 5:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 6:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 6:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 6:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 6:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 7:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 8:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 8:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 8:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 11:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 11:46 PM Wed, Feb 1, 1984 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 12:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 12:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 12:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 1:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 1:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 1:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 2:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+3 |
| Moscow Russia | 2:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 2:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 3:16 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 3:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 4:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 5:16 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 5:16 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 5:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 6:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 6:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 7:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+8 |
| Beijing China | 7:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 7:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 8:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+9 |
| Seoul South Korea | 8:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 8:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 10:16 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 9:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 10:46 AM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 12:46 PM Thu, Feb 2, 1984 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1984 date as in the Hong Kong Observatory calendar. Local times: IANA time zones, to the minute.
18 pages · printable
The 2027 Sky Calendar — free PDF
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
Personality
The Wood Rat personality
Anyone born from February 2, 1984 through February 19, 1985 is a Wood Rat: the yang wood stem 甲 over the 子 branch.
The Rat's own Water feeds Wood here, which drains as much as it gives: productive, but inclined to spend itself. Wood brings growth, patience and cooperation — traditionally the most flexible version, one that expands rather than forces.
Stem and branch
1984 is 甲子 (Jiǎzǐ)
Na yin — the sounding element
Gold in the Sea 海中金
Metal lying deep under water: real worth that is not yet visible. Traditional readings give these years ability that needs time, or the right circumstances, to surface — value that is recognized late rather than early.
1984 therefore carries wood from its stem and metal from its na yin. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
A double spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 1984 and February 4, 1985, Beijing time. The Rat year spans February 2, 1984 to February 19, 1985, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1984 Rat
The 子 branch puts a 1984 Rat opposite the Horse on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Horse year after it was 1990. Its harmony partner is the Ox, whose year followed straight after, in 1985. How the Rat and Horse get on →
Rats born in 1984 turn 42 in 2026 — 43 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1984
- Born January 1 – February 1, 1984: a Water Pig, the animal of 1983.
- Born February 2, 1984 or later in the year: a Wood Rat.
A year-only calculator mislabels 32 days of 1984, everything from January 1 to February 1. Roughly one US birth in 12 falls on those dates — 8.4% in SSA records for 2000–2014. Check your exact date →
The Rat across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Rat.
The lunar calendar of 1984
Why 384 days, and not 365
1984 repeated its tenth month: the leap month 闰十月 ran from November 23 to December 21 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 1984 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Thu, Feb 16, 1984 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Mon, Jun 4, 1984 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Fri, Aug 3, 1984 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Sat, Aug 11, 1984 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Mon, Sep 10, 1984 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Wed, Oct 3, 1984 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sat, Dec 22, 1984 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Mon, Jan 28, 1985 |
The year's first full moon arrived at 8:41 AM on February 17, the day after the Lantern Festival. This time the calendar and the sky agreed: the Moon was exactly full on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, at 3:01 PM Beijing time on September 10.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1984
Lengths differ because a leap month is inserted every two or three years. This is what makes the new year date jump rather than drift.
By date, 1984 sits mid-table: of the 110 new years, 42 fall earlier in the calendar and 64 later. Three other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1972 began on February 15; twelve years later, 1996 began on February 19 — both marked in lavender with the other Rat years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1984: Zodiac Year of the Wood Rat.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1984/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1984: Zodiac Year of the Wood Rat |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1984/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}