1946 Chinese zodiac sign: Fire Dog

Chinese year 1946 begins on Saturday, February 2, 1946, and ends on Tuesday, January 21, 1947, the day before the Year of the Fire Pig begins. It has 354 days, or 12 lunar months: each month starts on a new moon, so it is 29 or 30 days long. The next leap year, with a thirteenth month, comes in 1947.

The year opens with the new moon on Friday, February 1, 1946 at 11:43 p.m. ET. In Beijing it is already February 2, 12:43 p.m. China Standard Time, and the Beijing date sets New Year's Day, so the new year begins on February 2.

The Lantern Festival, which closes the New Year celebrations, comes on the fifteenth day of the first month, so on Saturday, February 16, 1946. The year's first full moon falls on Friday, February 15, 1946 at 11:28 p.m. ET.

It is year 23 of the sixty-year cycle that began in 1924 with the Wood Rat. In Chinese this year is called 丙戌 (bǐngxū): the heavenly stem 丙 gives the element and the earthly branch 戌 the animal.

In Ba Zi astrology, the Four Pillars of Destiny, the year 1946 begins not at the lunar New Year but at the moment of lìchūn (立春, “start of spring”), when the Sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude: on Monday, February 4, 1946 at 5:03 a.m. Eastern Time. That is 2 days after Chinese New Year, so anyone born between February 2 and that moment already has the Fire Dog sign in the lunar calendar but still the Wood Rooster sign in Ba Zi.

This page and the calculator give your sign by the lunar calendar.

The Dog is the sign of loyalty and honesty. It is faithful to the people close to it, has a strong sense of justice and stands up for anyone who is being wronged.

Passion, courage and a need for action. Fire adds temperament and charisma, along with a tendency to flare up.

The Fire element covers two years in a row, 1946 (yang) and 1947 (yin), and comes back every ten years: before that in 1936–1937, next in 1956–1957.

The Fire Dog fights for justice out loud. Fire adds courage, energy and charisma, so it readily takes the lead and defends those who are being wronged. It is honest and faithful. When it senses injustice, though, it reacts more forcefully than the situation calls for.

In 2026, people born in 1946 turn 80 years old. The Year of the Fire Horse is running now, which tradition counts as an ally's year from the same trine for the Dog. People born in 1946 reach their next běnmìngnián, the year of their own sign, in 2030, when they turn 84 years old.

The Dog comes back every 12 years, each time with a different element. The exact combination of 1946, the Fire Dog, returns every 60 years: in 1886, 1946 and 2006.