1961: Year of the Metal Ox (辛丑 xīnchǒu)

People born in 1961 belong to the year of the Metal Ox - the 辛丑 year of the traditional sixty-year cycle. This exact combination returns only once every 60 years.

> Born in January or early February 1961? In the classical reckoning the zodiac year begins at Li Chun (立春 lichun), February 4, 1961 - not on January 1. If you were born before that date, you belong to the previous year: the Metal Rat of 1960. (Folk usage often counts from Chinese New Year instead, February 15, 1961 that year - both conventions are real; the BaZi tradition uses Li Chun. Our calculator handles this for you.)

The Ox in the Metal year

The tradition reads the Ox as the steady hand: patient, unhurried, still working when the room has emptied. Folk tellings prize the Ox's word above its words; what it promises, it delivers, on its own deliberate schedule. The classical sketch adds quiet strength: the Ox carries weight without announcing it. Within its trine of planners, the Ox is cast as the foundation - the one the others build on.

The Metal Ox is sketched as iron-willed: dependability with a spine that does not bend.

Who the tradition pairs you with

The Ox's natural allies are its trine partners, Snake, Rooster, and its quiet ally (六合 liuhe) is the Rat. The tradition treats the Goat as the Ox's opposite - the clash pair (相沖 xiangchong). The full picture: Chinese zodiac compatibility.

Other Ox years

1937 (Fire Ox), 1949 (Earth Ox), 1973 (Water Ox), 1985 (Wood Ox), 1997 (Fire Ox), 2009 (Earth Ox), 2021 (Metal Ox), 2033 (Water Ox). Same animal, different element - the tradition reads each differently.

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Your year animal is one-twelfth of one pillar - the birth year is a quarter of the picture, and the full chart reads the day you were born, down to the hour. What is BaZi explains the rest, or find your full sign.