2026 / Chinese zodiac
2026 Chinese Zodiac: Fire Horse
2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse. It begins on February 17, 2026 and ends on February 5, 2027. If you were born before February 17, 2026, your sign is the Wood Snake.
01 / Check the boundary
What is my Chinese zodiac if I was born in 2026?
Two zodiac signs fall within the Gregorian year 2026. 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 |
|---|---|
| – | Wood Snake 蛇 |
| – | Fire Horse 马 |
The full 2026 lunar year continues into 2027, through February 5, 2027. A birthday on February 16, 2026 belongs to the Snake; a birthday one day later, on February 17, 2026, 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 2026?
2026 is a Fire Horse year. Its stem-branch name is 丙午 (bǐng-wǔ): the heavenly stem 丙 carries yang fire, and the earthly branch 午 corresponds to the Horse.
- Zodiac animal
- Horse · 马
- Year element
- Fire
- Stem & branch
- 丙午 · bǐng-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 2026. 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
2026 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 2027.
| Lunar month | Begins | Ends | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 30 | ||
| Month 2 | 29 | ||
| Month 3 | 30 | ||
| Month 4 | 29 | ||
| Month 5 | 29 | ||
| Month 6 | 30 | ||
| Month 7 | 29 | ||
| Month 8 | 29 | ||
| Month 9 | 30 | ||
| Month 10 | 30 | ||
| 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.