Chinese zodiac · Year of the Tiger
The Earth Tiger: 1938, 1998, 2058
戊寅 · Wu yín · Yang Earth stem on the Wood branch
A Earth Tiger year pairs the Heavenly Stem 戊 (Wu, yang Earth) with the Earthly Branch 寅 (yín, the Tiger). The pair recurs every sixty years, so in the range AsterNym covers the Earth Tiger years are 1938, 1998, 2058. The animal is the same each time; the stem is what makes a Earth Tiger different from a Wood Tiger or a Fire Tiger. 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 Earth Tiger is like
Popular Chinese zodiac tradition. For reflection, not prediction.
The Earth Tiger paces itself, keeps its promises and finishes more of what it starts than Tigers usually do.
The Earth Tiger of 1998 paces itself, which the tradition reads as the Tiger most likely to finish what it leaps into.
In BaZi terms the Wood branch controls the Earth stem: Wood restrains Earth in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the animal pushing back against the element above it, so the Tiger's qualities come through strongly and the stem struggles to impose itself. The animal has the upper hand.
The rest of the Tiger’s character, in love, at work and the growing edge, is on the Year of the Tiger page.
Earth Tiger 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 31 January 1938 | 18 February 1939 | 4 February 1938 |
| 1998 | 28 January 1998 | 15 February 1999 | 4 February 1998 |
| 2058 | outside the table | … | 3 February 2058 |
The next Earth Tiger year is 2058. Check any birthday against the boundary with the finder.
Famous Earth Tigers
Public birth records, assigned by the Lunar New Year boundary.
Born in 1938
Common questions
- When does the Year of the Earth Tiger start?
- The 1938 Earth Tiger year began at Lunar New Year on 31 January 1938 and ran to 18 February 1939. The 1998 Earth Tiger year began at Lunar New Year on 28 January 1998 and ran to 15 February 1999. 2058 is outside AsterNym's Lunar New Year table. BaZi turns the year at Li Chun instead (1938: 4 February 1938; 1998: 4 February 1998; 2058: 3 February 2058), so a birth between the two dates carries different year animals in the two systems.
- What is a Earth Tiger personality?
- The Earth Tiger paces itself, keeps its promises and finishes more of what it starts than Tigers usually do. In BaZi terms the Wood branch controls the Earth stem: Wood restrains Earth in the controlling cycle. Practitioners read the year as the animal pushing back against the element above it, so the Tiger's qualities come through strongly and the stem struggles to impose itself. The animal has the upper hand.
- When is the next Earth Tiger year?
- 2058. The pair of stem 戊 and branch 寅 recurs every sixty years.