Year of the Wood Horse
2014 Chinese zodiac sign: Wood Horse
If you were born from January 31, 2014 to February 18, 2015, your Chinese zodiac sign is the Wood Horse. A birthday in 2014 before January 31 still belongs to the Water Snake of 2013.
Wood Horse
- Element: Wood
- Yang
- First day
- Friday, January 31, 2014
- Last day
- Wednesday, February 18, 2015
- Place in the animal cycle
- 7 of 12
January and February: if you were born from January 1 to 30, 2014, your sign is still the Water Snake of 2013; if you were born from January 1 to February 18, 2015, you still belong to the Year of the Wood Horse.
Check your birth date in the calculator2014 in the Chinese calendar
Chinese year 2014 begins on Friday, January 31, 2014, and ends on Wednesday, February 18, 2015, the day before the Year of the Wood Goat begins. It has a full 384 days, because it is a leap year with 13 lunar months; the next one comes in 2017. The Chinese calendar adds the extra month roughly every two or three years so that it doesn't drift away from the seasons.
The year opens with the new moon on Thursday, January 30, 2014 at 4:39 p.m. ET. In Beijing it is already January 31, 5:39 a.m. China Standard Time, and the Beijing date sets New Year's Day, so the new year begins on January 31.
The Lantern Festival, which closes the New Year celebrations, comes on the fifteenth day of the first month, so on Friday, February 14, 2014. The year's first full moon falls on Friday, February 14, 2014 at 6:53 p.m. ET.
It is year 31 of the sixty-year cycle that began in 1984 with the Wood Rat. In Chinese this year is called 甲午 (jiǎwǔ): the heavenly stem 甲 gives the element and the earthly branch 午 the animal.
Lìchūn 2014: when the year begins in Ba Zi astrology
In Ba Zi astrology, the Four Pillars of Destiny, the year 2014 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 3, 2014 at 5:03 p.m. Eastern Time. That is 3 days after Chinese New Year, so anyone born between January 31 and that moment already has the Wood Horse sign in the lunar calendar but still the Water Snake 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 2014: Wood
Growth, curiosity and cooperation. Wood brings a gardener's patience: it builds slowly, with an eye on what will grow in the years ahead.
The Wood element covers two years in a row, 2014 (yang) and 2015 (yin), and comes back every ten years: before that in 2004–2005, next in 2024–2025.
The Wood Horse: animal and element together
The Wood Horse is the most balanced of its family. Wood tempers its impatience and teaches it to cooperate, so it finds it easier to finish what it starts. It is cheerful, curious about the world and glad to help others. It still needs its freedom, but commitments don't scare it the way they scare other Horses.
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 2014: your age and your own sign's year
In 2026, people born in 2014 turn 12 years old. The Year of the Fire Horse is running now, so for people born in the Year of the Wood Horse it is their first 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 2014, the Wood Horse, returns every 60 years: in 1954, 2014 and 2074.
| 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 2014?
In the Chinese calendar 2014 is the Year of the Wood Horse: a yang sign with the Wood element. That Chinese year runs from January 31, 2014 to February 18, 2015, so anyone born in that window has the Wood Horse sign.
What is my Chinese zodiac sign if I was born in January or February 2014?
The date of Chinese New Year decides it, and in 2014 that date is January 31. If you were born from January 1 to 30, 2014, your sign is still the Water Snake of 2013; from January 31 on, your sign is the Wood Horse.
When does 2014 begin in Ba Zi astrology?
At the moment of lìchūn, when the Sun reaches 315° of ecliptic longitude: on Monday, February 3, 2014 at 5:03 p.m. Eastern Time. That is 3 days after Chinese New Year, so anyone born between January 31 and that moment already has the Wood Horse sign in the lunar calendar but still the Water Snake sign in Ba Zi.
When is Chinese New Year 2014?
Chinese New Year 2014 falls on Friday, January 31, 2014, the day of the new moon by the date in Beijing. The new moon comes at 5:39 a.m. China Standard Time; in New York it falls on Thursday, January 30, 2014 at 4:39 p.m. ET. The next New Year, which opens the Year of the Wood Goat, falls on Thursday, February 19, 2015.
Is 2014 a yin or yang year?
2014 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 Wood Horse comes the Year of the Fire Horse in 2026.
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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