--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 1990? Year of the Metal Horse" description: "1990 is the Year of the Metal Horse in the Chinese zodiac, from January 27, 1990 to February 14, 1991. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1990 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 1990? Year of the Metal Horse In Chinese astrology, 1990 is the Year of the Metal Horse, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on January 27, 1990 and ended on February 14, 1991, so people born in 1990 before Jan 27 belong to the Earth Snake year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Horse · Metal · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | January 27, 1990 | | Ends | February 14, 1991 | | Born in 1990 before Jan 27 | Earth Snake (the 1989 year) | | Horse's fixed element | Fire (Fire controls Metal) | | Other Metal Horse years (1924-2044) | 1930 | | Stem-branch name | Geng-Wu | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Saturday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 1 | ## 1990 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Metal Horse year on January 27, 1990, and the year ran to February 14, 1991. So a birth date of Jan 27, 1990 or later counts as Metal Horse, and so do early 1991 birthdays through Feb 14; births in 1990 before Jan 27 still belong to the Earth Snake. That moving boundary comes from the lunisolar calendar, in which the new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice in most years, so its Gregorian date shifts by up to a month from one year to the next. Look sixty years either side and the pairing repeats: 1930 are Metal Horse years too. That Saturday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Metal Horse is like In a Metal Horse year, the Horse's love of freedom is said to be hardened into resolve. Since Fire controls Metal, the animal is busy shaping its stem, and classical descriptions picture a quick, determined, independent character who thrives on difficult goals. These people can lead with real conviction. Their growth often lies in learning that some limits are tools, not cages. Belonging to the west and to the clear, cool air of autumn, Metal adds edge, resolve and structure to any sign it colours. Classical texts connect it with righteousness, strength of will and the ability to see a situation without sentiment. A Metal stem often makes an animal more ambitious, more organised and more self-contained than usual. People born in Metal years are frequently described as loyal to their word and tireless once committed. The caution most readings add is a hardness that can isolate them, along with perfectionism and a reluctance to admit doubt or ask for help. ## 1990 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year's digits reduce to 1, the number of beginnings, initiative and independence, so numerologists describe a 1 year as one that rewards starting things. The digits of 1990 add up to 19, which reduces to 1. The Horse holds the seventh place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Fire. Set beside the year's Metal stem, fire controls Metal, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Earth Snake and the year after is the Metal Goat. Chinese almanacs name 1990 Geng-Wu, pairing the Metal stem Geng with the branch Wu. Both are Yang, as stem and branch always share a polarity, so of the hundred and twenty possible pairings only sixty ever occur, and each one names a single year in every cycle. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 1990? 1990 is the Year of the Metal Horse. It started on January 27, 1990 and ended on February 14, 1991. ### What if I was born in January or February 1990? Check the date against Jan 27. Born before January 27, 1990, you are a Earth Snake; born on or after it, you are a Metal Horse. ### What element is 1990 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 1990? 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? 2050, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1930. ## 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) - [1989 (Earth Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1989) - [1991 (Metal Goat)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1991) - [1978 (Earth Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1978) - [2002 (Water Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2002) - [1930 (Metal Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1930) - [1966 (Fire Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1966) - [2014 (Wood Horse)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2014) - [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.