1942 Chinese Zodiac: Water Horse

01 / Check the boundary

What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 1942?

Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 1942. Choose the row containing your birthday. These dates include both the first and last day; the animal changes at Chinese New Year, not on January 1.

1942 birth dates and zodiac signs
Gregorian birthday	Animal & year element
January 1, 1942 – February 14, 1942	Metal Snake 蛇
February 15, 1942 – December 31, 1942	Water Horse 马

The full 1942 lunar year continues into 1943, through February 4, 1943. A birthday on February 14, 1942 belongs to the Snake; a birthday one day later, on February 15, 1942, belongs to the Horse.

YOUR STORY STARTS HERE

When were you born?

02 / The story of the year

What kind of Horse is 1942?

1942 is a Water Horse year. Its stem-branch name is 壬午 (rén-wǔ): the heavenly stem 壬 carries yang water, and the earthly branch 午 corresponds to the Horse.

Zodiac animal: Horse · 马
Year element: Water
Stem & branch: 壬午 · rén-wǔ
Lunar year length: 355 days

Horse personality in tradition

The Horse often represents energy and forward movement. Horses have a long presence in Chinese painting and poetry.

The phrase “energetic & independent” describes a traditional association with this animal, rather than a rule about everyone born in 1942. The year element is one part of the calendar; it does not establish a person's complete five-elements or Bāzì chart.

我属马。

Wǒ shǔ mǎ. “I was born in the Year of the Horse.”

Horse compatibility in folklore

Horse, Dog and Tiger form a traditional harmony group of three. Rat sits opposite Horse, six places away in the twelve-animal cycle. These describe symbolic positions, not evidence of who will make a good partner.

Explore traditional pairings →

03 / A closer look at the dates

1942 lunar calendar at a glance

This Horse year contains 12 lunar months and 355 days. There is no leap lunar month in this year. A leap month keeps the same animal and year element. The table follows the full lunar year, so its final months extend into 1943.

Lunar months of 1942: Gregorian start and end dates
Lunar month	Begins	Ends	Days
Month 1	February 15, 1942	March 16, 1942	30
Month 2	March 17, 1942	April 14, 1942	29
Month 3	April 15, 1942	May 14, 1942	30
Month 4	May 15, 1942	June 13, 1942	30
Month 5	June 14, 1942	July 12, 1942	29
Month 6	July 13, 1942	August 11, 1942	30
Month 7	August 12, 1942	September 9, 1942	29
Month 8	September 10, 1942	October 9, 1942	30
Month 9	October 10, 1942	November 7, 1942	29
Month 10	November 8, 1942	December 7, 1942	30
Month 11	December 8, 1942	January 5, 1943	29
Month 12	January 6, 1943	February 4, 1943	30

04 / Follow the cycle

Other Years of the Horse

The Horse returns every 12 years; the same Water Horse combination returns every 60. These are the other Horse years in our 1901–2100 directory. Their New Year dates differ, so open a year to check its exact birthday boundary.

1906Fire Horse 1918Earth Horse 1930Metal Horse 1954Wood Horse 1966Fire Horse 1978Earth Horse 1990Metal Horse 2002Water Horse 2014Wood Horse 2026Fire Horse 2038Earth Horse 2050Metal Horse 2062Water Horse 2074Wood Horse 2086Fire Horse 2098Earth Horse

Sources & calendar convention

Dates are calculated from our local lunar-month dataset. The links below provide the Observatory’s calendar for this Gregorian year and an explanation of the stem-branch cycle. Cultural interpretations are introductory folklore, not predictions.