--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1930? Year of the Metal Horse" description: "1930 is the Year of the Metal Horse in the Chinese zodiac, from January 30, 1930 to February 16, 1931. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1930 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1930? Year of the Metal Horse In Chinese astrology, 1930 is the Year of the Metal Horse, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 30, 1930 and ended on February 16, 1931, so people born in 1930 before Jan 30 belong to the Earth Snake year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Horse · Metal · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 30, 1930 | | Ends | February 16, 1931 | | Born in 1930 before Jan 30 | Earth Snake (the 1929 year) | | Horse's fixed element | Fire (Fire controls Metal) | | Other Metal Horse years (1924-2044) | 1990 | | Stem-branch name | Geng-Wu | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Thursday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 4 | ## When the 1930 Metal Horse year starts and ends The 1930 Metal Horse year began at Lunar New Year on January 30, 1930 and lasted until February 16, 1931, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Jan 30 1930 therefore belongs to the Earth Snake year that started in 1929, while someone born in early 1931, up to Feb 16, is still a Metal Horse. 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 Metal Horse combination also falls in 1990, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1930 fell on a Thursday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Metal Horse personality Metal Horse years are associated with tenacious, independent and strong-willed people. The Horse's Fire works against the year's Metal, and readings interpret that effort as forging a free spirit into firm purpose. People born then are often seen as determined, candid and fond of challenge. The traditional caution is impatience with authority and difficulty compromising when a plan is already in motion. Metal is the element of autumn and harvest, and a Metal year is traditionally said to sharpen whatever animal it meets. Descriptions associate it with determination, discipline, clear judgement and a strong code of principle. Metal-year people are often portrayed as decisive, self-reliant and willing to do difficult things because they are right. The element is linked with refinement and with cutting away what is unnecessary, so it tends to bring focus and high standards. Its traditional shadow is rigidity: Metal can become inflexible, proud or emotionally guarded, preferring to be correct over being close, and finding it hard to bend once a position is taken. ## 1930 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle In numerology the digits reduce to 4, the number of structure, effort and foundations, which gives a 4 year a reputation for steady, practical work. The digits of 1930 add up to 13, which reduces to 4. In the twelve-year cycle the Horse is the seventh animal, earthly branch Wu, with Fire as its fixed element and Yang polarity. The year element is Metal, and in the five-element cycles fire controls Metal. The year before was the Earth Snake and the year after is the Metal Goat. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Geng-Wu: Geng is the Metal heavenly stem and Wu is the Horse's earthly branch. Stems and branches alternate between yang and yin together, which is why yang stems only ever meet yang animals. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1930? 1930 is the Year of the Metal Horse. It started on January 30, 1930 and ended on February 16, 1931. ### What if I was born in January or February 1930? Check the date against Jan 30. Born before January 30, 1930, you are a Earth Snake; born on or after it, you are a Metal Horse. ### What element is 1930 in the Chinese zodiac? Metal, a Yang year. The Horse's own fixed element is Fire; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1930? Geng-Wu. The first part is the heavenly stem, which carries the year's element and polarity; the second is the earthly branch, which carries the animal. Almanacs, calendars and Four Pillars charts identify years this way rather than by animal alone. ### When is the next Metal Horse year? 1990, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1990. ## Related pages - [Metal Horse](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/metal-horse) - [Horse](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/horse) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1929 (Earth Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1929) - [1931 (Metal Goat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1931) - [1942 (Water Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1942) - [1990 (Metal Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1990) - [1954 (Wood Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1954) - [Chinese zodiac calculator](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac-calculator) - [Chinese zodiac](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac) ## About Unified Reading Unified Reading combines Pythagorean numerology, the Western Sun sign (Moon and rising with a birth time), the Chinese zodiac and life-stage context in one reading. The preview is free at https://unifiedreading.com/#details; the full reading is $4.99, paid once through Stripe, with no subscription. A fictional sample is at https://unifiedreading.com/sample. With a birth time and place it adds whole sign houses and the chart ruler; it does not calculate planetary aspects or transits, and it is a framework for reflection, not a prediction.