Chinese Zodiac2026 Year of the Fire Horse

Why the Chinese Zodiac Follows the Moon

Unlike the Gregorian (solar) calendar — which tracks the Earth's orbit around the Sun — the Chinese Zodiac is rooted in the lunisolar calendar, one of humanity's oldest timekeeping systems, continuously refined over 3,000 years.

In the lunisolar system, each month begins at a new moon. The year is anchored by both lunar phases and the sun's seasonal position. This is why Chinese New Year has no fixed Gregorian date: it always falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice — landing somewhere between January 21 and February 20 each year.

This seemingly small detail has a major consequence for your zodiac sign. If you were born in January or early February, your sign may belong to the previous year — not the Gregorian calendar year of your birth. For example, someone born February 5, 2021 (before Chinese New Year on February 12) has the Rat sign (2020), not the Ox.

The complete Chinese astrological system uses a 60-year grand cycle: 12 animals × 5 elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). Each unique animal-element pairing — like the Fire Horse — occurs only once every 60 years, making each full cycle a complete astrological generation.

Our calculator uses verified lunar New Year start dates from 1850 onward, so your result is always accurate, regardless of when in January or February you were born.