Chinese zodiac · Year of the Ox
The Metal Ox: 1961, 2021, 2081
辛丑 · Xin chǒu · Yin Metal stem on the Earth branch
A Metal Ox year pairs the Heavenly Stem 辛 (Xin, yin Metal) with the Earthly Branch 丑 (chǒu, the Ox). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Metal Ox years are 1961, 2021, 2081. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Metal Ox different from a Wood Ox or a Fire Ox. The popular zodiac begins each of these years at Lunar New Year and BaZi begins it at Li Chun, so both boundaries are given below for every year.
What a Metal Ox is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Metal Ox is the hardest worker in the cycle and the most unbending, with standards it applies to everyone.
The Metal Ox of 2021 was the year of getting back to work after the pandemic, and the tradition's hardest worker in the cycle had the job.
In BaZi terms the Earth branch feeds the Metal stem: Earth produces Metal in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the Ox giving its strength upward, so the stem element is well resourced and the animal's own qualities are somewhat spent in the giving. Productive, and a little tiring for the Ox.
The rest of the Ox’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Ox page.
Metal Ox years and when each begins
The popular zodiac year begins at Lunar New Year; BaZi begins it at Li Chun, the start of spring. Both dates are given so a birth between them can be placed in either system.
| Year | Lunar New Year (popular zodiac) | Ends | Li Chun (BaZi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 15 February 1961 | 4 February 1962 | 4 February 1961 |
| 2021 | 12 February 2021 | 31 January 2022 | 3 February 2021 |
| 2081 | outside the table | … | 3 February 2081 |
The next Metal Ox year is 2081. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Metal Oxs
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Born in 1961
- Barack Obama44th President of the United States
- Diana, Princess of WalesMember of the British royal family and Princess of Wales
- George ClooneyAmerican-French actor and filmmaker
- Jim CarreyCanadian-American actor and comedian
- Joko Widodo7th President of the Republic of Indonesia
- Julia GillardPrime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Metal Ox start?
- The 1961 Metal Ox year began at Lunar New Year on 15 February 1961 and ran to 4 February 1962. The 2021 Metal Ox year began at Lunar New Year on 12 February 2021 and ran to 31 January 2022. 2081 is outside AsterNym's Lunar New Year table. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1961: 4 February 1961; 2021: 3 February 2021; 2081: 3 February 2081), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Metal Ox personality?
- The Metal Ox is the hardest worker in the cycle and the most unbending, with standards it applies to everyone. In BaZi terms the Earth branch feeds the Metal stem: Earth produces Metal in the generating cycle. Practitioners read the year as the Ox giving its strength upward, so the stem element is well resourced and the animal's own qualities are somewhat spent in the giving. Productive, and a little tiring for the Ox.
- When is the next Metal Ox year?
- 2081. The pair of stem 辛 and branch 丑 recurs every sixty years.