2008 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Rat

2008 is the year of the Earth Rat (戊子 Wùzǐ), from 7 February 2008 to 25 January 2009. Anyone born in 2008 before 7 February 2008 belongs to the Fire Pig year.

• Animal: Rat
• Element: Earth (Yang)
• Cycle name: 戊子 Wùzǐ, year 25 of the 60-year cycle
• Starts: 7 February 2008
• Ends: 25 January 2009

The Earth Rat

Earth years are traditionally linked with steadiness, practicality and care: the element that holds things together and keeps promises. The Rat opens the twelve-year cycle, and tradition gives it the quickest mind of the twelve. Rat people are described as resourceful, sociable and alert to an opening before anyone else has noticed it. They save for a rainy day, read a room fast and like to have a plan and a spare plan.

Born in January or February 2008?

Anyone born from 1 January to 6 February 2008 belongs to the Fire Pig year of 2007. From 7 February 2008 the Earth Rat year begins.

How the dates are worked out

Each Chinese New Year here is worked out from the sky, not copied from a list. A lunar month starts on the day of a New Moon in China Standard Time (UTC+8, or Beijing local time before 1929). The month holding the December solstice is the 11th month. When 13 New Moons fall between two of those months, the first month with no principal solar term (the Sun reaching a multiple of 30 degrees) is a leap month. New Year is the first day of the 1st month, which is why it moves between 21 January and 20 February. New Moons and solar terms follow Jean Meeus's Astronomical Algorithms. The rules follow the Chinese calendar.

2007: Fire Pig · 2009: Earth Ox · All Rat years · All 12 animals