Your animal is one twelfth of the story

Most people know their Chinese zodiac animal — but in BaZi, the animal of your birth year is only the surface. Each of the twelve animals (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig) also appears beneath your day, month, and hour, and each position describes a different stage of life: roots, parents and early environment, self and marriage, and children and later years.

The animal under your Day Master — the Spouse Palace — is said to color how intimacy feels to you. The one in your hour pillar hints at the legacy you're building.

Note: the zodiac year changes at Lichun (early February), not Lunar New Year — traditional BaZi follows the solar calendar.