1996: Year of the Fire Rat (丙子 bǐngzǐ)

People born in 1996 belong to the year of the Fire Rat - the 丙子 year of the traditional sixty-year cycle. This exact combination returns only once every 60 years.

> Born in January or early February 1996? In the classical reckoning the zodiac year begins at Li Chun (立春 lichun), February 4, 1996 - not on January 1. If you were born before that date, you belong to the previous year: the Wood Pig of 1995. (Folk usage often counts from Chinese New Year instead, February 19, 1996 that year - both conventions are real; the BaZi tradition uses Li Chun. Our calculator handles this for you.)

The Rat in the Fire year

The tradition reads the Rat as the quick one: resourceful, observant, first to spot the opening everyone else missed. Folk tellings give the Rat easy charm and good company; it wins its seat at the table by being genuinely interesting to sit beside. The classical sketch adds thrift and foresight: the Rat is said to keep a little in reserve, always. Within its trine of doers, the Rat is cast as the strategist - quick to move, quicker to recalculate.

The Fire Rat is read as the boldest Rat: the same sharp eye, but burning brighter and moving sooner.

Who the tradition pairs you with

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

Other Rat years

1936 (Fire Rat), 1948 (Earth Rat), 1960 (Metal Rat), 1972 (Water Rat), 1984 (Wood Rat), 2008 (Earth Rat), 2020 (Metal Rat), 2032 (Water Rat). 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.