What Chinese Zodiac Is 1940? Year of the Metal Dragon

When the 1940 Metal Dragon year starts and ends

The 1940 Metal Dragon year began at Lunar New Year on February 8, 1940 and lasted until January 26, 1941, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Feb 8 1940 therefore belongs to the Earth Rabbit year that started in 1939, while someone born in early 1941, up to Jan 26, is still a Metal Dragon. 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 Dragon combination also falls in 2000, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1940 fell on a Thursday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius.

Metal Dragon personality

Metal Dragon years are associated with principled, driven and intensely determined people. The Dragon's Earth generates Metal, so traditional readings describe the sign's grand ambition forged into firm conviction. Those born then are often articulate defenders of what they believe. The usual caution is inflexibility, and readings suggest separating matters of principle from matters of preference. Courage in a difficult moment is often their hallmark.

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.

1940 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle

In numerology the year reduces to 5, the number of change, freedom and movement, and a 5 year is usually described as restless and full of variety. The digits of 1940 add up to 14, which reduces to 5. In the twelve-year cycle the Dragon is the fifth animal, earthly branch Chen, with Earth as its fixed element and Yang polarity. The year element is Metal, and in the five-element cycles earth generates Metal. The year before was the Earth Rabbit and the year after is the Metal Snake.

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