Years of the Pig
If you were born in one of these years — on or after that year's Chinese New Year — the Pig is your sign. Births in January or early February fall before the new year and belong to the previous animal.
1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043
Recent Pig years and their element
The animal repeats every 12 years, but the element does not. Each year pairs the animal with one of the ten Heavenly Stems, which is why 2026 is a "Fire Horse" and 1966 — sixty years earlier — is also a Fire Horse, while the Horses in between are Wood, Water, Metal and Earth.
| Year | Stem | Element | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 辛 Xīn | Metal 金 | |
| 1983 | 癸 Guǐ | Water 水 | |
| 1995 | 乙 Yǐ | Wood 木 | |
| 2007 | 丁 Dīng | Fire 火 | |
| 2019 | 己 Jǐ | Earth 土 | |
| 2031 | 辛 Xīn | Metal 金 | the current cycle |
Pig personality
The Pig closes the zodiac cycle, and tradition gives it the most comfortable ending: the Pig, in the old story, was the one that arrived last because it stopped to eat and sleep along the way.
Pigs are generous, warm, sincere and spectacularly unpretentious. They enjoy life — food, company, comfort — and they see no reason to pretend otherwise. They assume the best of people, which makes them wonderful friends and occasionally easy marks. They are also far shrewder about money and people than their easy-going manner suggests.
Strengths
- Generous with time, money and affection
- Sincere and genuinely non-judgemental
- Hard-working when the work is worth doing
- Excellent instincts about people, despite appearances
Watch-outs
- Trusting; they can be taken advantage of
- Indulgent — with food, comfort and feelings
- Avoids conflict until it becomes unavoidable
- Can lose momentum when life is comfortable
Pig in love and work
In love: Pigs love wholeheartedly and want a warm, comfortable, honest partnership. They are generous partners and undemanding ones, and they flourish when they feel safe. They hurt quietly rather than complaining.
At work: Hospitality, food, medicine, finance, entertainment, philanthropy, anything where generosity and good judgement both pay. Pigs are often underestimated and often outperforming their reputation.
Pig compatibility
Classical Chinese astrology reads zodiac relationships through three relationships: the trine (三合, a natural alliance of three animals), the six-harmony (六合, the single best partner) and the clash (冲, the sign directly opposite).
Best matches: Rabbit · Goat · Tiger — the trine allies and the six-harmony partner. These pairings are read as mutual support: shared tempo, easy trust, and few fights about how things should be done.
Most demanding: Snake — the opposite branch, the classic clash. This is not a prohibition; the tradition reads it as a pairing of friction rather than a pairing of ease, which can sharpen both people or exhaust them.
Compatibility is a layer of flavour, not a verdict. Two people in a "clashing" pair with good charts and kind habits do far better than a "perfect" pair without them.
The Pig in 2026 and 2027
2026, the Fire Horse (丙午): The Fire Horse brings movement and social expansion to the Pig’s year — a good one for widening your circle, though Fire’s speed may leave your more relaxed pace feeling behind. It will not be, in the end.
2027, the Fire Goat (丁未): The Fire Goat is a comfortable, warm year that suits the Pig well — good for home, family and the long-term projects a Pig actually finishes.
Pig — common questions
Why is the Pig considered lucky?
Tradition reads the Pig as the sign of plenty — the animal that ends the cycle with a full barn. Pigs are said to attract comfort and good company, and rarely to want for it.
What is the Pig’s best match?
The Rabbit and the Goat (trine) and the Tiger (six-harmony) — signs that match the Pig’s warmth, with the Tiger supplying the forward push.