1983 Chinese zodiac sign: Water Pig

Chinese year 1983 begins on Sunday, February 13, 1983, and ends on Wednesday, February 1, 1984, the day before the Year of the Wood Rat 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 1984.

The year opens with the new moon on Saturday, February 12, 1983 at 7:32 p.m. ET. In Beijing it is already February 13, 8:32 a.m. China Standard Time, and the Beijing date sets New Year's Day, so the new year begins on February 13.

The Lantern Festival, which closes the New Year celebrations, comes on the fifteenth day of the first month, so on Sunday, February 27, 1983. The year's first full moon falls on Sunday, February 27, 1983 at 3:58 a.m. ET.

It is year 60 of the sixty-year cycle that began in 1924 with the Wood Rat. In Chinese this year is called 癸亥 (guǐhài): the heavenly stem 癸 gives the element and the earthly branch 亥 the animal.

In Ba Zi astrology, the Four Pillars of Destiny, the year 1983 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 Friday, February 4, 1983 at 4:39 a.m. Eastern Time. That is 9 days before Chinese New Year, so anyone born between that moment and February 12 still has the Water Dog sign in the lunar calendar but already the Water Pig sign in Ba Zi.

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

The Pig, called the Boar in some sources, closes the twelve-year cycle. It is the sign of kindness, sincerity and joy in life.

Intuition, flexibility and a gift for persuasion. Water softens a sign and teaches it to go with the flow.

The Water element covers two years in a row, 1982 (yang) and 1983 (yin), and comes back every ten years: before that in 1972–1973, next in 1992–1993.

Water is the Pig's fixed element, and the Water Pig is exceptionally empathetic, gentle and intuitive. It understands people well, forgives easily and has a surprisingly good head for business. Its biggest weakness is trusting too much. Saying no is very hard for it.

In 2026, people born in 1983 turn 43 years old. The Year of the Fire Horse is running now, which tradition counts as a year with no special tie for the Pig. People born in 1983 reach their next běnmìngnián, the year of their own sign, in 2031, when they turn 48 years old.

The Pig comes back every 12 years, each time with a different element. The exact combination of 1983, the Water Pig, returns every 60 years: in 1923, 1983 and 2043.