Horse (zodiac)

The Horse (⾺) is the seventh of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. There is a long tradition of the Horse in Chinese mythology. Certain characteristics of the Horse nature are supposed to be typical of or to be associated with either a year of the Horse and its events, or in regard to the personality of someone born in such a year. Horse aspects can also enter by other chronomantic factors or measures, such as hourly. The year of the horse is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 午.

Horse
"Horse" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	馬
Simplified Chinese	马
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin mǎ Wade–Giles ma3 IPA [mà] Hakka Romanization mâ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization máah Jyutping maa5 IPA [ma˩˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ bé Old Chinese Baxter (1992) *mraʔ Baxter–Sagart (2014) *mˤraʔ

Zodiac horse, showing the mǎ (⾺) character for horse

History

The lunar calendar paved the sequence of the Chinese zodiac animals. This calendar can be traced back to the 14th century B.C. Myths say that Emperor Huangdi, the first Chinese emperor, in 2637 B.C. invented the Chinese lunar calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon. In a folklore story that explains the origins of the cycle, the animals hold a race to determine their order. The custom of pairing an animal with a year in a 12-year cycle can be traced back to at least the Han dynasty (201 BC – 220 AD), and there are many legends and folktales surrounding the 12 zodiac animals, which are often depicted in East Asian art and design. A group of Chinese figures in the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection shows the zodiac animals with human bodies but animal heads. This way of portraying them became popular in the Tang dynasty (8th century).^[1]

Years and the Five Elements

Sculpture of Horse from Chinese zodiac in the park at Mount Mogan in Deqing County, Zhejiang, China

People born within these date ranges can be said to have been born in the "Year of the Horse", while also bearing the following elemental sign:^[2][3]

Start date	End date	Heavenly branch
25 January 1906	12 February 1907	Fire Horse
11 February 1918	31 January 1919	Earth Horse
30 January 1930	16 February 1931	Metal Horse
15 February 1942	4 February 1943	Water Horse
3 February 1954	23 January 1955	Wood Horse
21 January 1966	8 February 1967	Fire Horse
7 February 1978	27 January 1979	Earth Horse
27 January 1990	14 February 1991	Metal Horse
12 February 2002	31 January 2003	Water Horse
31 January 2014	18 February 2015	Wood Horse
17 February 2026	5 February 2027	Fire Horse
4 February 2038	23 January 2039	Earth Horse
23 January 2050	10 February 2051	Metal Horse
9 February 2062	28 January 2063	Water Horse
27 January 2074	14 February 2075	Wood Horse
14 February 2086	2 February 2087	Fire Horse
1 February 2098	20 January 2099	Earth Horse

Basic astrology elements

Earthly Branches of Birth Year:	Wu
The Five Elements:	Fire
Yin Yang:	Yang
Lunar Month:	Fifth
Lucky Numbers:	1, 4, 5, 7, 9; Avoid: 2, 3, 6
Lucky Flowers:	sunflower, jasmine
Lucky Colors:	gold, yellow, red, blue; Avoid: orange, green, dark green
Season:	Summer

See also

• Burmese zodiac
• Chinese astrology
• Chinese New Year
• Horse
• Horse worship
• Horses in Chinese culture
• Fire Horse