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Zodiac 2 of 12 · Ox (丑)

The Ox (丑) — yin Earth, years 1901 to 2033

The Ox is the branch 丑 (Chou (Ox)): yin Earth, direction Northeast, the 12th month (beginning at Minor Cold), the hour 01:00–03:00. This page is that branch's calendar view — which Gregorian years belong to it, the minute each one begins, and which animals stand in a defined relation to it. For the branch as a position inside a chart — hidden stems, the ten-stem stage table, the five pillars containing it — see the branch page.

Computed facts (engine-verified)

Generated from engine v0.14.0, not hand-written; years and lichun instants come from the engine's lichun table.

AnimalOx 牛
Branch Chou (Ox) · position 2 of 12
Polarity & elementyin Earth (土)
Direction / seasonNortheast (东北) · Winter
Month12th month · begins at Minor Cold (小寒)
Hour01:00–03:00
Hidden stems Ji Yin Earth (main, 土); Gui Yin Water (middle, 水); Xin Yin Metal (residual, 金)
Six break Dragon

The years that belong to this animal

Each animal recurs twelve times across 144 years, once every twelve. The table gives the most recent cycles with the year pillar and the exact lichun instant (Beijing time) at which each year begins — so "after which date is someone born a Ox" is checkable to the minute.

YearYear pillarLichun (Beijing time)Age in 2027
1961辛丑 (Xin Chou)1961-02-04 09:2266
1973癸丑 (Gui Chou)1973-02-04 07:0454
1985乙丑 (Yi Chou)1985-02-04 05:1142
1997丁丑 (Ding Chou)1997-02-04 03:0130
2009己丑 (Ji Chou)2009-02-04 00:4918
2021辛丑 (Xin Chou)2021-02-03 22:586

The next one is 2033 (癸丑, Gui Chou), beginning at lichun on 2033-02-03 20:41.

Every year, 1900–2043

1901 · 1913 · 1925 · 1937 · 1949 · 1961 · 1973 · 1985 · 1997 · 2009 · 2021 · 2033

The year turns at lichun, not at New Year

This siteThe year pillar and the animal change at the instant of lichun, the moment the sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude. It falls on 3–5 February and is known to the minute.
Most zodiac sitesChange the animal at the lunar new year (the second new moon after the winter solstice). The two conventions disagree for anyone born between 1 January and lichun, and again between lichun and the lunar new year.
ConsequenceSomeone born before lichun on 2026-02-04 still carries the previous year's pillar. If your birthday falls in January or February, use the exact instant rather than the year.

The years this animal offends the year branch

Fan tai sui ("offending the year") is one of five fixed table relations between an animal and the year branch — own year, clash, punishment, harm, break — and they can stack. This site computes them from those tables, does not read them as fortune, and sells no remedy. Every year between 1924 and 2043 is listed below.

YearYear pillarRelation to the year branch
1925乙丑 (Yi Chou)值太岁 Own year
1928戊辰 (Wu Chen)破太岁 Break
1930庚午 (Geng Wu)害太岁 Harm
1931辛未 (Xin Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1934甲戌 (Jia Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
1937丁丑 (Ding Chou)值太岁 Own year
1940庚辰 (Geng Chen)破太岁 Break
1942壬午 (Ren Wu)害太岁 Harm
1943癸未 (Gui Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1946丙戌 (Bing Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
1949己丑 (Ji Chou)值太岁 Own year
1952壬辰 (Ren Chen)破太岁 Break
1954甲午 (Jia Wu)害太岁 Harm
1955乙未 (Yi Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1958戊戌 (Wu Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
1961辛丑 (Xin Chou)值太岁 Own year
1964甲辰 (Jia Chen)破太岁 Break
1966丙午 (Bing Wu)害太岁 Harm
1967丁未 (Ding Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1970庚戌 (Geng Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
1973癸丑 (Gui Chou)值太岁 Own year
1976丙辰 (Bing Chen)破太岁 Break
1978戊午 (Wu Wu)害太岁 Harm
1979己未 (Ji Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1982壬戌 (Ren Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
1985乙丑 (Yi Chou)值太岁 Own year
1988戊辰 (Wu Chen)破太岁 Break
1990庚午 (Geng Wu)害太岁 Harm
1991辛未 (Xin Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
1994甲戌 (Jia Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
1997丁丑 (Ding Chou)值太岁 Own year
2000庚辰 (Geng Chen)破太岁 Break
2002壬午 (Ren Wu)害太岁 Harm
2003癸未 (Gui Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2006丙戌 (Bing Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
2009己丑 (Ji Chou)值太岁 Own year
2012壬辰 (Ren Chen)破太岁 Break
2014甲午 (Jia Wu)害太岁 Harm
2015乙未 (Yi Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2018戊戌 (Wu Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
2021辛丑 (Xin Chou)值太岁 Own year
2024甲辰 (Jia Chen)破太岁 Break
2026丙午 (Bing Wu)害太岁 Harm
2027丁未 (Ding Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2030庚戌 (Geng Xu)刑太岁 Punishment
2033癸丑 (Gui Chou)值太岁 Own year
2036丙辰 (Bing Chen)破太岁 Break
2038戊午 (Wu Wu)害太岁 Harm
2039己未 (Ji Wei)冲太岁 Clash + 刑太岁 Punishment
2042壬戌 (Ren Xu)刑太岁 Punishment

How this animal relates to the others

All seven relations are fixed tables and every one can be checked against the index page.

Six harmony Rat — combines into Earth
Clash Goat
Harm Horse
Break Dragon
PunishmentPunishment of Ingratitude: Dog, Goat
TrineMetal: Snake Rooster Ox
MeetingNorth Water: Pig Rat Ox

Break is one of the traditional fixed tables, structurally the same kind of statement as harm or clash. It is printed from the table with no fortune reading attached.

This animal as a position

The animal and the branch are one character used two ways: as an animal it governs years, as a branch it governs positions. The hidden stems, month, hour, ten-stem stage table and the five pillars containing it are all on the branch page.

Open the Ox (丑) branch page →

See how the Ox relates to 2027 (Ding Wei) →

What this page deliberately does not do. The zodiac is the one part of this system that the popular market has turned into a horoscope: a fixed personality per animal, a fortune per year, and a lucky charm sold to fix the year that clashes with yours. This site publishes none of that. What is here is a calendar relation: which Gregorian years belong to this animal, the exact minute each of those years begins, and which animal-branches stand in a defined relation to it. Those relations are fixed tables — the same six-harmony, clash, harm and break tables used everywhere else on this site — and not one of them carries a fortune score. In particular, "offending the year" (fan tai sui) is a structural fact, not a curse, and this site sells no remedy for it.

Frequently asked

Which years are Ox years?
1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033. Each animal recurs every twelve years, counted from that year's lichun. The most recent is 2021 (辛丑, Xin Chou), with lichun at 2021-02-03 22:58.
What if I was born around lichun?
The animal changes at the instant of lichun. In 2026, lichun falls at 2026-02-04 04:02; born before that instant and your year pillar still belongs to 2025. The two conventions (lichun versus lunar new year) disagree for January and early-February birthdays. This site uses lichun.
Which years does the Ox offend the year branch?
Between 1924 and 2043 there are 50: 1925 (Own year); 1928 (Break); 1930 (Harm); 1931 (Clash + Punishment); 1934 (Punishment); 1937 (Own year); 1940 (Break); 1942 (Harm); 1943 (Clash + Punishment); 1946 (Punishment); 1949 (Own year); 1952 (Break); 1954 (Harm); 1955 (Clash + Punishment); 1958 (Punishment); 1961 (Own year); 1964 (Break); 1966 (Harm); 1967 (Clash + Punishment); 1970 (Punishment); 1973 (Own year); 1976 (Break); 1978 (Harm); 1979 (Clash + Punishment); 1982 (Punishment); 1985 (Own year); 1988 (Break); 1990 (Harm); 1991 (Clash + Punishment); 1994 (Punishment); 1997 (Own year); 2000 (Break); 2002 (Harm); 2003 (Clash + Punishment); 2006 (Punishment); 2009 (Own year); 2012 (Break); 2014 (Harm); 2015 (Clash + Punishment); 2018 (Punishment); 2021 (Own year); 2024 (Break); 2026 (Harm); 2027 (Clash + Punishment); 2030 (Punishment); 2033 (Own year); 2036 (Break); 2038 (Harm); 2039 (Clash + Punishment); 2042 (Punishment).
What is the Ox personality?
This site does not assign a personality to an animal. The animal is the everyday name of a year branch — a structural position (yin Earth, hidden stems Ji + Gui + Xin) rather than a character label. The same animal reads differently under a different month command and inside a whole chart; any source that fixes a character to an animal is claiming more than the system does.

Nearby animals

Rat ←  ·  → Tiger

Reference index

Every enumerable component of ba zi has its own page here. Each page is computed by the same engine and can be checked item by item — none of it is a personality table.