The Metal Element in the Chinese Zodiac

Every Metal year with its exact lunar new year date, and what the tradition says about the element.

Metal is one of the five elements of the Chinese tradition, and it rules the years ending in 0 and 1. Recent and coming Metal years are 2020, 2021, 2030, 2031. In this tradition Metal stands for clarity, structure and refinement, the crisp air of autumn and the edge of a well-made tool. This page lists every Metal year with its exact start date and sets out what the element is traditionally taken to mean.

The idea of Metal here is symbolic, and it cannot tell anyone what they are like or what will happen. To learn whether your own birth year is a Metal year, use the Chinese zodiac calculator.

What Metal stands for

The five elements, or five phases (wu xing), are not materials so much as kinds of change, and each carries a set of associations. Those for Metal are:

  • Direction: west
  • Season: autumn
  • Colour: white
  • Planet: Venus, which Chinese astronomy calls the Metal star
  • Heavenly stems: Geng (Yang) and Xin (Yin), the two stems that carry Metal in the sixty-year cycle
  • Animals whose fixed element it is: Monkey and Rooster

Metal is the element of refinement, so it is often described as exacting and dignified, a year of cutting away what is not needed. The general scheme is explained on the Chinese zodiac hub.

Character in the tradition

People born in a Metal year are traditionally described as determined, precise and self-disciplined, with a taste for order and high standards. The tradition links Metal with integrity, focus and a quiet strength.

  • Determination. Seeing a goal through to the end.
  • Precision. Careful attention to quality and detail.
  • Self-discipline. Keeping to a routine without being pushed.
  • Integrity. Sticking to principles under pressure.

Growth edges

The shadow side described is rigidity and reserve: holding oneself and others to very high standards, and finding it hard to express feeling or to forgive mistakes. The suggested practice is to name one thing that is good enough and to share a feeling plainly now and then.

Metal in the cycles

In the cycle of generation Earth bears Metal and Metal gathers Water, as dew forms on a cold surface. In the cycle of control Fire checks Metal, as heat melts it, and Metal checks Wood, as a blade cuts a branch. Writers use these relations to describe how Metal and its neighbours support or steady each other, and the compatibility overview shows how the year elements of two people are read together. Treat them as images to think with, and not as rules.

Every Metal year from 1948 to 2047

A Metal year is Yang when its stem is Geng and Yin when it is Xin. Yang Metal pairs with the Yang animals (Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Dog), and Yin Metal with the Yin animals (Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Goat, Rooster, Pig). Dates are from the Hong Kong Observatory’s table, and each Metal year ends the day before the next year begins. A birth before a start date belongs to the previous Chinese year.

Chinese yearYear ofBeginsEndsStem and branch
1950Yang Metal Tiger17 February 19505 February 1951Geng-yin
1951Yin Metal Rabbit6 February 195126 January 1952Xin-mao
1960Yang Metal Rat28 January 196014 February 1961Geng-zi
1961Yin Metal Ox15 February 19614 February 1962Xin-chou
1970Yang Metal Dog6 February 197026 January 1971Geng-xu
1971Yin Metal Pig27 January 197114 February 1972Xin-hai
1980Yang Metal Monkey16 February 19804 February 1981Geng-shen
1981Yin Metal Rooster5 February 198124 January 1982Xin-you
1990Yang Metal Horse27 January 199014 February 1991Geng-wu
1991Yin Metal Goat15 February 19913 February 1992Xin-wei
2000Yang Metal Dragon5 February 200023 January 2001Geng-chen
2001Yin Metal Snake24 January 200111 February 2002Xin-si
2010Yang Metal Tiger14 February 20102 February 2011Geng-yin
2011Yin Metal Rabbit3 February 201122 January 2012Xin-mao
2020Yang Metal Rat25 January 202011 February 2021Geng-zi
2021Yin Metal Ox12 February 202131 January 2022Xin-chou
2030Yang Metal Dog3 February 203022 January 2031Geng-xu
2031Yin Metal Pig23 January 203110 February 2032Xin-hai
2040Yang Metal Monkey12 February 204031 January 2041Geng-shen
2041Yin Metal Rooster1 February 204121 January 2042Xin-you

Metal with each animal

Each animal takes Metal either once or twice in these hundred years, always with the matching Yang or Yin polarity. The years fall as follows.

Frequently asked questions

↳ Which years are Metal years?

Any year whose last digit is 0 or 1 is a Metal year. The next one is 2030, a Yang Metal Dog year, beginning on 3 February 2030. The Metal year starts at the lunar new year and not on 1 January.

↳ Is the Metal element the same as the animal's element?

Not always. Each animal has a fixed element of its own in the older tradition, and Metal is the fixed element of Monkey and Rooster. Each year also carries a year element, and for this page it is Metal. A Metal Dog year therefore blends the two readings.

↳ What does the Metal element mean for me?

If you were born in a Metal year, the tradition describes you as determined, precise and self-disciplined. That Metal description is cultural, for reflection, and it does not predict character or events. Treat it as a talking point.

↳ How is Metal linked to Venus?

In the Chinese tradition each of the five visible planets is named for an element, and Venus is the Metal star. That Metal link is a naming convention, separate from Western or Vedic astrology.

Return to the Chinese zodiac hub, or read about the other elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Water.