What Chinese Zodiac Is 1926? Year of the Fire Tiger

When the 1926 Fire Tiger year starts and ends

The 1926 Fire Tiger year began at Lunar New Year on February 13, 1926 and lasted until February 1, 1927, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Feb 13 1926 therefore belongs to the Wood Ox year that started in 1925, while someone born in early 1927, up to Feb 1, is still a Fire Tiger. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, which is why the start date moves between January 21 and February 20 instead of staying on January 1. The same Fire Tiger combination also falls in 1986, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1926 fell on a Saturday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius.

Fire Tiger personality

Fire Tiger years are associated with some of the boldest personalities in the cycle. Wood feeds Fire, so the Tiger's own element is said to fuel the year's flame, producing someone charismatic, adventurous and quick to champion a cause. People born in this year are usually pictured as natural leaders with dramatic flair. The traditional advice is to pace themselves, since such bright energy can run out suddenly.

Fire is the element of summer and full daylight, and a Fire year is traditionally said to turn up the volume of whatever animal it meets. Descriptions link it with passion, charisma, courage and a love of movement and expression. Fire-year people are often portrayed as lively, persuasive and quick to act, able to warm a room and rally others behind an idea. The element is associated with the heart and with joy, which gives it real generosity of spirit. Its traditional shadow is impatience: Fire can burn hot and fast, leading to restlessness, sharp words in the moment and a tendency to lose interest once the excitement fades.

1926 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle

In numerology the year reduces to 9, the number of completion, generosity and letting go, and a 9 year is traditionally read as one of endings that clear space. The digits of 1926 add up to 18, which reduces to 9. In the twelve-year cycle the Tiger is the third animal, earthly branch Yin, with Wood as its fixed element and Yang polarity. The year element is Fire, and in the five-element cycles wood generates Fire. The year before was the Wood Ox and the year after is the Fire Rabbit.

In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Bing-Yin: Bing is the Fire heavenly stem and Yin is the Tiger's earthly branch. Stems and branches alternate between yang and yin together, which is why yang stems only ever meet yang animals.