Year of the Water Horse
2002 Chinese zodiac sign: Water Horse
If you were born from February 12, 2002 to January 31, 2003, your Chinese zodiac sign is the Water Horse. A birthday in 2002 before February 12 still belongs to the Metal Snake of 2001.
Water Horse
- Element: Water
- Yang
- First day
- Tuesday, February 12, 2002
- Last day
- Friday, January 31, 2003
- Place in the animal cycle
- 7 of 12
January and February: if you were born from January 1 to February 11, 2002, your sign is still the Metal Snake of 2001; if you were born from January 1 to 31, 2003, you still belong to the Year of the Water Horse.
Check your birth date in the calculator2002 in the Chinese calendar
Chinese year 2002 begins on Tuesday, February 12, 2002, and ends on Friday, January 31, 2003, the day before the Year of the Water Goat 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 2004.
The year opens with the new moon on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 at 2:41 a.m. ET, which is 3:41 p.m. China Standard Time, so the date is the same in New York and in Beijing.
The Lantern Festival, which closes the New Year celebrations, comes on the fifteenth day of the first month, so on Tuesday, February 26, 2002. The year's first full moon falls on Wednesday, February 27, 2002 at 4:17 a.m. ET.
It is year 19 of the sixty-year cycle that began in 1984 with the Wood Rat. In Chinese this year is called 壬午 (rénwǔ): the heavenly stem 壬 gives the element and the earthly branch 午 the animal.
Lìchūn 2002: when the year begins in Ba Zi astrology
In Ba Zi astrology, the Four Pillars of Destiny, the year 2002 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 Sunday, February 3, 2002 at 7:24 p.m. Eastern Time. That is 9 days before Chinese New Year, so anyone born between that moment and February 11 still has the Metal Snake sign in the lunar calendar but already the Water Horse sign in Ba Zi.
This page and the calculator give your sign by the lunar calendar.
Horse personality traits
The Horse is the sign of freedom and energy. It is sociable, honest and enthusiastic, and it loves movement, travel and new experiences.
The element of 2002: Water
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, 2002 (yang) and 2003 (yin), and comes back every ten years: before that in 1992–1993, next in 2012–2013.
The Water Horse: animal and element together
Water makes the Horse flexible and communicative. The Water Horse has a sense of humor, makes friends easily and is at its best on the road and amid changes that throw others off balance. Its weakness is inconstancy: it changes plans often, and focusing on one thing doesn't come easily.
Horse compatibility
Trine
The Tiger and the Dog share its idealism and temperament. With the Tiger the Horse shares courage and drive, while the Dog gives it loyalty and support.
Secret friend
The Goat calms the Horse's restlessness and gives it warmth, and the Horse brings energy and courage into the Goat's life. Tradition sees them as a very harmonious pair.
Opposite sign
The Rat stands opposite the Horse. The Rat plans and saves, the Horse lives in the moment and prizes freedom, so they easily clash over money and the pace of life.
Born in 2002: your age and your own sign's year
In 2026, people born in 2002 turn 24 years old. The Year of the Fire Horse is running now, so for people born in the Year of the Water Horse it is their second běnmìngnián, the year of their own sign. Tradition sees it as a time of tests and change, and a touch of red in what you wear is meant to keep bad luck away.
Other Horse years
The Horse comes back every 12 years, each time with a different element. The exact combination of 2002, the Water Horse, returns every 60 years: in 1942, 2002 and 2062.
| Year | Sign | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Metal Horse | 01/30/1930 – 02/16/1931 |
| 1942 | Water Horse | 02/15/1942 – 02/04/1943 |
| 1954 | Wood Horse | 02/03/1954 – 01/23/1955 |
| 1966 | Fire Horse | 01/21/1966 – 02/08/1967 |
| 1978 | Earth Horse | 02/07/1978 – 01/27/1979 |
| 1990 | Metal Horse | 01/27/1990 – 02/14/1991 |
| 2002 | Water Horse | 02/12/2002 – 01/31/2003 |
| 2014 | Wood Horse | 01/31/2014 – 02/18/2015 |
| 2026 | Fire Horse now | 02/17/2026 – 02/05/2027 |
The year before and the year after
The Chinese zodiac is a cultural tradition more than two thousand years old, not a science. We calculate the dates and signs precisely, but read the personality descriptions as food for thought, not as a prophecy.
Frequently asked questions
What Chinese zodiac sign is 2002?
In the Chinese calendar 2002 is the Year of the Water Horse: a yang sign with the Water element. That Chinese year runs from February 12, 2002 to January 31, 2003, so anyone born in that window has the Water Horse sign.
What is my Chinese zodiac sign if I was born in January or February 2002?
The date of Chinese New Year decides it, and in 2002 that date is February 12. If you were born from January 1 to February 11, 2002, your sign is still the Metal Snake of 2001; from February 12 on, your sign is the Water Horse.
When does 2002 begin in Ba Zi astrology?
At the moment of lìchūn, when the Sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude: on Sunday, February 3, 2002 at 7:24 p.m. Eastern Time. That is 9 days before Chinese New Year, so anyone born between that moment and February 11 still has the Metal Snake sign in the lunar calendar but already the Water Horse sign in Ba Zi.
When is Chinese New Year 2002?
Chinese New Year 2002 falls on Tuesday, February 12, 2002, the day of the new moon by the date in Beijing. The new moon comes at 3:41 p.m. China Standard Time; in New York it falls on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 at 2:41 a.m. ET. The next New Year, which opens the Year of the Water Goat, falls on Saturday, February 1, 2003.
Is 2002 a yin or yang year?
2002 is a yang year, because Chinese tradition gives yang to even years and yin to odd ones. Yang is outward energy: active, direct and quick to get things started. The Horse is always yang, and from one Horse year to the next only the element changes: after the Year of the Water Horse comes the Year of the Wood Horse in 2014.
Your AI forecast for the Year of the Fire Horse
The calculator tells you your sign. In the Sanctuary, AI sets it against the sign of the current year and writes a forecast for you: love, work and money, health, and your lucky months. You get 5 free tokens to start, and a forecast costs 1 token.
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