Rat
鼠
Calendar & Associations
曆法
Rat Birth Years
Common Rat years include 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 and 2020. But the Chinese zodiac year does not begin on January 1.
Chinese New Year Boundary
SAGE determines ordinary zodiac birth signs using Chinese New Year / Spring Festival boundaries. Someone born in January or early February may therefore belong to the previous animal year.
Verified Correspondences
Earthly Branch
Zi 子
Branch Element
Water 水
Polarity
Yang
Branch Position
1st of 12
Traditional Branch Hours
11 PM–1 AM
Older SAGE data listed fixed lucky numbers, colors, flowers and directions for the Rat. Those claims are not being promoted as classical facts until each association has a trustworthy traditional source.