What Chinese Zodiac Is 1974? Year of the Wood Tiger

When the 1974 Wood Tiger year starts and ends

The 1974 Wood Tiger year began at Lunar New Year on January 23, 1974 and lasted until February 10, 1975, the day before the next new year. Anyone born between January 1 and Jan 23 1974 therefore belongs to the Water Ox year that started in 1973, while someone born in early 1975, up to Feb 10, is still a Wood 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 Wood Tiger combination also falls in 2034, sixty years apart, because five elements and twelve animals realign only once in each sixty-year cycle. Lunar New Year 1974 fell on a Wednesday, while the Western Sun was in Aquarius.

Wood Tiger personality

Friendly, imaginative and generous, the Wood Tiger uses its courage in the service of fairness. The Tiger's fixed element is Wood, so this year doubles it, and tradition describes vision and enthusiasm in abundance. People born now often gather allies around a cause. Scattered energy is the usual caution; choosing a few causes worth fighting for helps. Their warmth often softens their boldness.

Wood is the element of spring and of things that grow, so a Wood year is traditionally said to lend any animal a generous, expansive streak. Classical descriptions link it with kindness, idealism and a talent for cooperation: Wood people are often pictured as the ones who start community projects, mentor younger colleagues and believe that most situations can improve with patience and goodwill. The element also carries a strong sense of fairness and a dislike of waste. Its shadow side, according to most readings, is overextension. Like a plant reaching in every direction, a Wood-year person may take on too much, trust too readily or struggle to say no when a cause seems worthwhile.

1974 in numerology and the twelve-year cycle

In numerology the digits of this year reduce to 3, associated with expression, creativity and sociability, so a 3 year is described as lively and communicative. The digits of 1974 add up to 21, which reduces to 3. 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 Wood, and in the five-element cycles wood year element matches the fixed element. The year before was the Water Ox and the year after is the Wood Rabbit.

In the traditional sexagenary count the year is called Jia-Yin: Jia is the Wood 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.