12 Animals of the Chinese Zodiac

In Chinese astrology, the 12 zodiac animal signs are, in order, the rat, ox (water buffalo), tiger, hare (rabbit), dragon, snake, horse, goat (ram or sheep), monkey, rooster, dog and pig (boar).

The animal signs assigned by year represent what others perceive you as being or how you present yourself. It is a common misconception that the animals assigned by year are the only signs, and many western descriptions of Chinese astrology draw solely on this system. In fact, there are also animal signs assigned by month (called inner animals), day, and hours of the day (called secret animals). Each of the 12 animals are governed by an element plus a Yin Yang Direction.

   1. Rat (Yang, Fixed Element Water)
   2. Ox (Yin, Fixed Element Water)
   3. Tiger (Yang, Fixed Element Wood)
   4. Hare (Yin, Fixed Element Wood)
   5. Dragon (Yang, Fixed Element Wood)
   6. Snake (Yin, Fixed Element Fire)
   7. Horse (Yang, Fixed Element Fire)
   8. Goat (Yin, Fixed Element Fire)
   9. Monkey (Yang, Fixed Element Metal)
  10. Rooster (Yin, Fixed Element Metal)
  11. Dog (Yang, Fixed Element Metal)
  12. Pig (Yin, Fixed Element Water)