1978 / Chinese zodiac
1978 Chinese Zodiac: Earth Horse
1978 is the Year of the Earth Horse. It begins on February 7, 1978 and ends on January 27, 1979. If you were born before February 7, 1978, your sign is the Fire Snake.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 1978?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 1978. 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.
| Gregorian birthday | Animal & year element |
|---|---|
| – | Fire Snake 蛇 |
| – | Earth Horse 马 |
The full 1978 lunar year continues into 1979, through January 27, 1979. A birthday on February 6, 1978 belongs to the Snake; a birthday one day later, on February 7, 1978, belongs to the Horse.
YOUR STORY STARTS HERE
When were you born?
YOUR RESULT
02 / The story of the year
What kind of Horse is 1978?
1978 is a Earth Horse year. Its stem-branch name is 戊午 (wù-wǔ): the heavenly stem 戊 carries yang earth, and the earthly branch 午 corresponds to the Horse.
- Zodiac animal
- Horse · 马
- Year element
- Earth
- Stem & branch
- 戊午 · wù-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 1978. 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
1978 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 1979.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 30 | ||
| Month 2 | 29 | ||
| Month 3 | 30 | ||
| Month 4 | 30 | ||
| Month 5 | 29 | ||
| Month 6 | 30 | ||
| Month 7 | 30 | ||
| Month 8 | 29 | ||
| Month 9 | 30 | ||
| Month 10 | 29 | ||
| Month 11 | 30 | ||
| Month 12 | 29 |
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.