--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1970? Year of the Metal Dog" description: "1970 is the Year of the Metal Dog in the Chinese zodiac, from February 6, 1970 to January 26, 1971. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1970 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1970? Year of the Metal Dog In Chinese astrology, 1970 is the Year of the Metal Dog, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 6, 1970 and ended on January 26, 1971, so people born in 1970 before Feb 6 belong to the Earth Rooster year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Dog · Metal · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 6, 1970 | | Ends | January 26, 1971 | | Born in 1970 before Feb 6 | Earth Rooster (the 1969 year) | | Dog's fixed element | Earth (Earth generates Metal) | | Other Metal Dog years (1924-2044) | 2030 | | Stem-branch name | Geng-Xu | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Friday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 8 | ## When the 1970 Metal Dog year starts and ends The 1970 Metal Dog year began at Lunar New Year on February 6, 1970 and lasted until January 26, 1971, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Feb 6 1970 therefore belongs to the Earth Rooster year that started in 1969, while someone born in early 1971, up to Jan 26, is still a Metal Dog. 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 Dog combination also falls in 2030, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1970 fell on a Friday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Metal Dog personality Fiercely loyal, principled and determined, the Metal Dog stands firm under pressure. The Dog's Earth generates Metal, which tradition reads as steadiness forged into moral resolve. People born in this year often earn deep respect for their integrity. Black-and-white thinking and grudges are the usual cautions, and forgiveness frees considerable energy. Their courage is often quiet, steady and entirely unselfish, and friends rarely doubt where they stand. 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. ## 1970 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle In numerology the digits reduce to 8, associated with ambition, authority and material results, so an 8 year is described in terms of effort and reward. The digits of 1970 add up to 17, which reduces to 8. In the twelve-year cycle the Dog is the eleventh animal, earthly branch Xu, 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 Rooster and the year after is the Metal Pig. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Geng-Xu: Geng is the Metal heavenly stem and Xu is the Dog'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 1970? 1970 is the Year of the Metal Dog. It started on February 6, 1970 and ended on January 26, 1971. ### What if I was born in January or February 1970? Check the date against Feb 6. Born before February 6, 1970, you are a Earth Rooster; born on or after it, you are a Metal Dog. ### What element is 1970 in the Chinese zodiac? Metal, a Yang year. The Dog's own fixed element is Earth; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 1970? Geng-Xu. 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 Dog year? 2030, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 2030. ## Related pages - [Metal Dog](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/metal-dog) - [Dog](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/dog) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1969 (Earth Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1969) - [1971 (Metal Pig)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1971) - [1958 (Earth Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1958) - [1982 (Water Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1982) - [2030 (Metal Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2030) - [1946 (Fire Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1946) - [1994 (Wood Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1994) - [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.