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The Pig in ink wash

2019 Chinese zodiac: Year of the Pig

2019 is the year of the Earth Pig, 己亥: from Chinese New Year on 5 February 2019 to 24 January 2020.

Generous, easy-going and sincere. The Pig closes the cycle with abundance; it is the sign of enjoying what has been earned. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.

The Earth Pig

Element

Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre. In the sixty-year cycle each animal meets each element once, so the Earth Pig came last in 1959 and returns in 2079. The year's 纳音 (the "sound" of its stem and branch in the old almanacs) is 平地木.

Company

The Pig shares a trine with the Rabbit and the Goat; its secret friend is the Tiger. Those signs are said to find a Pig year easiest. A pig under a roof is the character 家, home: a household was counted complete when it kept one.

Years of the Pig

Each starts at Chinese New Year.

  • 1935Wood Pig, from 4 February 1935
  • 1947Fire Pig, from 22 January 1947
  • 1959Earth Pig, from 8 February 1959
  • 1971Metal Pig, from 27 January 1971
  • 1983Water Pig, from 13 February 1983
  • 1995Wood Pig, from 31 January 1995
  • 2007Fire Pig, from 18 February 2007
  • 2019Earth Pig, from 5 February 2019
  • 2031Metal Pig, from 23 January 2031
  • 2043Water Pig, from 10 February 2043

Born in 2019?

Between 5 February 2019 and 24 January 2020 you are an Earth Pig.

Anyone born from 5 February 2019 to 24 January 2020 is an Earth Pig (己亥) and turns 7 in 2026. Generous, easy-going and sincere. The Pig closes the cycle with abundance; it is the sign of enjoying what has been earned. Earth years favour steadiness: consolidating, caring for what is already there, the harvest of earlier work.

Born in January or early February 2019, before the 5 February 2019 new year? Then the previous animal, the Dog, is yours: the zodiac follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January. The zodiac calculator settles it from the exact date.

Your zodiac years (本命年, when the Pig comes round again) are 2031, 2043, 2055; the next one is 2031. Tradition has you wear something red through a 本命年 for protection. The signs said to suit a Pig best are the Rabbit, the Goat and the Tiger: the compatibility table has every pair.

Questions

What is the Chinese zodiac for 2019?

2019 is the Year of the Earth Pig. Anyone born from 5 February 2019 to 24 January 2020 is a Pig; a birthday earlier in 2019, before Chinese New Year, belongs to the Dog.

When does the Year of the Pig 2019 start and end?

It starts at Chinese New Year, 5 February 2019, and ends on 24 January 2020, the day before the next new year.

What element is the Pig in 2019?

Earth (土), from the heavenly stem 己. Earth years are associated with steadiness and care: harvest, soil, the centre.

Is a baby born in January 2019 a Pig?

No. A baby born before 5 February 2019 belongs to the previous animal, the Dog. The zodiac year follows the lunar calendar, not 1 January.

Which other years were Earth Pig years?

1959. The same stem and branch return every sixty years.

Your Pig in ink

The Pig painted in ink wash above your name and lunar birthday.

Make the poster

Enter your birthday; we set the animal, the element, the lunar date and your name, and add a Chinese name as a seal if you have one.

Start with my birthday

More about the animal: Year of the Pig. All twelve: the zodiac.