Chinese zodiac · Year of the Ox
The Wood Ox: 1925, 1985, 2045
乙丑 · Yi chǒu · Yin Wood stem on the Earth branch
A Wood Ox year pairs the Heavenly Stem 乙 (Yi, yin Wood) with the Earthly Branch 丑 (chǒu, the Ox). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Wood Ox years are 1925, 1985, 2045. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Wood Ox different from a Fire Ox or a Earth 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 Wood Ox is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Wood Ox bends a little: still steady, but more sociable and readier to hear a new plan than the rest of the herd.
1985 Wood Oxen are the flexible ones, and the tradition's sociable Ox with a plan is a fair description of a year that produced a generation of steady, likeable builders.
In BaZi terms the Wood stem controls the Earth branch: Wood restrains Earth in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the element on top holding the animal in check, so the Ox's nature is disciplined, sometimes frustrated, and channelled rather than let loose. Tension with a purpose.
The rest of the Ox’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Ox page.
Wood 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 24 January 1925 | 12 February 1926 | 4 February 1925 |
| 1985 | 20 February 1985 | 8 February 1986 | 4 February 1985 |
| 2045 | 17 February 2045 | 5 February 2046 | 3 February 2045 |
The next Wood Ox year is 2045. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Wood Oxs
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Born in 1925
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Wood Ox start?
- The 1925 Wood Ox year began at Lunar New Year on 24 January 1925 and ran to 12 February 1926. The 1985 Wood Ox year began at Lunar New Year on 20 February 1985 and ran to 8 February 1986. The 2045 Wood Ox year began at Lunar New Year on 17 February 2045 and ran to 5 February 2046. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1925: 4 February 1925; 1985: 4 February 1985; 2045: 3 February 2045), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Wood Ox personality?
- The Wood Ox bends a little: still steady, but more sociable and readier to hear a new plan than the rest of the herd. In BaZi terms the Wood stem controls the Earth branch: Wood restrains Earth in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the element on top holding the animal in check, so the Ox's nature is disciplined, sometimes frustrated, and channelled rather than let loose. Tension with a purpose.
- When is the next Wood Ox year?
- 2045. The pair of stem 乙 and branch 丑 recurs every sixty years.