--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 2005? Year of the Wood Rooster" description: "2005 is the Year of the Wood Rooster in the Chinese zodiac, from February 9, 2005 to January 28, 2006. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2005 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 2005? Year of the Wood Rooster In Chinese astrology, 2005 is the Year of the Wood Rooster, a Yin year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 9, 2005 and ended on January 28, 2006, so people born in 2005 before Feb 9 belong to the Wood Monkey year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Rooster · Wood · Yin | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 9, 2005 | | Ends | January 28, 2006 | | Born in 2005 before Feb 9 | Wood Monkey (the 2004 year) | | Rooster's fixed element | Metal (Metal controls Wood) | | Other Wood Rooster years (1924-2044) | 1945 | | Stem-branch name | Yi-You | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Wednesday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 7 | ## 2005 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Wood Rooster year on February 9, 2005, and the year ran to January 28, 2006. So a birth date of Feb 9, 2005 or later counts as Wood Rooster, and so do early 2006 birthdays through Jan 28; births in 2005 before Feb 9 still belong to the Wood Monkey. 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: 1945 are Wood Rooster years too. That Wednesday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Wood Rooster is like People born in a Wood Rooster year are often pictured as warm reformers: diligent, candid and more cooperative than most Roosters. Metal controlling Wood is read as clarity trimming excess. They like fixing what is broken. Readings suggest offering suggestions rather than verdicts, and gardening or teaching as outlets that reward both tidiness and patience. Neighbours often know them as the person who quietly gets things done. In the five-element scheme, Wood belongs to the east and to the green energy of early spring, and that seasonal image shapes how it colours an animal sign. A Wood stem tends to soften sharp edges and add warmth, curiosity and a cooperative instinct. Traditional texts associate it with benevolence, growth and the wish to build something that lasts beyond the self. People born under a Wood stem are often portrayed as principled, open-handed and hopeful about others. The caution usually attached to Wood is a habit of spreading energy thinly, saying yes to every request and feeling quietly hurt when generosity is not returned in kind. ## 2005 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year reduces to 7, the number of reflection, analysis and inner work, giving a 7 year a quieter, more searching character. The digits of 2005 add up to 7. The Rooster holds the tenth place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Metal. Set beside the year's Wood stem, metal controls Wood, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Wood Monkey and the year after is the Fire Dog. Chinese almanacs name 2005 Yi-You, pairing the Wood stem Yi with the branch You. Both are Yin, 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 2005? 2005 is the Year of the Wood Rooster. It started on February 9, 2005 and ended on January 28, 2006. ### What if I was born in January or February 2005? Check the date against Feb 9. Born before February 9, 2005, you are a Wood Monkey; born on or after it, you are a Wood Rooster. ### What element is 2005 in the Chinese zodiac? Wood, a Yin year. The Rooster's own fixed element is Metal; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 2005? Yi-You. 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 Wood Rooster year? 2065, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1945. ## Related pages - [Wood Rooster](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/wood-rooster) - [Rooster](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/rooster) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [2004 (Wood Monkey)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2004) - [2006 (Fire Dog)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2006) - [1993 (Water Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1993) - [2017 (Fire Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2017) - [1945 (Wood Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1945) - [1981 (Metal Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1981) - [2029 (Earth Rooster)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2029) - [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.