Which Years Are Dragon Years?
People born in 1988, 2000, 2012 and 2024 are Dragons. Earlier Dragon years are 1940, 1952, 1964 and 1976. The Dragon comes around every 12 years.
A Dragon year begins at the Start of Spring (Lichun), around February 4. It is usually a different day from Chinese New Year.
BaZi writes your birth year, month, day and hour as two characters each. The two for the year are your year pillar.
Enter your birth date and hour in the free BaZi calculator. If the second character of your year pillar is 辰 (Chen), you are a Dragon. Born before the Start of Spring, your pillar still ends in the previous year's Mao, so you are a Rabbit.
| Year | Stem-branch | Na Yin | Born between |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jia Chen | Covered Lamp Fire | Feb 4 – Feb 2 next year |
| 2012 | Ren Chen | Long-flowing Water | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 2000 | Geng Chen | White Wax Gold | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1988 | Wu Chen | Wood of the Great Forest | Feb 4 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1976 | Bing Chen | Earth in the Sand | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1964 | Jia Chen | Covered Lamp Fire | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1952 | Ren Chen | Long-flowing Water | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
| 1940 | Geng Chen | White Wax Gold | Feb 5 – Feb 3 next year |
Calculate your BaZi chart
Enter your birth details to discover your Day Master, elemental balance, and how these concepts apply to your Four Pillars.
Who Are the Dragon's Best Matches?
The Dragon's best matches are the Rat, Monkey and Rooster. The Rat and Rooster are the closest. In folk tradition, a good match is an animal that forms a trine or a six harmony with yours.
- TrineThree earthly branches form a group. For the Dragon, the other two are the Rat and the Monkey.
- Six HarmonyTwo branches form a pair. The Dragon pairs with the Rooster.
When only two of the three meet, the middle one decides. The Rat sits in the middle of the group, so a Rat and a Dragon still bond. A Monkey and a Dragon need a Rat between them to connect.
Which Animals Clash with the Dragon?
The Dog is the Dragon's worst match. Friction with the Rabbit and Ox is lighter. Clash, harm and break all make a poor match, but some weigh more than others.
- ClashSet the twelve animals in a circle, and the Dragon sits directly opposite the Dog. The two collide, and this is the heavier kind.
- HarmThe Rabbit clashes with the Rooster, the Dragon's six harmony partner. So the Rabbit harms the Dragon.
- BreakA minor loss.
| Animal | Branch | Relation | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dog | Xu | Clash | Heavier |
| Ox | Chou | Break | Lighter |
| Rabbit | Mao | Harm | Lighter |
The Dragon punishes no other animal. Only two Dragons together punish themselves.
Are Two Dragons a Good Match? What Self-punishment Means
Two Dragons can be together. Their self-punishment is not a bad omen, and it is no verdict on a marriage. Self-punishment means a branch meets itself, and only four do this: the Dragon, the Horse, the Rooster and the Pig.
Tradition reads it as the same force doubled up, which can make you demand too much of yourself. When two Dragons share a life, both may want to make the calls.
Agree early on who handles what, and the friction usually eases.
Which Years Offend Tai Sui for the Dragon?
A Dragon offends Tai Sui in Ox, Rabbit, Dragon and Dog years, and Dragon and Dog years count the most. Tai Sui is the animal of the current year. In a Dog year, for example, Tai Sui is the Dog.
If your animal matches the year's, or clashes, punishes, harms or breaks it, you "offend" Tai Sui.
A Dragon year is your own year (Ben Ming Nian). Since the branch meets itself, it also counts as punishment. Rat, Monkey and Rooster years are in harmony with Tai Sui, which is seen as a help.
Offending Tai Sui compares two animals only. It is not a full forecast for your year. For each animal's Tai Sui outlook and tips for the year, see the CNY BaZi Fortune Guide.
What Element Is the Dragon? The Five Dragons
The Dragon's element is Earth, and Chen is yang earth. Chen is also seen as a store that holds water. That is why the Dragon's trine with the Rat and Monkey forms water.
The five kinds of Dragon are sorted by the first character of the year pillar, called the heavenly stem. Every Dragon year's pillar ends in Chen. For example, 2000 is Geng Chen, and Geng is Metal, so it is a Metal Dragon.
| Type | Year pillar | Birth years |
|---|---|---|
| Wood Dragon | Jia Chen | 1964, 2024 |
| Fire Dragon | Bing Chen | 1976 |
| Earth Dragon | Wu Chen | 1988 |
| Metal Dragon | Geng Chen | 1940, 2000 |
| Water Dragon | Ren Chen | 1952, 2012 |
Some sites sort Dragons by Na Yin instead. Na Yin is a second set of element names, one for each stem and branch pair.
For 2024, the Na Yin is Covered Lamp Fire, so those sites call it a Fire Dragon. By its stem, it is a Wood Dragon.
Dragon Personality: Commanding, and Hard on Yourself
Dragons tend to be confident and commanding, with big ambitions. These traits come from Chen's hidden stems. Each branch hides one to three stems, called hidden stems (Cang Gan).
Chen hides three: one earth, one wood and one water. The earth stem, Wu Earth, weighs the most.
This earth is solid, so you tend to hold firm views and stand out in a crowd. The wood brings ideas and flexibility. The water makes you willing to work toward a distant goal.
The other side is strong pride and a dislike of being managed. When ideals and reality don't meet, you may grow restless more easily. You may also be harder on yourself than on anyone else.
