Year of the Dragon 辰
Yang Earth branch · Confident · vital · larger than life
Big energy, bigger plans.
Dragon years are linked to charisma and big ambition — you may set standards others organize around. The tradition's caution is impatience with ordinary rhythms and ordinary people. People born in Dragon years are traditionally read as charismatic, ambitious, a natural center of gravity.
Which years belong to the Dragon?
A zodiac year starts at Lunar New Year, not on 1 January. Born in January or early February of a year below, you may belong to the previous animal — the calculator on the Chinese zodiac page uses the true boundary date for your birth year.
- 1940Metal Dragon
- 1952Water Dragon
- 1964Wood Dragon
- 1976Fire Dragon
- 1988Earth Dragon
- 2000Metal Dragon
- 2012Water Dragon
- 2024Wood Dragon
The element changes each cycle — a Metal Dragon and a Wood Dragon share the branch but not the stem, which is why the same animal feels different across generations.
Who does the Dragon get along with?
- Trine partners
- Rat and Monkey — the traditional harmony triangle: animals said to run in the same pack, sharing instincts and plans without friction.
- Secret friend
- Rooster — the six-harmony pairing: quiet, reliable loyalty rather than fireworks.
- Clash
- Dog — the opposite branch, six places across the wheel. Traditionally read as friction that demands effort, not a verdict on any real pair of people.
Lucky numbers by tradition: 1, 6, 7. These are traditional associations, not predictions — a full match reads all four pillars, not the year animal alone. Run a real match →
Famous Dragons
Verified birth dates from public records — tap any chart to see the whole thing.
- Abraham LincolnPresident of the United States from 1861 to 1865 (1809-1865)
- Charles DarwinEnglish naturalist and biologist (1809–1882)
- ShakiraColombian singer-songwriter
- Sigmund FreudAustrian psychiatrist and founder of psychoanalysis
- Martin Luther King Jr.American Baptist minister and civil rights leader
- Salvador DalíSpanish artist
- Che GuevaraArgentine Marxist revolutionary
- Nikola TeslaSerbian-American engineer and inventor
The Dragon is one pillar of four
Your year animal is an eighth of a full Chinese chart: BaZi reads a stem and branch for your year, month, day and hour, and the day — not the year — carries your core self.