--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1973? Year of the Water Ox" description: "1973 is the Year of the Water Ox in the Chinese zodiac, from February 3, 1973 to January 22, 1974. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1973 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1973? Year of the Water Ox In Chinese astrology, 1973 is the Year of the Water Ox, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 3, 1973 and ended on January 22, 1974, so people born in 1973 before Feb 3 belong to the Water Rat year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Ox · Water · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 3, 1973 | | Ends | January 22, 1974 | | Born in 1973 before Feb 3 | Water Rat (the 1972 year) | | Ox's fixed element | Earth (Earth controls Water) | | Other Water Ox years (1924-2044) | 2033 | | Stem-branch name | Gui-Chou | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Saturday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 2 | ## When the 1973 Water Ox year starts and ends The 1973 Water Ox year began at Lunar New Year on February 3, 1973 and lasted until January 22, 1974, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Feb 3 1973 therefore belongs to the Water Rat year that started in 1972, while someone born in early 1974, up to Jan 22, is still a Water Ox. 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 Water Ox combination also falls in 2033, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1973 fell on a Saturday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius. ## Water Ox personality Patient, realistic and quietly insightful, the Water Ox understands feelings better than most Oxen. The Ox's Earth contains Water, which tradition reads as intuition shaped into practical judgement. People born in this year often listen before acting and work well in teams. Feelings dammed up too long are the usual caution; regular honest talk keeps them flowing. Their calm often settles anxious friends. Water is the element of winter, stillness and depth, and a Water year is traditionally said to give any animal intuition, flexibility and a gift for communication. Descriptions associate it with wisdom, empathy and the ability to find a way around obstacles rather than through them. Water-year people are often portrayed as perceptive listeners, diplomatic and quietly persuasive, able to sense the mood of a room before anyone speaks. The element is linked with reflection and with the unseen, so it adds an inward, thoughtful layer. Its shadow, in most readings, is drift: indecision, secrecy, and a tendency to take on the shape of whoever is nearby. ## 1973 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle In numerology the year's digits reduce to 2, the number of partnership, patience and diplomacy, and a 2 year is traditionally read as one for cooperation rather than solo pushes. The digits of 1973 add up to 20, which reduces to 2. In the twelve-year cycle the Ox is the second animal, earthly branch Chou, with Earth as its fixed element and Yin polarity. The year element is Water, and in the five-element cycles earth controls Water. The year before was the Water Rat and the year after is the Wood Tiger. In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Gui-Chou: Gui is the Water heavenly stem and Chou is the Ox's earthly branch. Stems and branches alternate between yang and yin together, which is why yin stems only ever meet yin animals. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1973? 1973 is the Year of the Water Ox. It started on February 3, 1973 and ended on January 22, 1974. ### What if I was born in January or February 1973? Check the date against Feb 3. Born before February 3, 1973, you are a Water Rat; born on or after it, you are a Water Ox. ### What element is 1973 in the Chinese zodiac? Water, a Yin year. The Ox'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 1973? Gui-Chou. 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 Water Ox year? 2033, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 2033. ## Related pages - [Water Ox](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/water-ox) - [Ox](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/ox) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1972 (Water Rat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1972) - [1974 (Wood Tiger)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1974) - [1961 (Metal Ox)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1961) - [1985 (Wood Ox)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1985) - [2033 (Water Ox)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2033) - [1949 (Earth Ox)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1949) - [1997 (Fire Ox)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1997) - [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.