Began February 16, 2018 · 354 days long
2018: year of the Earth Dog
The Dog year started on February 16, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 2018 before that date is a Rooster.
- Opening new moon
- Feb 15, 2018 9:05 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 5:05 AM Fri, Feb 16 · sets the date
- Year of the Dog
- 354 days 12 lunar months
- It ends
- Feb 4, 2019 9:04 PM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 2018: the new moon in your city
The Earth Dog year opened with the new moon at 9:05 PM UTC on February 15, 2018 — 5:05 AM on February 16 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 4:05 PM on February 15 in New York, 9:05 PM on February 15 in London and 8:05 AM on February 16 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Thu, Feb 15, 2018 |
| Honolulu United States | 11:05 AM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 12:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−9 |
| Los Angeles United States | 1:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 2:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 2:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 3:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 3:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 4:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 4:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 4:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 4:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 5:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 6:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 6:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 7:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC−2 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 9:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 9:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC |
| Lagos Nigeria | 10:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 10:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 10:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 11:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 11:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 11:05 PM Thu, Feb 15, 2018 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 12:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+3 |
| Moscow Russia | 12:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 12:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 12:35 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 1:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 2:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 2:35 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 2:50 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+5:45 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 3:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 4:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 4:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 5:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+8 |
| Beijing China | 5:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 5:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 5:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 6:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 6:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 7:35 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+10:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 7:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 8:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+11 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 10:05 AM Fri, Feb 16, 2018 · UTC+13 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 2018 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 Earth Dog personality
Anyone born from February 16, 2018 through February 4, 2019 is an Earth Dog: the yang earth stem 戊 over the 戌 branch.
Earth is already the Dog's own element, so here it is doubled and everything typical of the sign runs at full strength. Of the five Dogs this is the most loyal, and the least inclined to compromise.
Stem and branch
2018 is 戊戌 (Wùxū)
Na yin — the sounding element
Wood of the Plain 平地木
Trees and crops growing on open, level ground. The image is ordinary growth with wide reach — usefulness to many, and a need for open space and light.
2018 therefore carries earth from its stem and wood from its na yin. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
An ordinary single-spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 2018 and February 4, 2019, Beijing time. The Dog year spans February 16, 2018 to February 4, 2019, so exactly one of them sits inside it. What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 2018 Dog
The 戌 branch puts a 2018 Dog opposite the Dragon on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Dragon year after it was 2024. Its harmony partner is the Rabbit, whose year came round 5 years later, in 2023. How the Dog and Dragon get on →
Dogs born in 2018 turn 8 in 2026 — 9 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 2018
- Born January 1 – February 15, 2018: a Fire Rooster, the animal of 2017.
- Born February 16, 2018 or later in the year: an Earth Dog.
This is one of the late new years: 46 days, from New Year's Day to February 15, still belong to the Rooster. That is about one US birth in 8 (12.2%, SSA records 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Dog across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Dog.
The lunar calendar of 2018
Why 354 days, and not 365
No leap month this time: from February 16, 2018 to February 4, 2019, 2018 ran twelve months, six of 30 days and six of 29 — 354 days.
The 30-day months were the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 12th.
Festival dates in the 2018 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Fri, Mar 2, 2018 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Mon, Jun 18, 2018 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Fri, Aug 17, 2018 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Sat, Aug 25, 2018 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Mon, Sep 24, 2018 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Wed, Oct 17, 2018 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Sat, Dec 22, 2018 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Sun, Jan 13, 2019 |
At the Lantern Festival on March 2 the year's first full moon came that same day, at 8:51 AM Beijing time. The festival night of September 24 fell a day before the true full moon, which came at 10:52 AM Beijing time on September 25 — lunar day 16.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 2018
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.
Only twelve of the 110 new years in the table fall later in the calendar than February 16. Two other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 2006 began on January 29; twelve years later, 2030 begins on February 3 — both marked in lavender with the other Dog years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 2018: Zodiac Year of the Earth Dog.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2018/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 2018: Zodiac Year of the Earth Dog |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/2018/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}