2002 Chinese Zodiac: Water Horse

01 / Check the boundary

What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 2002?

Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 2002. 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.

2002 birth dates and zodiac signs
Gregorian birthday	Animal & year element
January 1, 2002 – February 11, 2002	Metal Snake 蛇
February 12, 2002 – December 31, 2002	Water Horse 马

The full 2002 lunar year continues into 2003, through January 31, 2003. A birthday on February 11, 2002 belongs to the Snake; a birthday one day later, on February 12, 2002, belongs to the Horse.

YOUR STORY STARTS HERE

When were you born?

02 / The story of the year

What kind of Horse is 2002?

2002 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: 354 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 2002. 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

2002 lunar calendar at a glance

This Horse year contains 12 lunar months and 354 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 2003.

Lunar months of 2002: Gregorian start and end dates
Lunar month	Begins	Ends	Days
Month 1	February 12, 2002	March 13, 2002	30
Month 2	March 14, 2002	April 12, 2002	30
Month 3	April 13, 2002	May 11, 2002	29
Month 4	May 12, 2002	June 10, 2002	30
Month 5	June 11, 2002	July 9, 2002	29
Month 6	July 10, 2002	August 8, 2002	30
Month 7	August 9, 2002	September 6, 2002	29
Month 8	September 7, 2002	October 5, 2002	29
Month 9	October 6, 2002	November 4, 2002	30
Month 10	November 5, 2002	December 3, 2002	29
Month 11	December 4, 2002	January 2, 2003	30
Month 12	January 3, 2003	January 31, 2003	29

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 1942Water Horse 1954Wood Horse 1966Fire Horse 1978Earth Horse 1990Metal 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.