The Water Element in the Chinese Zodiac

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

Water is one of the five elements of the Chinese tradition, and it rules the years ending in 2 and 3. Recent and coming Water years are 2022, 2023, 2032, 2033. In this tradition Water stands for depth, flow and stillness, the quiet of winter and the way water finds its way around any obstacle. This page lists every Water year with its exact start date and sets out what the element is traditionally taken to mean.

The idea of Water 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 Water year, use the Chinese zodiac calculator.

What Water 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 Water are:

  • Direction: north
  • Season: winter
  • Colour: black or deep blue
  • Planet: Mercury, which Chinese astronomy calls the Water star
  • Heavenly stems: Ren (Yang) and Gui (Yin), the two stems that carry Water in the sixty-year cycle
  • Animals whose fixed element it is: Rat and Pig

Water is the element of depth, so it is often described as reflective and flexible, a year of listening more than talking. The general scheme is explained on the Chinese zodiac hub.

Character in the tradition

People born in a Water year are traditionally described as intuitive, adaptable and thoughtful, with a listening manner and a talent for reading what lies beneath the surface. The tradition links Water with wisdom, communication and perseverance.

  • Intuition. Sensing mood and meaning before it is said.
  • Adaptability. Finding a path around an obstacle.
  • Listening. Giving others space to speak.
  • Depth. Thinking things through before acting.

Growth edges

The shadow side described is drifting: absorbing the moods of others, avoiding conflict by going along, and finding it hard to commit. The suggested practice is to set one fixed routine a week and to say a plain yes or no before a decision drifts.

Water in the cycles

In the cycle of generation Metal gathers Water and Water nourishes Wood, as rain feeds a plant. In the cycle of control Earth checks Water, as banks hold a river, and Water checks Fire, as it quenches a flame. Writers use these relations to describe how Water 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 Water year from 1948 to 2047

A Water year is Yang when its stem is Ren and Yin when it is Gui. Yang Water pairs with the Yang animals (Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, Dog), and Yin Water with the Yin animals (Ox, Rabbit, Snake, Goat, Rooster, Pig). Dates are from the Hong Kong Observatory’s table, and each Water 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
1952Yang Water Dragon27 January 195213 February 1953Ren-chen
1953Yin Water Snake14 February 19532 February 1954Gui-si
1962Yang Water Tiger5 February 196224 January 1963Ren-yin
1963Yin Water Rabbit25 January 196312 February 1964Gui-mao
1972Yang Water Rat15 February 19722 February 1973Ren-zi
1973Yin Water Ox3 February 197322 January 1974Gui-chou
1982Yang Water Dog25 January 198212 February 1983Ren-xu
1983Yin Water Pig13 February 19831 February 1984Gui-hai
1992Yang Water Monkey4 February 199222 January 1993Ren-shen
1993Yin Water Rooster23 January 19939 February 1994Gui-you
2002Yang Water Horse12 February 200231 January 2003Ren-wu
2003Yin Water Goat1 February 200321 January 2004Gui-wei
2012Yang Water Dragon23 January 20129 February 2013Ren-chen
2013Yin Water Snake10 February 201330 January 2014Gui-si
2022Yang Water Tiger1 February 202221 January 2023Ren-yin
2023Yin Water Rabbit22 January 20239 February 2024Gui-mao
2032Yang Water Rat11 February 203230 January 2033Ren-zi
2033Yin Water Ox31 January 203318 February 2034Gui-chou
2042Yang Water Dog22 January 20429 February 2043Ren-xu
2043Yin Water Pig10 February 204329 January 2044Gui-hai

Water with each animal

Each animal takes Water 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 Water years?

Any year whose last digit is 2 or 3 is a Water year. The next one is 2032, a Yang Water Rat year, beginning on 11 February 2032. The Water year starts at the lunar new year and not on 1 January.

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

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

↳ What does the Water element mean for me?

If you were born in a Water year, the tradition describes you as intuitive, adaptable and thoughtful. That Water description is cultural, for reflection, and it does not predict character or events. Treat it as a talking point.

↳ How is Water linked to Mercury?

In the Chinese tradition each of the five visible planets is named for an element, and Mercury is the Water star. That Water 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, Metal.