Chinese Zodiac Finder
Your animal is fixed by the year pillar, and the year pillar changes at Lichun — not at the lunar new year. Enter the full date and you get the right answer.
The month and day matter: the year pillar changes at Lichun (立春, around 4 February), not at the lunar new year. A late-January or early-February birth is frequently given the wrong animal.
Why the date matters more than the year
The twelve animals are the twelve earthly branches, applied to the year pillar. The year pillar turns at the solar term Lichun, which falls around 4 February. The Spring Festival falls on a lunar date and moves across a six-week window — so for roughly six weeks each year, the two disagree.
Someone born on 30 January 1990 is often told they are a Horse, because the festival had already passed. Lichun had not. The year pillar is still Snake.
Related
Zodiac database · Compatibility check · Lichun — Start of Spring · Spring Festival