2018 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Earth Dog

2018 is the year of the Earth Dog (戊戌 Wùxū), from 16 February 2018 to 4 February 2019. Anyone born in 2018 before 16 February 2018 belongs to the Fire Rooster year.

• Animal: Dog
• Element: Earth (Yang)
• Cycle name: 戊戌 Wùxū, year 35 of the 60-year cycle
• Starts: 16 February 2018
• Ends: 4 February 2019

The Earth Dog

Earth years are traditionally linked with steadiness, practicality and care: the element that holds things together and keeps promises. The Dog is the zodiac's loyal guardian. Tradition describes Dog people as honest, fair and protective, with a strong sense of right and wrong and a small, trusted circle they will defend without hesitation.

Born in January or February 2018?

Anyone born from 1 January to 15 February 2018 belongs to the Fire Rooster year of 2017. From 16 February 2018 the Earth Dog 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.

2017: Fire Rooster · 2019: Earth Pig · All Dog years · All 12 animals